GALVESTON, Texas – Blinn College baseball was able to outhit Galveston College in both games of a series-opening doubleheader but Galveston put up bigger numbers on the part of the scoreboard that mattered most in sweeping the Buccaneers 14-8 and 3-2 Thursday evening.

With the pair of losses, the Buccaneers fall to 20-17 overall and 11-10 in Region XIV play.

Galveston 14 – Blinn 8

Blinn came out on fire and scored four runs in the first inning but Galveston controlled the game the rest of the way to open the series with a 14-8 victory.

Galveston outscored the Buccaneers 14-4 after the top of the first to pull away with the victory. Blinn was able to outhit Galveston 13 to 11 but left eight runners on base.

Sam McElreath brought in three of Blinn’s runs with a double and a single. Marshall Skinner, Tyler Fowler and Trent Murphy each had an RBI. Anthony Jones knocked a pair of doubles and a single for a 3-for-4 game in the loss. The Blinn pitching staff issued eight walks in six innings against Galveston.

Everything was coming up roses in the first inning as Blinn loaded the bases with a walk by Jay Anderson and a pair of singles by Jones and Colton Parrish. McElreath brought in three runs with a double to center for a 3-0 lead. Skinner made the score 4-0 with an RBI single to right to cap the scoring in the inning.

The lead disappeared quickly as Galveston scored three in the bottom of the first and four more in the second to take a 7-4 lead.

The Buccaneers looked to cut into the lead in the third as McElreath started it off with a one-out single and then scored on a wild pitch to get within 7-5. Fowler brought the Buccaneers within 7-6 with an RBI single to right. Galveston kept the scoring going with two runs in the third and fourth innings to take an 11-6 lead.

Anderson helped Blinn cut into the lead in the sixth with a leadoff single and then was able to score on a wild pitch to get within 11-7. Galveston padded its lead in the sixth with three additional runs for a 14-7 lead.

The Buccaneers put up a little fight in their final at-bats as Murphy blasted a solo home run to left to get Blinn within 14-8 with one out but that would be the final run scored in the loss.

Galveston 3 – Blinn 2

Blinn was able to storm back and tie the game late in the seventh inning and even outhit Galveston in the game but the Whitecaps were able to score the final run in the bottom of the seventh to earn the 3-2 victory to secure the sweep over the Buccaneers.

Offense was hard to come by for Blinn but the Buccaneers did outhit Galveston 10-8 in the nightcap. Angel De La Fuente hit a solo home run for one RBI and Murphy brought in the other run with a single. McElreath and Johnny Rizer hit a pair of singles while Tyler Fowler hit a single and a double in the loss.

Andrew Morgan pitched well enough to win most games as he lasted seven innings and allowed three earned runs on seven hits while striking out seven. Cody Collins came on and pitched a scoreless eighth inning to give Blinn a chance to comeback in the ninth.

Both teams struggled to score but Galveston built up a 2-0 lead with single runs in the fourth and sixth innings.

After six scoreless innings, De La Fuente put Blinn on the board with a solo home run to left with one out in the seventh to get within 2-1. Murphy later tied the game up at 2-2 with an RBI single to left. Galveston took the lead right back with a single run in the bottom of the seventh for a 3-2 lead that would hold up until the final out.

Blinn will meet up with Galveston for another doubleheader on Saturday, April 8 beginning at 3 p.m. at Leroy Dreyer Field.

Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 34 NJCAA national championships since 1987. For more information, visit www.buccaneersports.com.

 

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