Dusty Hart believes coaching achievements are the product of good players.
The Blinn College baseball coach got to celebrate his most recent milestone with 34 of them.
The Buccaneers kept their grasp of first place in the Region XIV South with a 12-7 road win over Galveston College on Thursday, and departed Galveston, Texas, after delivering Hart his 700th career coaching victory.
“It’s another win, but at the same time, it’s really not. It’s special, and I’m glad this group of guys got to be a part of this and that I get to share it with them,” Hart said. “If you get enough good players and you do this long enough, you’ll hit these milestones. I’ve been very fortunate on both fronts.”
Hart is now 700-310 across 18 seasons as an NJCAA head coach.
The Bucs improved to 29-13 overall and 21-6 in the South, where they remain one game ahead of San Jacinto College-North (20-6) for first place.
Blinn sophomore starting pitcher Shane Connell worked five sparkling innings before a 45-minute lightning delay put an end to his day. Connell allowed one run (earned) on four hits while striking out six. He did not issue a walk as he improved to 3-0 on the year.
“I thought he threw the ball really well,” Hart said. “Five innings of one-run ball on the road is impressive. For him to step up and go as long as he did while limiting those guys to just one run was huge for us. He gave us a chance to win and that’s all you can ask for.”
Blinn had momentum early after building a 5-1 lead through the first four frames. In the sixth, the Bucs added two more tallies following the weather break to make it 7-1.
The Whitecaps battled back against the Buccaneer bullpen with five runs in their half of the sixth, but Blinn kept the pressure on the hosts.
Blinn began to pull away in the seventh when sophomore Brayden Sprencel drew a bases loaded walk to make it 8-6. Sophomore Tanner Reaves followed with a two-run double to give the Bucs a four-run cushion.
In the eighth, sophomore Coy DeFury plated a run on a sacrifice fly and freshman Cade Ferraro scored on an error to put Blinn up six.
Galveston added a run in the eighth to close out the scoring.
The Bucs scored four runs in the first, and after the Whitecaps scored one in the third, DeFury made it 5-1 with a solo home run in the fourth.
Of Blinn’s 12 hits, Reaves, Ferraro, DeFury, and sophomores Connor McGinnis and Brandon Bishop had two apiece.
Blinn and Galveston conclude their four-game series with a doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m. on Friday, April 19, at Leroy Dreyer Field in Brenham, Texas.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 47 NJCAA national championships since 1987.
