Caden Ferraro didn’t like his performance on the mound. He didn’t like the last pitch he saw at the plate, either.
Both situations worked out for the Blinn College freshman.
Ferraro rebounded from a rough pitching performance by smashing an eighth-inning grand slam that sent the Buccaneer baseball team to a 9-7 Region XIV victory over Galveston College on Wednesday at Leroy Dreyer Field in Brenham, Texas.
“On the mound, I didn’t think I was throwing poorly, but sometimes things go the way they did tonight, and Galveston put some good swings on the ball,” Ferraro said. “Then I came to the plate in the eighth inning and the first pitch I saw … I swung at a ball. It was a low curveball and not something you want to swing at, but I put a good swing on it and the wind just helped carry it out.”
Ferraro’s heroics helped Blinn (13-11, 5-3 Region XIV) complete an impressive comeback after it fell behind 5-0 after four innings.
“Even after his rough start on the mound, we felt good about Caden and his competitiveness going into that at-bat in the eighth,” Bucs head coach Dusty Hart said. “He wasn’t scared of the moment, and that’s probably the hardest part to overcome. For him to be able to slow things down and get the big hit says a lot about him as a person.”
The Whitecaps got to Ferraro for four earned runs in a two-inning start for the left-hander. He allowed five hits, struck out three hitters, and issued two walks. Sophomore Shane Connell was tagged for three earned runs on six hits to go with a walk and five punchouts in 3 1/3 innings of relief.
Blinn’s rally began in the fifth inning when sophomore Marshall Lipsey led things off with a solo homer to right field. A walk for sophomore Matt Whitting led to sophomore Tanner Reaves’ RBI double. Reaves came around to score on the play thanks to a Galveston error. Sophomore Brandon Bishop later doubled and scored on a wild pitch and sophomore Connor McGinnis belted a solo home run to center field to make it a 5-5 ballgame.
The Whitecaps took their final lead of the game with two runs in the sixth.
Ferraro’s slam to center field came after Galveston recorded two outs to begin the frame. Whiting was hit by a pitch to keep the inning going and Reaves and Bishop followed with singles.
Blinn finished with 13 hits, including three-hit efforts from Reaves and sophomore Cade Climie. Bishop and Ferraro each had two hits.
Sophomore pitcher Bryson Dudley shared hero status with Ferraro thanks to another sparkling relief effort. In 3 2/3 innings, the right-hander allowed two hits and a walk while striking out seven Whitecaps.
“That’s why he’s in that role,” Hart said of Dudley. “We want him on the mound with the game on the line. Most games in college are won or lost in the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings, and having guys like Dudley, Cody Pfeffer, and Ben Bosse at the end of the game for us hopefully is what separates us from the rest of the pack at the end of the day.”
The Bucs and Whitecaps will conclude their series with a doubleheader. The twin bill was originally scheduled for Saturday, March 16, but has been moved to a 1 p.m. start on Friday, March 15, in Galveston, Texas, in order to avoid inclement weather.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 45 NJCAA national championships since 1987.
