BLINN SOFTBALL SWEEPS DOUBLEHEADER OVER ALVIN
Story by Joe Alberico, Blinn College Sports Information
The No. 19 Blinn College softball team shook up the Region 14 South standings with a doubleheader sweep of Alvin Community College on Saturday in Alvin, Texas.
The Buccaneers rallied for a 6-4 extra-innings win in game one before earning a 4-1 triumph in the finale.
Blinn (24-12, 8-4 South) used the victories to knock the Dolphins from the top of the standings. The Bucs now sit in a second-place tie in the South, where they hold the tiebreaker over Alvin (8-4) and trail San Jacinto College-South (9-3) by one half game.
The Bucs have also won four consecutive games.
“This was a really good day for us,” Blinn head coach Rick Church said. “We competed well and kept our destiny in the South in our own hands. The second half of region play should be really interesting.”
Blinn’s day started with some adversity as it was held scoreless through the first six innings of game one.
Alvin carried a 2-0 lead into the top of the seventh, where the Bucs rallied to force extra innings.
Freshman utility player Lexis Moss opened the inning with a double, moved to third base on a single from sophomore catcher/infielder Cadence Wiese, and scored on a sacrifice fly from sophomore infielder Annie Beckendorf. Sophomore first baseman Daniela Lopez then tied the game with an RBI single to left field.
Blinn followed with two more singles to load the bases, but the Dolphins escaped the jam with back-to-back outs.
Bucs sophomore pitcher Brynn Gallamore worked around a leadoff walk in the bottom of the seventh, inducing consecutive groundouts before recording a strikeout to extend the game.
In the eighth, Moss and Wiese delivered consecutive one-out singles, and one out later, Lopez laced a base hit to load the bases. Freshman infielder Londyn Holland then gave the Bucs the lead for good with a two-run single to center field. Sophomore pitcher/outfielder Kacie Dudensing reached on an error that brought home two additional runs and made it 6-2.
Alvin scored twice in the bottom of the eighth, but Gallamore induced a groundout with a runner on second to secure the win.
Gallamore (13-6) went the distance for the 13th time this season. She allowed one earned run on four hits with three walks and four strikeouts.
Blinn totaled 11 hits, led by two-hit performances from Moss, Wiese, Lopez, and Holland. Holland also added two RBIs.
“Once the offense got going at the end of the first game, it charged us up for the rest of the day,” Church added. “I was happy to see us carry that momentum into game two.”
Blinn came out swinging in the finale, scoring in the first inning.
Four consecutive singles sparked the early rally, with the fourth coming off the bat of Lopez to drive in Wiese.
After Alvin tied the game in the bottom of the second, Blinn regained control with two runs in the third.
Freshman infielder Brianna Moreno singled to lead off the inning before scoring on a double from Wiese. A walk and a single then set up Holland’s RBI single to center field, giving the Bucs a 3-1 advantage.
Moss added an RBI single in the fourth to cap the scoring.
The Bucs finished with 12 hits, highlighted by a 4-for-4 performance from Wiese. Moss and Lopez added two hits apiece.
Blinn sophomore pitcher Madisyn Bracknell (6-3) tossed her seventh complete game of the season. She allowed one earned run on six hits with one walk and four strikeouts.
“We were really happy with both pitching performances today,” Church said. “Brynn and Madisyn did a fantastic job and gave us a chance to win both games.”
The Bucs continue South play with a doubleheader against Coastal Bend beginning at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, April 15, at Hohlt Park in Brenham, Texas. Blinn is looking to complete a regular-season sweep of the Cougars after defeating them twice on March 18.