BUC BASEBALL ADDS ATHLETICISM & VERSATILITY TO FIELD IN 2020
Seventeen sophomores will lead Blinn College baseball
After finishing the season just one game shy of the 2019 NJCAA Division I Baseball World Series, the Blinn College Buccaneers amped up their roster in hopes of taking the 2020 season one step further to Grand Junction, Colo.
“I expect this to be a really exciting team to watch this season,” head coach Harvey McIntyre said. “We have a lot of new faces this season, but all of the new additions are extremely athletic and extremely versatile. Our returners know the hard work that it takes to be successful in our region and are all great leaders.”
Last year, the Buccaneers went 20-15 in conference play to claim the No. 2 seed in the Region XIV South Zone Division. After a second-place finish in the Region XIV Tournament, the Buccaneers ended the season with a 33-22 overall record.
Returning on the mound are John Chomko (Tomball), Kyle Gough (Cypress), Gavin LaBruyere (Spring), Otto Stacey (Houston) and AJ Irvin (Kingwood).
Chomko earned all-conference honors and was selected as a Texas-New Mexico Junior College all-star after finishing the season with a 5-2 record and two saves in 17 games. He struck out 56 batters in 50 innings.
Gough also was selected as a junior college all-star after finishing the season with a 3.63 earned run average in 17 1/3 innings. LaBruyere made three appearances and posted six strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings. Stacey threw 5 2/3 innings and Irvin pitched 4 1/3 innings.
Transfers Jack Driskell (Round Rock) and Caden Homniok (Sweeny) are contenders for starting roles this year.
Driskell made 17 appearances for McLennan Community College last season and recorded a 4-0 record with one save and a 3.68 earned run average. Texas A&M University transfer Homniok earned all-state honors as a shortstop in 2018 and at shortstop and pitcher in 2019 at Sweeny High School.
Freshmen Eric Oakes (Tomball), Dylan Theut (Fulshear), and Trevor Mott (Waxahachie) also are candidates for starting or contributing roles.
Oakes earned all-state and all-district honors at Tomball High School and was named the district MVP in 2017 and 2019. Theut earned all-state and all-district honors in high school at Fulshear and was named the district MVP in 2019. Mott shows promise as a left-handed pitcher who transferred from Fort Stott Community College.
Sophomores AJ Irvin (Kingwood), Timmy Richmond (Colleyville), Blake Wilson (Hockley) and Bryce Toney (Cypress), along with freshmen Blaine Romero (Spring), Dillon Smith (Montgomery), Jordan Phillips (Deer Park), Mason Muras (La Grange), and Patrick Hail (Arlington) are candidates for the relief pitching roles.
Irvin pitched 4 1/3 innings last season, while Richmond is a right-handed pitcher who transferred from Weatherford College. Wilson, a left-hander, transferred to Blinn from Western Texas College, where he appeared in 15 games, and Toney transferred from Panola College, where he posted eight strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings.
Romero earned all-district honors at Oak Ridge High School, Smith earned all-district honors at Montgomery High School, and Phillips helped lead Deer Park High School to a 6A State Championship in 2017 and earned all-district honors in 2018 and 2019. Muras was named the District 20-4A Pitcher of the Year in 2017 and earned first-team all-district honors in 2018 and 2019, while Hail was named the District 4-6A Most Valuable Pitcher at Arlington Martin High School in 2019.
“Our pitching has been very consistent in terms of attacking the strike zone from the starters to middle relief to closing,” McIntyre said. “We should be able to put up enough zeroes to be a successful pitching staff.”
Blinn returns three catchers in Preston Hoffart (Magnolia), Nick Wolff (Spring), and Bailey Deramus (Burton).
Hoffart earned all-conference honors and was selected as a junior college all-star as the team’s starting catcher in 2019. He posted a .248 batting average in 117 at-bats and a .997 fielding percentage. Wolff was selected as a junior college all-star after finishing the season with the team’s third highest batting average with a .333. Deramus served as the backup catcher and recorded a .960 fielding percentage in nine games.
Infielders Westley Schields (Houston) and Matt Crossley (Round Rock) return to the infield for the Buccaneers.
Schields is a middle infielder who was named a junior college all-star after totaling 25 runs and 35 hits in 139 at-bats. Crossley will start at first base this season after serving as a designated hitter last year. In 13 games and 22 at-bats, he tallied seven hits, scored five runs, and finished the season with a .318 batting average.
New to the infield are freshmen Dalton Davis (Montgomery), Brandon Williams (College Station), Caleb Schulz (Houston), Kam Kelton (Round Rock), Jack Schell (Houston), Chris Gutierrez (Houston), Homniok, and Oakes.
Davis is coming off a season in which he was named the offensive MVP at Montgomery High School. Williams earned all-district honors at College Station High School the past two seasons and Schulz earned all-district honors at Langham Creek High School. Kelton was named the offensive MVP and earned all-state honors at Stony Point High School. Schell played baseball at St. Thomas High School and Gutierrez played baseball for Lamar High School. When not pitching, Homniok and Oakes also serve as infielders.
Returning to the outfield are Brett Minnich (Colleyville) and Tyler Russell (West Columbia).
Texas A&M commit Minnich earned all-conference honors and was selected as a junior college all-star after finishing the season with a .318 batting average in 148 at-bats. Minnich led Blinn with 34 RBIs and six triples, and was second on the team with 47 hits, 31 runs, and 11 doubles. Russell played in 13 games and had 31 at-bats for the Buccaneers last season, where he tallied six hits and scored five runs.
Joining the Buccaneers in the outfield are freshmen Cole Brown (Colleyville), Graden Emmons (Dallardsville), Ben Hovda (Robstown), Jordan Phillips (Deer Park), Dillon Pawlik (Missouri City), Aaron Kohring (Burton), and Austin Bell (Katy).
Brown played baseball and football at Colleyville Heritage High School. Emmons earned all-state honors at Big Sandy High School, Hovda earned first-team all-district and offensive MVP honors at Tuloso-Midway High School, and Phillips earned all-district honors and helped lead Deer Park High School to a 6A state championship in 2017. Pawlik played baseball and football at Ridge Point High School, Kohring earned all-state honors and was named the district Co-MVP in 2017 and offensive MVP in 2018 and 2019 at Burton High School, and Bell played baseball, football and basketball for Tompkins High School.
This year’s squad also had 28 players earn a 3.0 grade point average or higher and garnered a 3.17 team GPA this fall.
“We returned some high-impact players and I really like the talent level of the newcomers, so we should be able to create a lot of ways to score,” McIntyre said. “I am looking forward to seeing this team progress throughout the spring and put ourselves in a good position to win the region and get back to Grand Junction.”
Blinn opens the 2020 season on the road with a 2 p.m. doubleheader against Angelina College on Saturday, Feb. 1.
For more information, visit www.buccaneersports.com.
(COURTESY; Tara Dreyer, Blinn Information)