BRENHAM, Texas – There seems to be no place like home for Blinn College softball as it beat up on visiting Iowa Western Community College in two games by the score of 5-1 and 9-1 Feb. 18 at Hohlt Park in Brenham.

Pitching for the Buccaneers controlled the game as Mariah Gibson threw seven innings in the opening game for the win while striking out nine and allowing only one run. Jaiden Rawls pitched the second game and tossed five innings in the shortened game and struck out two to boost the Blinn record to 10-7 overall on the year.

Gibson also contributed a big chunk of the offense as she knocked in a total of eight runs in the two games with the hot bat. Delilah Pacheco picked up four singles in the two games and scored four times while Alli Spivey contributed three singles and also scored four times.

Iowa Western did strike first in the opening game with a single run in the first inning but Gibson leveled the game in the second with a solo home run to left center to knot the game at 1-1.

The momentum stayed with Blinn in the third as Pacheco and Spivey singled and Jordan Wilkins reached on a fielder’s choice to load the bases for Gibson to lace a three-run double to give the Buccaneers a 4-1 lead. Wilkins brought in an insurance run in the fifth with an RBI double to score Pacheco for a 5-1 lead. Gibson didn’t allow a base runner for the final two innings to close out the win.

The Buccaneers never let Iowa Western lead in the second game as Blinn went right to work in the first. Pacheco and Spivey each reached with a single and then Gibson brought in a run with a ground out and then Rawls helped her own cause with an RBI single for a 2-0 lead after one.

Iowa Western did get one back in the second but the game didn’t stay that close for long. Spivey started the third with her second consecutive single and then was brought in by an RBI double by Gibson for a 3-1 advantage.

The big inning came in the fourth when Jazzmin Fritz and Kayla Lahrmann each hit a single with one out and both later scored. Pacheco brought in a run with an RBI single and then Gibson nailed a two-run triple to right for an 8-1 lead after four innings.

Blinn went for the kill early as Avery Mullendore ripped a double to begin the fifth and then was able to come around and score to end the game early with a 9-1 final.

Blinn will hit the road this weekend in the Temple College Tournament that starts Feb. 20 with a game against Labette Community College at 9 a.m. The Buccaneer will play five total games in the tournament.

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