BLINN BASEBALL DOMINATES SAN JAC 11-0 TO WIN REGIONAL TOURNAMENT
Story by Joe Alberico, Blinn College Sports Information
The No. 3 Blinn College baseball team proved that patience pays off Saturday night.
After enduring an almost five-hour weather delay, the top-seeded Buccaneers dominated third-seeded San Jacinto College-North 11-0 in five innings to capture the Region 14 South Regional championship at Leroy Dreyer Field in Brenham, Texas.
Blinn erupted for seven runs in the first inning while redshirt freshman pitcher Luke Ekdall tossed a five-inning no-hitter as the Buccaneers (43-12) secured their fourth consecutive regional title.
The late-night victory was a welcome outcome for the Bucs, whose first pitch was delayed from 6 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. after earlier weather interruptions pushed back San Jacinto-North’s consolation-round win over Tyler Junior College.
Ekdall’s final pitch of the championship was thrown after midnight.
“I didn’t know what to expect from our guys after sitting around for hours on end,” Blinn head coach Dusty Hart said. “You have to give 100% of the credit to them for adapting to a unique situation and staying locked in despite the adversity. All you can ask for is effort in that situation, and they gave all they had.”
The Bucs – winners of 11 consecutive games – move on to face either Navarro College or Northeast Texas Community College in the best-of-three Region 14 Super Regional/Mid-South District championship. The Bulldogs and Eagles face off at 2 p.m. Sunday with the Region 14 North Regional title at stake.
Ekdall (6-6) set the tone for Blinn right out of the gate.
The right-hander struck out one Raven during a 1-2-3 first inning, and after Blinn scored seven runs during a 29-minute at-bat in the home half of the frame, Ekdall went right back to work with a pair of punchouts in the second inning.
He finished with 10 strikeouts, two walks, and one hit batter. He fanned the final hitter he faced to reach at least 10 punchouts for the fourth time this season.
“It was a lot of fun,” said Ekdall, who earned his first career no-hitter in his first collegiate postseason outing. “I’ve been wanting to pitch under the lights, and I finally got to do it. I was locked in from the start, and everything was working for me today.”
Ekdall has endured a rollercoaster journey at Blinn. He arrived in Brenham in 2024 but missed the entire season – including the Bucs’ national championship run – due to injury. He made his pitching debut in game two of Blinn’s season-opening doubleheader in 2025, but sustained another season-ending injury on just his fifth pitch of the outing.
“Being able to come back and pitch in this moment and help get us to the next round means everything to me,” Ekdall added. “I’m excited to finally be contributing part of a run like this.”
Blinn’s lineup picked up where it left off after run-ruling San Jacinto-North 12-1 in the semifinal round Friday.
The first seven Bucs reached base to begin the bottom of the first, highlighted by freshman catcher/designated hitter Zachary Tuxhorn’s grand slam to left field that opened the scoring. The home run was Tuxhorn’s 12th of the season, tying him with sophomore shortstop Jacob Bohacek for the team lead.
Later in the frame, sophomore utility Kason Atkins reached on an error that scored two more runs, and sophomore first baseman Drew Britton drew a bases-loaded walk to make it 7-0.
“I think once we got the first game of the tournament under our belts, the guys took a deep breath and relaxed,” Hart said of his offense. “They’re playing the game the right way, having good at-bats, and getting the right results because of it.”
In the third inning, sophomore outfielder Reece Lunsford drove in two runs with a single, Bohacek drew a bases-loaded walk, and Britton capped the scoring with an RBI single.
Blinn finished with six hits and nine walks.
Up next, the Bucs await the winners of the North Regional championship, Northeast Texas – the top seed in the North bracket. The super regional series will be played at a neutral site.
The Bucs are chasing a fourth consecutive trip to the NJCAA Division I Baseball World Series in Grand Junction, Colo.
“Winning the South regular-season title was checkbox number one, and the South regional was number two,” Hart said. “We have one more box to check before the big box in Grand Junction.”