BLINN BASEBALL OPENS SERIES WITH A WIN OVER SAN JACINTO
Story by Joe Alberico, Blinn College Sports Information
The No. 7 Blinn College baseball team used a four-run fourth inning and a dominant bullpen performance to secure a 4-3 Region 14 South victory over San Jacinto College-North on Thursday in Houston.
The Buccaneers improved to 29-10 overall and extended their lead atop the South standings with a 17-5 record. Blinn also earned its second one-run win of the season.
“Tonight was pretty awesome to watch,” Bucs head coach Dusty Hart said. “I love these types of games. It’s easy to say that when you finish the job, but it’s so gratifying to see guys get big hits, make pitches, and come up with big plays when the game is on the line.”
Blinn rallied from a 1-0 deficit with its decisive fourth inning.
Sophomore infielder Drew Britton sparked the surge with a leadoff double before freshman catcher/designated hitter Zachary Tuxhorn followed with an RBI double to tie the game. Back-to-back walks to sophomore utility man Benji Barrera and sophomore outfielder Reece Lunsford loaded the bases, and freshman utility player Dane Perry gave the Buccaneers the lead for good with a sacrifice fly.
Sophomore utility man Kason Atkins added a two-run single later in the inning, driving in what proved to be the winning tally.
“You just have to stay in the fight and keep grinding,” Hart said. “When you get opportunities to drive guys in, you have to come through, and we did. We were fortunate enough to get the big hit.”
Blinn finished with nine hits, highlighted by a 4-for-5 performance from sophomore infielder Hunter Smolinski. Britton added two hits.
Sophomore starting pitcher Dylan Thompson earned the win and improved to 5-0 after delivering a quality start. He limited damage in the sixth inning to preserve the lead, allowing a two-run home run before inducing three consecutive groundouts to end the frame.
“I thought Dylan threw really well and did what we needed him to do,” Hart said. “He made one bad pitch, but it says a lot about him as a person and a competitor to get three straight outs to get out of the inning.”
Following Thompson’s outing, redshirt freshman Marc Barnhard continued his strong stretch out of the bullpen with two scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth. He allowed no hits while striking out four and walking one, and has now tossed 8 1/3 scoreless innings across five appearances since March 3.
Sophomore closer Hudson Melaerts handled the ninth. After the leadoff batter reached on an error, he retired the next three hitters, including a game-ending strikeout, to earn his seventh save.
“If you want to be a good baseball team, you have to have those guys in the bullpen who are just as good as the guys starting for you,” Hart said. “Marc and Hudson got six crucial outs for us tonight, and we won this game in large part because of them.”
Up next, the Buccaneers and Ravens will conclude their three-game series with a doubleheader at 1 p.m. this (Friday) afternoon at Leroy Dreyer Field in Brenham.