BLINN BASEBALL TAKES GAME TWO AGAINST SAN JAC
Story by Joe Alberico, Blinn College Sports Information
On Thursday, Dusty Hart wanted the No. 9 Blinn College baseball team to build off its victory over No. 8 San Jacinto College-North just 48 hours earlier.
The Buccaneers did exactly that by beating the Ravens again.
Blinn rallied out of a pair of two-run deficits by scoring early and often and rolled to a 14-6, run-rule victory (seven innings) at Leroy Dreyer Field in Brenham, Texas.
The Bucs have won the first two games of the four-game Region 14 South series against San Jacinto-North-North.
“We challenged the guys to build off the momentum they created by winning Tuesday, and they didn’t flinch,” said Hart, Blinn’s fourth-year skipper. “We wanted to set the tone early – which we did – and when San Jacinto-North got some offense going – which we knew they probably would – we answered. I was really pleased with the effort tonight.”
After topping the Ravens 12-9 on Tuesday, Blinn deployed an equally impressive offensive attack Thursday.
San Jacinto-North took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first, only for Bucs sophomore first baseman Drew Britton to even things up with a two-run home run in the bottom of the inning.
The Ravens regained the lead with two runs in the second, but Blinn answered once again.
Sophomore infielder Hunter Smolinski plated a run on a sacrifice fly and Britton tied the game with an RBI double, his third run driven in of the game.
Freshman designated hitter/catcher Zachary Tuxhorn gave Blinn the lead for good with an RBI single and freshman third baseman Ryley Leininger added a run-scoring double for a 6-4 edge.
“We did a great job sticking to the plan,” Hart added. “It’s a simple concept, but we hit the strikes. That’s an effective offensive strategy in baseball.”
The Bucs broke the game open in the bottom of the fourth with an RBI single from sophomore outfielder Brady Sullivan and a three-run homer from freshman catcher/outfielder Dane Perry.
Smolinski hit a leadoff homer in the fifth.
Freshman catcher AJ DePaolo added a sacrifice fly in the sixth before Smolinski launched another solo homer.
After the Ravens got one run back in the seventh, Britton walked to lead off the Bucs’ half of the inning and eventually came around to score on a wild pitch to end the game.
Blinn finished with 11 hits and drew 10 walks.
Britton had a team-high three hits, while Smolinski had two hits and three RBIs. Tuxhorn also had two hits.
Sophomore utility man Benji Barrera drew four walks.
Sophomore pitcher Dylan Thompson earned the victory in his first start of the season. He worked four innings and gave up five earned runs on five hits with four walks and three strikeouts.
Freshman reliever Corby Wagoner tossed three innings in which he gave up one run on four hits with one walk and one punchout.
The series between the Bucs and Ravens was originally scheduled to conclude Saturday, but due to inclement weather, the teams will now play their series-ending doubleheader at 1 p.m. today (Friday) in Houston.