“I have high expectations of winning our conference and going and winning at regionals,” said Blinn head coach Rick Church, who was inducted into the NJCAA Hall of Fame last year. “We’ve had an absence from nationals since 2015 and it’s time to get ourselves back in that kind of profile again.”
Blinn opens the 2022 season with a doubleheader against No. 16 Chipola College at 1 p.m. Friday at Hohlt Park in Brenham.
The squad will be led by six returning sophomores, including infielder Keely Castillo, outfielder Chandler Talbot, third baseman Natilee Reed, pitcher/first baseman Skylar Shanahan, catcher/first baseman Acie Prince, and pitcher/first baseman Kendall Johnson.
The Buccaneers also added sophomore transfers Kayla Wallace (outfielder from Stephen F. Austin), Teagan Whitley (outfielder from McNeese State University), and Kaitlyn Sadler (pitcher from McLennan Community College).
“We have some experience coming back, but then we have a lot of youth that we’re excited to see grow over the next several months,” Church said. “We’ve got a lot of young players who can move around and play different positions, and that’s going to open up a lot of opportunities for different players. A lot of playing time develops players and builds cohesiveness and the chemistry needed to play and compete as a unit.”
Church said he expects to move some different players around in the infield, especially as his versatile pitching staff takes shape.
Shanahan and Johnson can also double as first basemen, while Sadler and freshman pitcher Chloee Mason also will compete for innings. Shanahan appeared in eight games as a freshman, while Johnson made two appearances.
“Our pitching staff is going to be untested heading into the season,” Church said. “You only get to play 12 games in the fall, so you don’t get a lot of innings, and the innings you do get are sort of put under the microscope, but with a 52-game schedule our pitchers will have time to develop. They’re going to have their opportunities.”
Church added that in the early part of the season, the Bucs will use a “staff mentality” in the pitcher’s circle, but hopes by February, a staff ace will emerge.
“Before long, we should have an idea of who we need to hand the ball to more often,” he said.
Offensively, Talbot – a pure slap hitter – is slated to leadoff for Blinn. Freshman Madeline Stephenson spent most of the fall in the No. 2 hole behind Talbot, and Church said that could be the way he deploys his lineup this weekend against Chipola.
Castillo is expected to be a threat in the lineup after hitting .360 with 13 doubles, two triples, four home runs, and 30 runs batted in in 36 games last year.
Talbot and Castillo lauded their team’s mix of power and speed and said the Buccaneer lineup could pack a punch this season.
“We’ve got girls who are going to find a way to get on base, steal a bag or two, and then let our big hitters drive them in,” Talbot said. “There isn’t an easy out in our lineup.”
Added Castillo: “We have a lot of serious power in the middle of our lineup, along with a lot of speed on the bases. We have the speed to turn singles and doubles into doubles and triples, or girls who are just going to put the ball over the fence. It’s exciting.”
Blinn will need to put it all together to excel in a tough Region XIV South Zone, which features perennial contender and eighth-ranked San Jacinto College-South, as well as a returning Angelina College. The Buccaneers finished second in the South Zone last season with a 13-5 record.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 42 NJCAA national championships since 1987.
