BRENHAM, Texas โ Blinn College softball cut down on its mistakes and that better attention to detail gave the Buccaneers a pair of victories over Coastal Bend College by the score of 11-3 and 8-2 March 15 at Hohlt Park in Brenham.
The pair of victories improves the Blinn conference record to 6-0 and 22-8 overall. It is also the 10th consecutive win for the Buccaneers with the last six games coming at home.
โOur goals was to win four this weekend and started 6-0 in conference and we did that,โ said head coach Rick Church. โWe are starting to put some consistent play together.โ
Mariah Gibson pitched a shortened game for the first match up as she went five innings in the circle and struck out four while allowing three runs. Seeley Orsak brought in three runs with a double while Gibson brought in two runs with a pair of doubles in the victory.
Blinn got the scoring going early on in the first inning. Alli Spivey was able to get on with a single and Jordin Wilkins reached on a fielderโs choice and then the runs started coming in for the Buccaneers. Gibson brought in the first with a double and then Courtney White followed with an RBI ground out and then Lara Cecchetti capped the scoring with a single to give Blinn a 3-0 lead.
Coastal Bend did get a solo home run in the top of the second to make the score 3-1 but Blinn won the inning in the bottom half. Delilah Pacheco started with a one-out walk and then was brought in by an RBI single by Spivey for a 4-1 lead. Gibson hit her second consecutive RBI double later in the inning to score Spivey for a 5-1 lead. Coastal Bend tacked on two runs in the fourth to get within 5-3 but then Blinn broke the game open in the fifth to end the game early.
Gibson walked to begin the fifth and later came around for a 6-3 lead. Orsak came up with the clutch hit with the bases loaded to empty the bases with a triple and three runs batted in and a 9-1 lead. Kayla Lahrmann hit an RBI single for the 10th run and then later was able to score the 11th run to end the game in the fifth.
Jaiden Rawls pitched the second game and was able to escape a few tight situations to pull out the victory. Rawls was able to strike out four and only allow two runs in the 8-2 win. Meghann Wrinkle came up big at the plate for Blinn with a single, double and a home run while knocking in five of the eight runs for the Buccaneers.
โIt is definitely a confidence booster to come in for the second game and hit well,โ Wrinkle said after the second game. โI hit right and left so it just depends on what coach needs in that situation.โ
Again, Blinn got a good start in the opening inning when Pacheco singled to begin and Gibson brought her in with a single for the first run. Gibson would later score the second run and then Wrinkle added an RBI single to make it a 3-0 lead.
Wrinkle was able to tack on another run in the third inning as Gibson walked and got herself in scoring position and then Wrinkle ripped a double for a 4-0 lead. Coastal Bend got on the scoreboard in the fourth inning with a single run to make the score 4-1.
Blinn came right back in the bottom of the fourth and it was Wrinkle again pushing a run across as the Buccaneers loaded the bases after singles by Pacheco and Spivey and Gibson was hit by a pitch. Wrinkle didnโt need a bat to bring a run in as she drew a walk with the bases loaded for a 5-1 lead.
The scoring continued in the fifth inning when Jazzmin Fritz reached base on an error and then Spivey was able to knock her in with a double for the 6-1 lead. Blinn nearly ended the game early in the sixth when Rawls singled and then Wrinkle followed two batters later with a home run for her fifth RBI and an 8-1 lead. Coastal Bend added a single run in the seventh to make the final score 8-2.
Blinn will host a pair of non-conference games March 17 starting with Southeastern Community College at 2 p.m. and then follow that up against Odessa College at 4 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.
