BRENHAM, Texas – The offense turned on for Blinn College baseball in the second game as the Buccaneers scored nine runs on eight hits to earn a 9-1 victory in eight innings over Laredo Community College to close the series Saturday afternoon at Leroy Dreyer Field in Brenham.
Laredo did get the better of Blinn in the opener of the doubleheader 7-3 to earn a split. With the split, Blinn’s overall record moves to 23-27 and 13-23 in the Region XIV South Zone standings.
Laredo 7 – Blinn 3
In a tie game after three innings, Laredo was able to pull away from Blinn in the latter innings to grab a 7-3 victory in the opening game of the doubleheader.
Patrick King brought in a pair of runs with a single while Elijah MacNamee knocked in a run with a single. Angel De La Fuente hit a pair of singles while Austen Swift hit a single and a double in the loss.
Blaine Suehs was saddled with the loss in the start after giving up only two earned runs in 4 2-3 innings while striking out six in the loss.
Laredo was able to jump out early with two runs in the first inning but Blinn was able to battle back into the game. De La Fuente started off the second inning for Blinn with a walk and later came in to score on a line drive single to center by King to get the Buccaneers within 2-1 after two.
The Buccaneers went after the lead in the third when Colton Parrish led off with a walk and later came around to score on an RBI ground out to knot the game at 2-2 after three. Laredo took the lead back with two runs in the fifth to take a 4-2 lead.
Swift helped Blinn get within one run with a leadoff double and then came in to score on a bunt laid down by King to get within 4-3 of Laredo. That would be the final run scored by the Buccaneers as Laredo scored three insurance runs in the seventh to make the final score 7-3 to take the first game.
Blinn 9 – Laredo 1
Blinn jumped out early on Laredo and that made all the difference as the Buccaneers scored the first four runs and rode that to a 9-1 victory over Laredo in eight innings.
Hillin Warren came through for Blinn with three RBIs and a double. Swift knocked in two runs with a single while Jay Anderson had an RBI on the game. Sam McElreath hit his third home run of the season to supplement the offense as well.
Justin Penney got the win on the mound to move to 4-0 on the season by pitching six innings without giving up an earned run while striking out nine. Cody Moos came on in relief and pitched the final two scoreless innings with a strikeout.
Blinn got going in the opening inning as Anderson started it with a one-out single and then came around to score on a fielder’s choice hit by Swift for the first run. Warren doubled in two runs in the next at bat to give Blinn a 3-0 lead. McElreath started off the second inning with a solo home run to right-center for a 4-0 advantage.
Laredo got on the board in the third with a single run to get within 4-1 but Blinn got that run right back. MacNamee started the inning with a double and later came in to score on a sacrifice fly by Swift to left for a 5-1 edge after three.
The Buccaneer lead continued to grow in the sixth when Warren reached base on a walk and the scored the sixth Blinn run on an error. McElreath later scored in the inning on a double steal to give the Buccaneers a 7-1 lead.
Blinn kept the offense going in the seventh when Swift singled with one out and then came around to score on a sacrifice fly by Warren for an 8-1 lead. With the bases loaded in the eighth, Anderson had a chance to end the game an inning early and ripped a single to center to score McElreath for a 9-1 victory to earn a split of the doubleheader.
Blinn will play its final series of the season starting with a doubleheader on the road on Thursday, May 5 at San Jacinto College-North starting at 4 p.m.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 34 NJCAA national championships since 1987. For more information, visit www.buccaneersports.com.
