The season came to an end for the Blinn College softball team at the Region XIV Tournament on Monday in Houston.
The Buccaneers succumbed to Tyler Junior College 9-7 in consolation play to close out a successful season.
Blinn (34-20-1) had its opportunities against the Apaches, but failed to tack on insurance runs after leaving 11 baserunners stranded.
“We were ahead and then we were down, but we came back to tie the game and eventually grabbed the lead, but too many little things added up,” Bucs head coach Rick Church said. “We took ourselves out of some innings because of baserunning mistakes, and we gave Tyler an opening due to some defensive errors. A team like Tyler will capitalize on those mistakes, and they did.”
A sacrifice fly from freshman Bailey Boetjer, a steal of home by sophomore Erynne Castillo, and an RBI single off the bat of freshman Kayden Harms had Blinn ahead 3-0 in the top of the third.
The Apaches answered with three runs of their own in the home half of the inning and took a brief lead with a solo tally in the fifth.
The Bucs answered with four runs in the sixth, highlighted by a two-run go-ahead double from Boetjer, but Tyler fought right back with five runs in the bottom of the frame.
Blinn out-hit the Apaches 12-10 behind two-hit ballgames for Castilllo, Harms, sophomore Ripley Welker, and freshman Haley Hughes.
In the pitcher’s circle, Peyton Welker was charged with the loss. The sophomore allowed four runs (earned) on six hits with three walks and four strikeouts across 5 2/3 innings. Freshman Bella De Los Santos got one out in the sixth, but was unable to finish the inning before Peyton Welker returned to get the final two outs.
Despite the early postseason exit, Blinn took a substantial step forward this season. The Bucs were in the mix for first place in the Region XIV South Zone through their final regular-season game, and also earned impressive victories over then-fifth-ranked Grayson College and top-ranked McLennan Community College.
“We definitely made some progress as a program and you always like to see that,” Church added. “We had some quality wins against some good teams this year, it’s just a shame this team couldn’t get their payoff by advancing a little further.”
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 47 NJCAA national championships since 1987.
