BLINN SOFTBALL SWEEPS DOUBLEHEADER OVER SAN JAC

Story by Joe Alberico, Blinn College Sports Information

The Blinn College softball team rallied for a pair of Region XIV South victories over San Jacinto College-South on Wednesday at Hohlt Park in Brenham, Texas.

The Buccaneers picked up a 7-6 victory in game one before prevailing 3-2 in the finale.

Blinn (12-20 overall, 8-4 South) has won six consecutive South games and remained in second place in the standings.

"We got two really important conference wins today," said Bucs head coach Rick Church. "San Jacinto kept things interesting with a little help from our defense today, but we found a way to overcome that. Hopefully we've found some momentum for the second half of region play."

Blinn was forced into rally mode from the outset Wednesday as the Ravens grabbed a 3-0 lead in the first inning of game one.

The Bucs got one back in their half of the frame when freshman Annie Beckendorf poked an RBI single to left field, but San Jacinto added another tally in the top of the second for a 4-1 cushion.

Blinn erased its deficit permanently in the bottom of the second when sophomore Bailey Boetjer made it 4-2 on a bases loaded sacrifice fly, only for freshman Cadence Wiese to follow with a go-ahead three-run home run to right field.

Wiese said her approach at the plate in a big moment was simple.

"Just sing a song and not think about the moment," explained Wiese, who said her walk-up song, "Still Fly," by the rap group Big Tymers, was racing through her head as she readied herself at the plate. "You just have to find ways to maintain your composure and stay zoned in, and in that moment I was able to do that; really, all of us were able to do that today."

San Jac tied the game in the third inning, but Blinn took the lead for good in the fourth when freshman Brynn Gallamore singled in Beckendorf and Wiese for a permanent lead.

Blinn finished with 11 hits, led by two-hit efforts for Wiese, Beckendorf, and freshman leadoff hitter Halle Scheel. 

The Ravens scored their final tally in the fifth, but from there, Blinn sophomore starting pitcher Paige Bunting shut the visitors down.

She set San Jacinto down in order in the sixth and seventh innings to seal her fifth win of the season. She allowed four earned runs on nine hits with five walks and five strikeouts. 

Middle-inning offense helped the Bucs past the Ravens in game two.

Blinn opened the scoring on sophomore Darian DeLeon's RBI single in the third, only for San Jacinto to pull ahead with a two-run fourth.

The Bucs responded immediately when Beckendorf led off the bottom of the inning with her fourth homer of the season.

DeLeon then gave her team the lead for good in the fifth with a sacrifice fly.

Beckendorf notched two hits to pace her team's seven-hit attack.

The Bucs' pitching staff did the rest, as two freshmen limited the Ravens to one earned run.

Madisyn Bracknell worked 5 1/3 innings for her first collegiate win. She allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits with one walk and a pair of punchouts. Brynn Gallamore came on with one out in the sixth and earned the five-out save. She walked two and struck out one.

"Paige battled to get the win for us in game one, and then Madisyn followed with a great performance before Brynn followed with a solid effort for the save," Church said. "You can be proud of performances like the ones we got from our pitchers today."

Up next, Blinn will face Alvin Community College in a Region XIV South twin bill at 2 p.m. on Monday, March 31, at Hohlt Park.