San Jacinto won the seven-inning opener 7-1 before fending off the Buccaneers 11-8 in the finale.
Blinn is now 30-12 overall and 17-8 in the South Zone, with a two-game lead for first place in the region.
(Pictured: Blinn sophomore pitcher Sam Crain pitches against San Jacinto-North on April 10)
“Baseball is a sport where bad things happen to you,” Blinn head coach Dusty Hart said. “You’re going to get punched in the mouth and knocked down, but you have to be able to pull yourself up off the mat and have a short-term memory. We have a little dog fight on our hands now; it’ll be interesting over the next three weeks.”
Ten of the Bucs’ remaining 11 ballgames are region tilts, adding a bit of excitement to Blinn’s final stretch of the season.
“The ability to play every pitch like it’s the most important pitch in the world is the biggest separator in baseball,” Hart said. “Hopefully we don’t like feeling like we did today and will be ready to bounce back and play better baseball the rest of the way.”
In game one, the Ravens built a 3-0 lead before Blinn got on the board with an RBI single from freshman Kash Durkin in the home half of the fourth inning.
San Jacinto would tally four more runs in the top of the seventh, however, to pull away.
Sophomore starting pitcher Sam Crain worked through five innings of four-hit ball. He was the pitcher of record after allowing three runs (two earned) with eight strikeouts and three walks. Sophomore Victor Loa was charged with four earned runs in the seventh.
At the plate, the Bucs totaled five hits, including a pair for freshman Tanner Reaves.
Blinn fell in game two, but staged a ninth-inning rally that had the hosts within striking distance with no outs.
(Pictured: Blinn freshman Tanner Reaves connects with a pitch for a base hit during a game against San Jacinto-North on April 10)
Trailing 11-4 heading into the bottom of the inning, Reaves smacked a three-run homer and sophomore Tate Bethel drove in sophomore Ian Collier with an RBI single to make it 11-8 with no outs. The Bucs then managed to load the bases, but a strikeout with two outs ended Blinn’s threat.
“I’m proud of the guys for showing some fight in the ninth inning,” added Hart. ” … but when things are going badly, you need somebody to step up and make a play or a pitch or have a really good at bat. San Jacinto did that today and we didn’t. You have to give San Jacinto credit; they made pitches when they needed to make pitches and made plays when they needed to make plays, and we didn’t.”
Blinn finished with 11 hits, led by Reaves’ three-hit, three-RBI effort. He also doubled and scored twice. Freshman Coy DeFury had three hits, and freshman Jake Kolkhorst had a two-run home run as part of a two-hit game.
(Pictured: Blinn freshman pitcher Kaden Dydalweicz delivers a pitch during a game against San Jacinto-North on April 10)
Freshman Kaden Dydalweicz started the game for the Bucs and settled for a no-decision after lasting 2 1/3 innings. He gave up four runs (earned) on three hits with a strikeout and three walks.
Up next, Blinn begins a three-game South Zone series with Wharton County Junior College at 6 p.m. on Thursday, April 13, in Wharton, Texas. The two teams will then return to Brenham for a twin bill beginning at 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 16.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 43 NJCAA national championships since 1987.
