GEORGE, Utah – Blinn College softball was one out away from winning its opening game but things didn’t go as planned as Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College came back to win 5-2 in the opener and then Howard College eliminated the Buccaneers with a 7-6 victory in the consolation bracket Friday afternoon in St. George.
Both games went into the ninth inning and both turned out as losses for Blinn to end the 2015 NJCAA Division I Softball Championship with a 2-2 record and a tie for fifth place. Blinn closes out the season with a 45-16 record overall.
In the opening game against Northeastern Oklahoma, Blinn held a 2-1 lead with two outs in the seventh but Northeastern was able to come back to tie the game at 2-2 and then break the game open with three in the ninth to beat the Buccaneers.
Courtney White had a solid game in the opener with a pair of singles and a double while knocking in a run. Delilah Pacheco and Seeley Orsak each had two hits in the loss.
Northeastern was able to score early with a single run in the first inning but Blinn came right back. Pacheco started with a single and then stole second. White was able to knock her in with a single through the right side to knot the game up at 1-1 after an inning.
Blinn loaded the bases in the fifth when Pacheco started with a double, Alli Spivey walked and White singled. With the bases loaded, Jordin Wilkins brought in a run with a sacrifice fly for a 2-1 lead but runners were left on second and third in the inning. Leaving those runners on hurt Blinn as Northeastern got a game-tying two-out hit to force extra innings with the score locked up at 2-2. Northeastern exploded for three runs in the ninth inning to win the game 5-2 and send Blinn to the elimination bracket.
Blinn looked deflated in the consolation game against Howard and trailed 6-0 after five innings but the Buccaneers were able to score six runs in the sixth and seventh innings to force extras. Unfortunately, extra innings again didn’t work out well for Blinn as Howard got a solo home run in the ninth to eventually take a 7-6 victory over Blinn.
White was a big reason for the comeback by Blinn as she hit two home runs and a single to knock in three of the six runs. Spivey hit three singles and scored a run. Wilkins and Avery Mullendore each had two hits in the loss.
Howard look good early with two runs in the second, a run in the third and three in the fifth for a 6-0 lead. White did help chip away at the lead in the sixth with a solo home run to left to get Blinn within 6-1.
Facing improbable odds, Blinn put together a rally in their last at bats in the seventh and it started with a double by Lara Cecchetti in her first at bat of the tournament. Cecchetti eventually score on a sacrifice fly hit by Kayla Lahrmann to get within 6-2 with two outs.
Pacheco kept the game alive with a double to score Mullendore to get within three. Pacheco then scored following a single by Spivey to make the score 6-4. White delivered the big blow with a two-run home run to center to tie the game at 6-6.
Wilkins nearly won the game following the White home run as her hit glanced off the top half of the fence for a double, just short of a home run and then Wilkins was stranded at second. Howard got the big hit with a solo home run in the ninth that turned out to be the game-winner for the 7-6 victory.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 32 NJCAA national championships since 1987. For more information, visit www.buccaneersports.com.
