The win was the Buccaneers’ first of the year and pushed their record to 1-4.
Aschenbeck, a second-year Buccaneer making his first start of the season, tossed five innings of masterful baseball. He struck out 10 and walked none, needing just 50 pitches to mow down the Bulldogs.
Neither Aschenbeck nor Boehm walked a hitter, but one Blinn error left the Buccaneers just shy of a perfect game.
“It was an absolute clinic,” Buccaneers head coach Harvey McIntyre said. “I think that’s what Evan Aschenbeck does for you; it’s strike after strike and there’s a pace to the game when he’s on the mound. Even though it was 1-0, our guys probably felt like it was 10-0 just because of the way he was in control of the baseball game.
“I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a young man execute that well and that was his first appearance of the year.”
Boehm came in to close out the gem and struck out one in his two innings of work.
“He had a job to do and he finished it out for us,” McIntyre said. “That’s not an easy job to do and he delivered.”
Aschenbeck, a Brenham High School graduate and Texas A&M commit, said the keys to success were consistency and efficiency. He applauded Boehm for his late-game mastery.
“Going into the game I knew it was going to be a challenge because Navarro is a really good, solid offensive team,” Aschenbeck said. “I knew I’d have to go in, compete, constantly mix pitches and keep them off-balanced, and I think I did a good job of that tonight.
“Then, what Gage did, that was huge for him to come in after sitting for those five innings while maybe anticipating coming in there at the end and not getting overhyped. He finished the game out perfectly and I couldn’t have asked for a better job out of him.”
Boehm, who pitched for A&M and Hill College in 2021 before joining Blinn last fall, said in a high-pressure situation he was prepared to finish what his teammates started.
“It was really awesome to see Evan go out there and do what he did,” Boehm stated. “It’s obviously something you’re aware of because you look up at the scoreboard and you see the zero in the hit column. But you just go out there and pitch and if it falls into place, it falls into place. It was special to me to be the guy that came in and finished it for him.”
Freshman Cash Callahan, who like Aschenback graduated high school in Washington County (Burton High School), delivered a two-out RBI single in the third inning that scored Cole Smajstrla.
Smajstrla, an outfielder, also was instrumental in the preservation of the no-hitter after making an impressive grab down the left-field line before ending the ballgame with a diving catch.
Blinn has Friday off before continuing tournament play against Grayson College at 10 a.m. Saturday at Nutrabolt Stadium in Bryan. The Buccaneers will conclude the tournament with a 10 a.m. ballgame Sunday against Howard College, also at Nutrabolt Stadium.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 42 NJCAA national championships since 1987.
