The Blinn College baseball team has proven numerous times this season it possesses the type of offensive power put on display during a 21-10 victory over Navarro College on Monday at Leroy Dreyer Field in Brenham, Texas.
Now head coach Dusty Hart is ready for the Buccaneers to show it every game.
“After a couple of tough losses over the weekend, I thought we showed a lot of heart today,” Hart said. “We’ve either been really high or really low, so it was good to see us bounce back and have some confidence. This shows what we’re made of, but we have to be this same team every time we play.”
Blinn (12-11) came into Monday’s ballgame fresh off a 1-3 showing against Region XIV South rival San Jacinto College-North. The series was especially frustrating for the Bucs after they surged to a 23-5 win over the Ravens in game two of the series before scoring just two more runs combined in the final two matchups.
The Bucs broke out of their two-game slump in a big way against Navarro, pounding the Region XIV North leaders for 16 hits in eight innings before the game was called.
The Bulldogs kept things close in the early innings, using a two-run homer to take a first-frame lead before tying the game at 6-all with a four-run third.
(Pictured: Blinn’s Cade Climie hits a three-run home run against Navarro College on March 11, 2024)
Sophomore Cade Climie started Blinn’s big day with a game-tying two-run shot of his own in the home half of the first frame before the Bucs tacked on four more in the second. Sophomore Tanner Reaves’ RBI double started the scoring in the second inning, followed by an RBI single off the bat of sophomore Brandon Bishop. An error put sophomore Connor McGinnis on second base and allowed Bishop to score, and freshman Lane Allen followed with a line-drive single that plated McGinnis.
Climie struck again in a six-run fourth inning when he crushed a three-run homer off a light pole behind the left-field wall. A bases loaded walk drawn by sophomore Marshall Lipsey, an RBI single from freshman Ethan Gonzalez, and a sacrifice fly from Reaves made it 12-6.
McGinnis lifted a solo homer to right field in the fifth.
Navarro was within 13-10 after pushing across a run in the seventh, and still had the bases loaded with two outs before freshman pitcher Paxton Terveen came on to induce a lineout to end the threat.
“Paxton Terveen came in and proved to be the difference maker,” Hart said. “Navarro was one swing away from taking the lead, and he got us in the dugout.”
After the Bucs returned to their dugout, they promptly answered with another six-run frame to pull away for good.
Sophomore Coy DeFury ended the game with a two-run homer in the eighth.
(Pictured: Blinn’s Connor McGinnis races toward home plate during a game against Navarro College on March 11, 2024)
Bishop finished 4 for 5 with three RBIs and four runs scored, while Climie finished with a team-high five RBIs as part of his two-hit game. McGinnis, Allen, DeFury, and Gonzalez each had two hits. Gonzalez drove in three runs while Lipsey knocked in two.
On the mound, freshman starting pitcher Caden Marcum was the pitcher of record for Blinn after laboring through a four-inning start. He allowed six runs (earned) on three hits with three walks and six strikeouts.
Sophomores Jake Kolkhorst and Taylor Calcote combined for 1 2/3 innings of three-run relief. Following Terveen on the mound was sophomore Ben Bosse, who struck out one as he retired the Navarro side in the top of the eighth.
(Pictured: Blinn’s Caden Marcum delivers a pitch during a game against Navarro College on March 11, 2024)
“Navarro is a good team, and they are first place in the North for a reason,” Hart said. “They certainly weren’t just going to give in. I really think the bullpens were the difference today after each starter left the game pretty quickly. So give credit to our four relievers for helping us get the job done.”
Next up for Blinn is a three-game region series against Galveston College. The Bucs and Whitecaps are tentatively scheduled to begin the series at 6 p.m. on Thursday, March 14, in Brenham, but inclement weather could push the game to Wednesday, March 13. Visit www.buccaneersports.com for updates.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 45 NJCAA national championships since 1987.
