WHARTON, Texas – After falling in extra innings in the first game, Blinn College baseball battled back in the second game and came out fast with four runs in the first inning on its way to a 6-2 victory over Wharton County Junior College in Wharton March 4.
The win in the second game helped Blinn to split the pair of games as the conference record moves to 4-6 and 12-7 overall.
Hunter Lehman was big in the second game as he knocked in two runs with a double and a single in the win. Reed Robinson, Stephen Stuart and Ben Upton each had an RBI in the game. Christian Thames got the win on the mound by pitching six innings and only one of two runs allowed was earned while striking out five.
Blinn got all the runs it needed in the first inning and it started with Patrick King getting hit by a pitch and then later came around to score on a Wharton County error for the first run. Lehman made the score 2-0 after an RBI double to left to score Cullen Jozwiak.
Upton added to the tally in the first with a sacrifice fly to score Lehman and then Stuart added a sacrifice fly of his own to score Jager Toffan for a 4-0 lead after a half inning. Wharton was able to get two runs on the board in the second inning but that would be the final runs scored by Wharton County.
Blinn did add a couple of additional runs in the fourth and seventh innings. In the fourth, Stuart got a rally started with a single with one out and Robinson was able to knock him in with a single to left for a 5-2 lead. In the seventh, King drew a one-out walk and Lehman earned his second RBI with a single for a 6-2 lead that ended up being the final score.
In the opening game, Blinn had to rally for four runs in the sixth inning to tie the game at 4-4 and the score stayed that way until the ninth inning. Wharton County was able to get a run in the ninth to win the opener 5-4.
Thames was strong from the plate in the first game with a pair of singles and an RBI while Jozwiak also hit a pair of singles and knocked in a run.
Wharton County was able to grab a 4-0 lead after three innings with a single run in the first and three in the third while Blinn started the game with five straight scoreless innings.
The scoring got started for Blinn in the sixth when Robinson started off the inning with a walk and then touched the plate after a Jozwiak single to center to get within 4-1. Jose Reyes, who singled earlier in the inning, was able to score from third on a wild pitch for the second run.
King also singled earlier in the inning and scored on an error to get within one run and then Thames knotted the game at 4-4 after an RBI single to center. That would be the final run scored by the Buccaneers as the game went extra innings and Wharton County sealed the win with a run in the ninth to take the first game.
Blinn will be back at Leroy Dreyer Field on March 6 against Wharton County Junior College for a double-header that starts at 4 p.m. The game on Friday is a Turn Back the Clock game as well as the Here I am Orphan Ministries Fundraiser game.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 30 NJCAA national championships since 1987. For more information, visit www.buccaneersports.com.
