The Buccaneers won 4-3 in extra innings before winning a 9-8 nailbiter to end the day. Blinn bounced back from a loss to Coastal Bend on Thursday to win the three-game series.
The Bucs improved to 9-19 overall and 5-9 in the South Zone.
“I’m very proud of our entire team’s effort today,” Blinn head coach Harvey McIntyre said. “We were backed into a corner and they poured it out and found a way to win game one in extras before coming back from a big deficit in game two.”
In the opener, the Bucs got a walk-off RBI single from Luke Nail in the bottom of the eighth to earn the win. Sean Monsour scored on the base hit.
Blinn finished with 15 hits, led by three apiece for Garrison Weiss and Dave Wilson. Nail, Bo Rodgers, and Jett Garcia each had a pair of hits. Nail, Weiss, Rodgers, and Chase Arnaud had RBIs for the Bucs.
Reliever Eric Oakes earned the win on the mound with two innings of scoreless relief. He allowed three hits, walked one and struck out two. Gage Boehm started for Blinn and lasted 4 2/3 innings. He surrendered two runs (both earned) on five hits with three strikeouts and three walks.
(Pictured: Blinn College’s Gage Boehm)
Will Gross also pitched 1 1/3 innings for Blinn and allowed one earned run on one hit with two strikeouts and a walk.
After Coastal Bend took a 1-0 lead in the second inning, Blinn responded with single runs in the second, third, and fourth frames. The Cougars scored once in the fifth and again in the top of the seventh to tie it at 3-all.
The Buccaneers prevailed again to finish the day, using a big fourth inning to overcome a five-run deficit.
After Coastal Bend opened a 6-1 lead heading into the bottom of the fourth, Blinn’s offense exploded for seven runs in its half of the frame to pull ahead for good.
Monsour provided what proved to be the winning run with a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth.
The Cougars pushed across two runs in the top of the seventh, but Ryan Young shut the door to secure the win for the Bucs.
Wilson drove in two runs for Blinn, and Monsour, Rodgers, Garcia, Liam Koleci, and Cole Smajstrla each had one RBI.
(Pictured: Blinn College’s Jett Garcia)
Arnaud finished with two hits, and Wilson and Rodgers both doubled.
Young earned the victory with three innings of relief. He allowed two runs (both earned) on two hits with four punchouts and one walk. Drake started for Blinn and tossed four innings.
“We had extremely competitive at-bats all day, and we executed in multiple ways,” McIntyre said. “I’m also very proud of the efforts on the mound today from Gage, Will (Gross), Colten (Drake) and Young.”
The Bucs get back to work Tuesday when they host Galveston for a South Zone tilt at 6 p.m. at Fireman’s Park.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 42 NJCAA national championships since 1987.
