After hitting six home runs, Dusty Hart wasted no time explaining exactly what the Blinn College baseball team had just proven.
“I think this shows we’re locked in,” Hart said. “We’re on a roll right now, and six home runs is just the icing on the cake.”
Roll is precisely what the Buccaneers did in a 16-5 Region XIV South victory over host Coastal Bend College on Thursday in Beeville, Texas.
Blinn has won 12 of its last 13 ballgames behind a pair of six-game winning streaks. The Bucs’ recent success has pushed their record to 23-12 overall while they remain tied for first place in the South with a 15-4 mark.
Blinn’s latest win was not without its share of adversity, as the Cougars had an early 2-0 lead and were still within striking distance going into the sixth frame.
The Bucs gained some much-needed distance with a three-run sixth, added a solo tally in the seventh, and broke the game wide open with five runs in the eighth.
Sophomore Cade Climie led Blinn’s longball barrage with two home runs, giving him a team-high 12 on the season. Both of his homers were two-run shots as he finished his day 2 for 4 with a pair of walks and five RBIs.
(Pictured: Blinn sophomore Cade Climie)
His first blast tied during a five-run third inning, and his second made it 7-4 in the fourth.
After Coastal Bend made it 7-5 in the home half of the fourth, the Bucs answered in the sixth with a solo homer from freshman Caden Ferraro and a two-run shot from sophomore Coy DeFury. Sophomore Connor McGinnis went yard for his 10th homer to lead off the seventh, and sophomore Marshall Lipsey capped a five-run eighth inning with a three-run bomb to right field.
“I thought we really did a good job of absorbing some blows early,” Hart said. “Coastal came out swinging today and tried to bring the fight to us. We could have lost our confidence but we managed to keep ourselves level-headed and we battled.”
In total, Blinn finished with 17 hits.
McGinnis went 3 for 3, Lipsey had three hits and four RBIs, and DeFury, Ferraro, and sophomores Brandon Bishop and Tony Vernars had two hits apiece.
On the mound, Ferraro started for the Bucs but exited following the second inning after allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits. Sophomore Jake Kolkhorst came on in the third and registered five innings of stellar relief. He earned his team-high fourth win of the season while allowing an unearned run on three hits. He struck out eight Cougars without issuing a walk.
(Pictured: Blinn sophomore Jake Kolkhorst)
“You can’t win if you can’t score, and that’s why I’ve said before that baseball starts with pitching and defense,” Hart said. “I think Jake and the rest of our bullpen have been a key part of this run we’ve been on. A big difference for us right now is having the right guys in the right spots, and Jake is one of those guys.”
Sophomore Bryson Dudley struck out one and worked around a pair of walks in the eighth to end the game.
Blinn and Coastal Bend conclude their four-game series with a doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m. on Saturday, APril 6, at Leroy Dreyer Field in Brenham, Texas.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 45 NJCAA national championships since 1987.
