The Buccaneers fell 3-1 in the opener before closing the day with a 15-5 rout. Blinn won the four-game series against the Whitecaps with three wins.
Blinn (26-8, 14-4 Region XIV South) had a rough start to the twin bill, managing just two hits in game one.
“It was just one of those games,” Bucs head coach Dusty Hart said. “We started the day playing about as badly as we possibly could. We didn’t make routine plays behind our pitchers and that led to the score. You have to earn the right to win; you can’t just show up, walk on the field, and win the game. You have to make play and we didn’t.”
Freshman Luke Smith gave Blinn a 1-0 lead on an RBI ground out in the top of the second frame, but the Bucs managed just two singles the rest of the way.
Galveston scored twice in the home half of the third.
Blinn sophomore starting pitcher Victor Loa lasted 2 2/3 innings and was charged with two unearned runs. He gave up two hits, walked four, and struck out three. Freshman reliever Hunter Bond allowed one hit in 3 1/3 frames of work. He fanned two.
The Buccaneer offense rebounded in game two, rallying out of a 4-1 with a pair of five-run frames.
The Whitecaps scored twice in the first and second innings, but Blinn freshman pitcher Bryson Dudley settled in two toss a scoreless third and fourth frame.
The Bucs got going on freshman Coy DeFury‘s RBI double in the top of the third, and two innings later jumped ahead with five runs. Freshman Tony Vernars singled, leading to an error that scored freshman Tanner Reaves and sophomore Ian Collier and tied the game at 4-all.
Two hitters later, Vernars scored on a wild pitch to push the Bucs ahead 5-4. Freshman Jake Kolkhorst scored on a wild pitch to push Blinn’s lead to two.
DeFury and Koklhorst each smacked RBI singles in the sixth, freshman Marshall Lipsey plated a run when he reached on an error, and freshman Brandon Bishop drove in Smith with a single to make it 11-4.
The Bucs added a run in the eighth and three more in the ninth.
Blinn finished with 14 hits and 12 walks.
Bishop doubled as part of a four-hit, three-RBI game. DeFury had two hits and Kolkhorst had two. Collier had four walks and Reaves drew three.
“Our offense definitely flipped things in the right direction,” Hart said. “We missed far too many good pitches in the first game, but in the finale, we started squaring up fastballs and were swinging at good pitches to hit.”
Sophomore pitcher Sam Crain earned the victory in relief. He allowed an unearned run across three innings. He struck out three and walked two while allowing two hits. Sophomore Tate Bethel worked a scoreless eighth and ninth to finish out the victory.
The Buccaneers will visit Navarro College for a non-conference tilt at 2 p.m. on Monday, March 27, in Corsicana, Texas.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 42 NJCAA national championships since 1987.
