POLLESCHULTZ GEM LEADS BLINN BASEBALL PAST ALVIN
Story by Joe Alberico, Blinn College Sports Information
Ben Polleschultz settled in to deliver a dominant outing on the mound, and the No. 7 Blinn College baseball team rallied past Alvin Community College for an 11-2 Region 14 South victory on Thursday in Brenham, Texas.
The Buccaneers (32-11, 20-6 South) secured the win in eight innings at Leroy Dreyer Field, earning their second victory in the four-game series.
The night belonged to the sophomore Polleschultz, one of Blinn’s breakout arms during the team’s run to the NJCAA Division I Baseball World Series last season. Limited by nagging injuries this spring, Polleschultz entered Thursday having logged just 21 1/3 innings.
Alvin jumped out early with a pair of solo home runs in the first and second innings, but the left-hander quickly regrouped. Polleschultz (4-0) went on to deliver a stellar performance.
“Alvin can certainly swing the bat, and they hit some good pitches and got some balls into the wind that carried out,” Buccaneers head coach Dusty Hart said. “We did a good job of not letting that affect us, especially Polleschultz. He’s been banged up, and we had no idea how long he’d be able to go, but he really stepped up for us tonight. He’s 100-percent guts, and that’s not a surprise to any of us.”
Polleschultz kept the Dolphins off the board from the third through the sixth innings and recorded one out in the seventh before exiting at 90 pitches. He allowed two earned runs on six hits with two walks and nine strikeouts.
With Polleschultz in control, Blinn’s offense broke through in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Trailing 2-0, freshman designated hitter Austin Glasscock drew a leadoff walk before freshman utility player Dane Perry singled. Sophomore utility man Benji Barrera then tied the game with a two-run double, and sophomore outfielder Brady Sullivan followed with an RBI single to give the Bucs a lead they would not relinquish.
After another single and a hit-by-pitch loaded the bases, Sullivan scored on a wild pitch. Sophomore infielder Drew Britton added an RBI groundout, and freshman catcher/designated hitter Zachary Tuxhorn capped the inning with an RBI single to make it 6-2.
After stranding five baserunners over the first three innings, Blinn’s outburst was a welcome sight.
“It’s a good sign when you’re getting a lot of traffic on the bases, so you just have to keep grinding in those situations,” Hart said. “Sometimes it’s only a matter of time before a couple of hits fall in or some breaks go your way. Our guys stayed positive and stayed in the fight.”
Blinn enforced the run rule in the eighth when Perry scored on a wild pitch before sophomore infielder Hunter Smolinski ended the game with a two-run single.
The Buccaneers added two more runs in the sixth inning as Glasscock drove in a run on a groundout and Barrera was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
The Bucs finished with 11 hits and drew nine walks.
Smolinski and Perry each went 3 for 4, with Perry adding a pair of doubles.
Following Polleschultz was redshirt freshman Marc Barnhard, who continued his strong run out of the bullpen. He retired all five batters he faced across 1 2/3 innings, striking out four while extending his scoreless streak to 12 1/3 frames. He has not allowed a run in his last six appearances.
Blinn and Alvin conclude their series with a doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m. on Friday at Leroy Dreyer Field.