After LSU-Eunice rallied to earn a 5-4 victory in game one, the Buccaneers returned the favor with a seventh-inning run that proved to be the difference in a 4-3 win.
Blinn is now 11-24 overall following a pair of games that left Bucs head coach Rick Church impressed with his team’s performance.
“It was 14 innings of us competing at a higher level today against a very good LSUE team,” Church said. “Pitching, fielding, and hitting were all in sync today.”
In the opener, Chloee Mason tossed a complete game and was the tough-luck loser despite a fine performance in the circle. She allowed four earned runs on five hits with four strikeouts and a walk.
The Blinn offense tallied 10 hits, led by two apiece for Keely Castillo, Kayla Wallace, and Acie Prince. Wallace smacked a two-run home run in the top of the fourth and Castillo hit a solo shot in the first.
Teagan Whitley‘s sacrifice fly scored Chandler Talbot in the top of the fifth and made it a 4-4 ballgame, but the Bengals answered with a single run in the bottom of the frame to jump ahead for good.
The Bucs bounced back in game two with four runs in the final three innings.
Trailing 3-0 in the fifth frame, Blinn got going when Castillo plated Talbot with a single. Wallace later scored on an error and Prince singled to drive in Castillo to tie the game.
In the seventh, Wallace belted her second homer of the day to put the Bucs on top.
Kaitlyn Sadler put the finishing touches on Blinn’s second complete-game effort of the day, retiring the Bengals in order in the home half of the seventh to end the game.
Sadler surrendered two earned runs on six hits and did not issue a walk.
The Bucs continue their season on the road with a twin bill at Region XIV South foe Coastal Bend College beginning at 1 p.m. Wednesday, April 6.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 42 NJCAA national championships since 1987.
