BRYAN, Texas — The Blinn College baseball team (7-2) took down Howard College, 3-0, and No. 16 Navarro College, 8-6, to conclude the Brazos JUCO Classic on Saturday.
With the pair of wins, the Buccaneers concluded the tournament with a 3-1 record.
“I really think we became a team today and had three very good wins against some of the best teams in the state,” said Harvey McIntyre, Blinn head coach. “We had to overcome some things this weekend and did it together. We pitched and defended well, but most importantly, we made big strides offensively.”
Blinn 3 – Howard 0
Behind Gavin LaBruyere‘s solid pitching performance, the Buccaneers shutout Howard, 3-0, to open the doubleheader.
LaBruyere was phenomenal on the mound, pitching a complete seven-inning game and allowing just four hits, while striking out six.
Tyler Russell and Kam Kelton each knocked in one run, while Kelton, Dalton Davis, and Westley Schields scored one run apiece.
The game remained scoreless until Kelton hit a solo home run in the fourth inning for Blinn.
In the fifth inning, Davis stole home for the Buccaneers to double their lead.
Schields scored Blinn’s final run on a ground ball off the bat of Russell in the seventh inning.
Blinn 8 – No. 16 Navarro 6
Blinn came out on top of an offensive showdown against No. 16 Navarro, 8-6, to conclude the tournament.
Dalton Stevenson was phenomenal on offense, leading Blinn with three RBIs and one run. Caden Homniok led the Buccaneers with two runs.
Blaine Romero earned the win, pitching one inning and allowing two runs on two hits, while striking out three. AJ Irvin earned the save, not allowing one run in three innings.
Navarro took off with a 2-0 lead after scoring one run in each of the first and second innings. However, Blinn evened the score in the bottom of the second inning as Homniok hit a one-run triple and then scored on Stevenson’s sacrifice fly.
Navarro took back a 3-2 lead in the third inning and added three more runs in the fourth, but Blinn scored five runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to take a 7-6 lead for good. Stevenson started things off with a solo shot over the fence. Then, Blinn strung together four straight singles as Jack Schell and Brett Minnich each drove in runs. Schell scored the tying run on Kelton’s fielder’s choice. Blinn took the lead when Minnich scored on an error.
Blinn scored its final run in the fifth inning when Stevenson hit a double for Homniok to score.
Next, Blinn will travel to face off against Coastal Bend College in a doubleheader on Tuesday, Feb. 18, starting at 2 p.m.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 41 NJCAA national championships since 1987.