BLINN SOFTBALL’S 39-HIT ATTACK LEADS TO DOUBLEHEADER SWEEP OVER MIDLAND

Story by Joe Alberico, Blinn College Sports Information

The No. 7 Blinn College softball team piled up 39 hits – including 15 extra-base hits and eight home runs – and rode that offensive outburst to a doubleheader sweep of Midland College on Friday in Midland, Texas.

The Buccaneers outlasted the Chaparrals 15-9 in game one and earned a 12-8, eight-inning win in the finale.

"The girls battled in every inning," Blinn head coach Rick Church said, "and that's been their trademark all year. Regardless of whether the previous inning was a good one or a bad one, they keep coming at you, and that's a really good trait for a team to have."

At 12-2 overall, the Bucs are off to their best start since opening the 2014 season 11-3.

Blinn got going right out of the gate with the help of sophomore catcher Cadence Wiese.

Wiese hit her first of three homers on the day in the top of the first inning – a three-run shot that gave the visitors a 3-0 cushion.

Wiese kept it going with another three-run blast in the second frame.

Sophomore first baseman Daniela Lopez added a two-run single in the second to make it 8-0.

Midland got three runs back in its half of the second, but Blinn kept up the pressure with a three-run third.

Wiese drove in her seventh run of the game on a groundout, and freshman third baseman Lexis Moss and freshman shortstop Brianna Moreno hit back-to-back RBI doubles to make it an 11-3 game.

The Chaparrals made things interesting with five runs in the fifth, but the Bucs tacked on three insurance tallies in the sixth when Moss lifted a three-run homer to center field.

Blinn racked up 19 hits, with six players collecting at least two.

Freshman left fielder and leadoff hitter Skylar Flanagan went 4 for 5; Moreno finished 4 for 4 with four RBIs; and Moss went 3 for 5, falling a single shy of the cycle while totaling four RBIs. Wiese, Lopez, and sophomore center fielder Halle Scheel had two hits apiece. Lopez had two RBIs.

"We had a feeling at the beginning of the season that our lineup could show off some power, and it's good to see it coming from our sophomores and our freshman," Church said. "If we keep going at this pace we're on, this lineup could be one of the best we've ever had."

In the pitcher's circle, Bucs sophomore Brynn Gallamore started and combined with fellow sophomore Madisyn Bracknell to fend off Midland.

Gallamore (6-0) earned the win after allowing nine runs (seven earned) on six hits with five walks and three strikeouts across 4 1/3 innings of work. Bracknell provided 2 2/3 innings of relief in which she allowed two hits and one walk while punching out four.

In game two, Blinn was the beneficiary of another offensive eruption, but needed an extra inning to sweep the Chaparrals.

After building an 8-2 advantage heading into the bottom of the sixth inning, the Bucs found themselves in a stalemate after Midland posted six runs in their half of the frame.

A scoreless seventh for both teams set up Blinn's go-ahead rally in the eighth.

After Wiese doubled to lead off the extra inning, Moss smacked a homer to left field. Moreno then followed with a single before crossing the plate on a longball from sophomore second baseman Annie Beckendorf.

In the bottom of the eighth, Bracknell – who started for Blinn and returned after a brief relief appearance from Gallamore – got three outs around a pair of walks to seal the win.

"We need to get a little bit better at finishing innings, especially late in the game, but we gutted it out in the circle today and we got the job done," said Church.

Midland took a 1-0 lead in the first, but Blinn answered on a leadoff homer from Beckendorf in the second and run-scoring singles from Scheel and Wiese to put Blinn ahead 3-1.

The Chaparrals cut the Bucs' lead to 3-2 in the second.

In the third, freshman Kourtney Carter hit her first collegiate homer – a three-run shot to center – to make it 6-2.

Wiese sent her third homer of the day – a two-run bomb – to right in the sixth to make it 8-2.

After Midland rallied in the bottom of the sixth, Bracknell got the first two outs of the seventh inning before issuing consecutive walks. She then induced a lineout to left to send the game into extras.

Bracknell earned the win and improved to 3-1. She allowed five runs (four earned) on six hits with nine walks and six strikeouts.

The Bucs' lineup amassed 20 hits, including a four-hit showing for Wiese. Moss, Moreno, and Lopez each had three hits. Scheel and Beckendorf added two hits apiece.