PORT ARTHUR, Texas – Blinn College softball had plenty of offensive support in both games against Lamar State College-Port Arthur to complete the sweep by the score of 12-4 and 10-4 April 2 in Port Arthur.
“We just kept coming up big on offense,” said Blinn head coach Rick Church. “Meghann Wrinkle had a productive day at the plate along with a number of our players.”
Blinn stays on top of the Region XIV South Zone standings with a 13-1 record in conference and is now 31-11 overall.
Blinn didn’t lead the entire way in the opening game but it got the clutch hits when needed and walked away with a 12-4 victory. Meghann Wrinkle had a huge game with a home run, double and a single while knocking in four runs in the win. Alli Spivey knocked in three runs with a double and single. Kayla Lahrmann also had multiple RBIs with two with a double.
Mariah Gibson had plenty of run support but didn’t need all of it as she pitched all seven innings, striking out eight and only one of the four Port Arthur runs were earned. Jordin Wilkins and Avery Mullendore each had an RBI in the victory.
Blinn struck first in the second inning when Gibson reached with a single and Wrinkle followed two batters later with a home run to center for a 2-0 lead. Port Arthur battled right back with three runs in the bottom half for a 3-2 lead.
Wrinkle was back at it again in the fourth with an RBI double to left to score Katie Andrie to tie the game at 3-3. Blinn broke the game open in the fifth and it started with a two-run double by Spivey for a 5-3 lead. Wilkins followed with a double of her own to plate Spivey for the sixth run.
Wrinkle knocked in her fourth run with single to center for a 7-3 lead and then Mullendore capped the scoring with a single to score Gibson for an 8-3 lead. Port Arthur scored a single run in the bottom half to get within 8-4 but that would be the final time it would see the plate as the Buccaneers tacked more on.
With an eye on insurance runs, Wrinkle walked and then later scored on an error for a 9-4 lead. Lahrmann drove in a pair with a double to right for the 10th and 11th runs and then Spivey capped the scoring with a ground out to score Lahrmann for a commanding 12-4 lead that ended up being the final score.
Blinn nearly had as much run support in the second game as Spivey and Courtney White each had three RBIs in a 10-4 victory to sweep the pair of games.
Lara Cecchetti brought in a pair of runs with a double and single while Delilah Pacheco and Wilkins also knocked in a run. Jaiden Rawls pitched a solid game, even with all the run support, as she went all seven innings and only one of the four runs scored were earned in the win.
Just like the first game, Blinn trailed early but was able to make a come back and run away with the game. Port Arthur scored a single run in the second inning but Blinn tied it up in the third inning.
Jazzmin Fritz started it in the third with a single and White was able to knock her in with a single to center to knot the game at 1-1. The scoring continued for the Buccaneers in the fourth when Spivey brought in a pair with a single to left for a 3-1 lead.
Cecchetti got in the RBI action with a two-run double to right to score White and Wrinkle for a 5-1 lead. Port Arthur scored three runs in the fifth to get within 5-4 but that would be as close as it got to Blinn for the rest of the game.
Wilkins augmented the lead in the sixth with an RBI single to left to score Pacheco and then White drove in a pair with a double to right for an 8-4 advantage. The runs continued to flow in the seventh when Pacheco tripled to right to score Seeley Orsak for the ninth run and then Spivey capped the scoring with an RBI double to plate Pacheco for a 10-4 lead that would end up being the final score.
Blinn will next be at home against Alvin Community College on April 8 for a double-header that begins at 1 p.m. at Hohlt Park.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 30 NJCAA national championships since 1987. For more information, visit www.buccaneersports.com.
