TEMPLE, Texas – Blinn College finished off the Temple College Tournament by coming away with a 7-3 victory over Butler Community College and a 9-7 win over Tyler Junior College Feb. 21 in Temple.

The Buccaneers finished the tournament with a glossy 4-1 record to improve the overall record to 14-8 now as the team starts to gain positive momentum.

Against Butler to open the day, Jaiden Rawls pitched a solid game in the circle going seven innings and only allowing three runs while she also nailed a solo home run. Mariah Gibson added a home run of her own and knocked in two runs in the win.

Butler actually was the first to score in the fourth inning with a single run but Blinn came right back in the same inning. Rawls helped out her own pitching effort by tying the game at 1-1 with a solo home run. Lara Cecchetti followed two batters later with an RBI single to center to score Katie Andrie, who singled after the Rawls homer, for a 2-1 lead.

Butler tied the game at 2-2 in the fifth but then the Buccaneers came back for their lead in the same inning. With two outs, Courtney White drew a walk and then was followed by a two-run home run by Gibson for a 4-2 lead. Rawls followed with a single and scored after a double by Andrie for a 5-2 lead. Cecchetti drove in the sixth run with a single to left to score Andrie to build a four-run lead.

Delilah Pacheco helped to add an insurance run with a single to begin the sixth and then later scored on an error for a 7-2 lead. Butler added a run in the seventh but Blinn held on for the 7-3 victory.

With the score all tied up at 4-4 against Tyler in the second game, Rawls delivered a huge grand slam for an 8-4 lead and then Blinn tacked on another to help the Buccaneers come away with a 9-7 victory.

Rawls drove in four runs while White drove in a pair to go with two singles and a double. Gibson picked up the win on the mound as only two of the seven runs scored were earned and she struck out six in the win.

Tyler grabbed a 2-0 lead after scoring single runs in the first and second innings but Blinn would come right back in the fifth. White tied the game up with a two-run double to center and then Alli Spivey, who singled earlier in the inning, was able to score on a wild pitch for a 3-2 lead. Gibson capped the scoring in the inning with an RBI single to left to score White for a 4-2 lead.

The lead wouldn’t hold as Tyler scored a single run in the fifth and sixth innings to knot the game at 4-4.

The seventh inning is where the majority of the runs were scored as Blinn loaded the bases for Rawls and she emptied them with a grand slam for an 8-4 lead. Kayla Lahrmann brought in an additional run with an RBI single to center to score Meghann Wrinkle for a 9-4 lead. Tyler made it interesting in the final half of inning by scoring three runs but Blinn was able to hold for the 9-7 win.

Blinn will be back home Feb. 24 when it hosts Angelina College for a pair of games starting at 2 p.m.

Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 30 NJCAA national championships since 1987. For more information, visit www.buccaneersports.com.