GALVESTON, Texas – Blinn College softball created a little cushion on top of the Region XIV South Zone standings with a pair of victories over Galveston College by the score 5-3 and 9-3 April 1 in Galveston.
Blinn improved its conference record to 11-1 and 29-11 overall and the next closest team in the South Zone has four losses.
In the first game, Blinn was able to get three runs in the sixth inning that helped it come away with a 5-3 victory. Avery Mullendore was a good source of offense by batting in two of the five runs with a double. Katie Andrie hit a double and a single while knocking in a run in the win. Meghann Wrinkle and Seeley Orsak each had an RBI in the opening game.
Mariah Gibson pitched all seven innings in the win and struck out seven while only two of the three runs were earned against Gibson.
Galveston jumped out ahead in the first inning with a single run but Blinn battled back in the second inning. Gibson started it with a single and then was followed with an RBI double by Andrie to center to tie the game up. Orsak gave the Buccaneers the lead with a single to score Andrie for a 2-1 lead.
Blinn tacked on more runs in the sixth as Courtney White started it with a single and Andrie followed two batters later with a single. Wrinkle brought in a run with a single to center to score White for a 3-1 lead. Mullendore delivered a big blow with a two-run double to left to give Blinn a 5-1 lead. Galveston added two runs in the sixth but that would be as close as the Whitecaps would get as Blinn won 5-3 to open the series.
Jordin Wilkins was on fire at the plate in the second game, going 4-for-5 with two home runs, two singles and four RBIs to fuel the Buccaneers to a 9-3 victory. Jaiden Rawls was the beneficiary of all the run support in the circle as she pitched all seven innings and allowed only three runs.
Mullendore, Lara Cecchetti and Andrie each had an RBI in the second game. Alli Spivey, Andrie, Mullendore and Kayla Lahrmann each had two hits in the win.
Blinn started with the offense early as Wilkins popped a solo home run for a 1-0 lead. Rawls was hit by a pitch following the home run and then was brought in by a double by Andrie for a 2-0 lead. Cecchetti supplied the third run with a double to center to cap the scoring in the opening inning.
Wilkins supplied her second RBI in as many innings as she singled to left to score Delilah Pacheco for a 4-0 lead in the second inning. Galveston got on the board with a single run in the second to get within 4-1 after two.
Lahrmann helped to bring the lead back to four runs with a single to left to score Mullendore for a 5-1 lead in the third inning. The scoring just continued in the fourth when Spivey reached on a single and then trotted home after a home run by Wilkins, her second of the game and fourth RBI to make the score 7-1. Galveston scored a single run in the fifth to get within 7-2.
Blinn capped its scoring in the sixth inning when Orsak scored on an error for the eighth run and then Mullendore supplied the ninth and final Blinn run with a double to left to score Andrie for a 9-2 lead. Galveston scored a single run in the sixth inning to make the game appear closer but Blinn closed out the 9-3 win in the following inning.
Blinn will again be on the road April 2 as it faces Lamar State College-Port Arthur for a double-header that begins at 12 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.
