The Blinn College baseball team dropped a doubleheader to Grayson College on Friday at Leroy Dreyer Field in Brenham, Texas.
The Buccaneers fell 2-1 a seven-inning opener and could not get back on track in an 11-6 loss in game two.
Blinn is now 5-8 overall.
“You’re not going to win baseball games unless you play good baseball,” Bucs head coach Dusty Hart said. “It doesn’t matter who is in the other dugout, and that is the beautiful thing about the game of baseball. You have to execute in order to win the game, whether you are playing the number one team in the country or a team with a losing record, you have to do the right things to win.”
In game one, Blinn got a quality start on the mound from sophomore pitcher Brendan Sweeney, but was unable to provide much support for the right-hander at the plate.
Sweeney tossed six sparkling innings of four-hit ball in which he walked three and struck out two. He exited the game with the Bucs leading 1-0.
“He had a great game and he’s been great for us all year,” Hart said. “It was unfortunate we couldn’t pull that one out for him.”
Freshman pitcher Caden Ferraro worked the seventh inning, but the Vikings staged a two-out rally and scored two runs on an RBI single to pull ahead for good.
Blinn finished with five hits — all singles — and scored its lone run on a wild pitch in the bottom of the second frame.
The Bucs’ offense fared much better with 11 hits in game two, but a quartet of pitchers was unable to keep Grayson at bay.
Sophomore Tanner Reaves went 3 for 4 with a two-run home run and three runs batted in, and two others collected two hits for Blinn.
On the mound, sophomore righty Kaden Dydalewicz lasted three innings in his fourth start of the year. He was charged with six runs (five earned) on five hits. He struck out six Vikings and walked just one.
Grayson led 6-0 going into the bottom of the third inning, but Blinn broke up the shutout when freshman Tavion Vaughns drew a bases loaded walk.
(Pictured: Blinn sophomore Tanner Reaves puts a ball into play during a game against Grayson College on Feb. 23, 2024)
In the fourth frame, Reaves sent a line drive over the right-field fence to make it an 8-3 ballgame. Reaves smacked an RBI single in the seventh, and sophomore Marshall Lipsey reached on an error in the eighth that scored two more runs.
“It has sort of been the microcosm of our season; one game we hit and don’t pitch well, and the next game we pitch well and don’t hit,” Hart said. “You have to go out and do what the game asks you to do. We’re just not doing a good job of that right now.”
Blinn and Grayson will conclude their four-game series with a doubleheader beginning at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 24, in Brenham.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 45 NJCAA national championships since 1987.
