Looking for its second Region XIV series sweep of the season, the Blinn College baseball team refused to let a little rain get in the way.
After earning an 8-7 game-one victory (10 innings) over Galveston College, the Buccaneers closed out the doubleheader with a 6-5 triumph following an almost two-hour rain delay Friday in Galveston, Texas.
Each of the three games in the series were decided by two runs or less and went the way of Blinn, which improved to 15-11 overall and 7-3 in region play.
“It was a really hard-fought series – probably as intense of a series as we’ve played all year, and each game really could have gone either way,” Bucs head coach Dusty Hart said. “Nobody wanted to give up; nobody wanted to give in. We’re really proud of the team for overcoming some adversity again and pulling these last two out.”
The opener of the twin bill was a back-and-forth affair that saw four lead changes before being settled in the top of the 10th frame.
With one out in the inning, sophomore slugger Cade Climie blasted his second home run of the game and seventh of the season to give Blinn the lead for good.
Climie went 3 for 5 with three RBIs, including a solo shot in the fourth frame that tied the game 2-2. Later in the fourth, sophomore Marshall Lipsey sent a two-run homer to right field to give the Bucs a 4-2 advantage.
The Whitecaps tied the game with two runs in the fifth before sophomore Connor McGinnis’ two-run homer – his eighth of the year – put Blinn back on top.
Galveston tallied three runs in the sixth to take its final lead of the game.
In the top of the seventh, sophomore Brandon Bishop drew a two-out walk and advanced to second base on a wild pitch. Freshman Caden Ferraro then singled on a ground ball to right field to tie the game once again.
For the game, Blinn finished with eight hits. McGinnis matched Climie with three hits, including a double, to go with two RBIs.
Freshman Lucas Davenport started the game on the mound for the Bucs and lasted four innings. He allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits with two walks and two strikeouts. Sophomore Jake Kolkhorst shined in an extended relief appearance, earning the win behind 4 1/3 dazzling frames. He allowed just one hit while punching out two and walking two.
“Being the visitors in an extra-inning game is never fun,” Hart said. “If the home team scores first, it’s over, but if the visitor scores first, then you still have to go back out and get three outs. For Jake to get in there and get us 13 outs and close the door in the 10th was huge.”
Game two also came down to the wire after the Whitecaps staged a fifth-inning rally before rain invaded the ballpark.
Following the long delay, with the game tied at 5-all, Blinn came to bat in the sixth and pieced together a one-out rally. Lipsey was hit by a pitch and freshman Ethan Gonzalez singled. Sophomore Coy DeFury then walked to load the bases and sophomore Tony Vernars plated Lipsey with a sacrifice fly.
Gonzalez went 3 for 3 with a pair of runs scored, and Vernars finished with a triple a team-high four RBIs.
On the mound, sophomore Brendan Sweeney worked through some shaky Blinn defense to earn the victory in a five-inning stint. He allowed one earned run on six hits with two strikeouts and a walk.
Sophomore Ben Bosse recorded the save with two perfect innings of relief. He struck out four.
“The ends of those two games were definitely big-time moments for both Jake and Ben,” Hart said. “They both put the team on their shoulders there and really carried us to two big wins.”
Blinn’s season resumes with a four-game region set against Wharton County Junior College beginning at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, March 19, in Wharton, Texas.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 45 NJCAA national championships since 1987.
