BRENHAM, Texas – Pitchers for Blinn College baseball had a hard time finding the umpires strike zone and when they did Navarro College was able to hit the ball hard in taking a 12-4 non-conference victory over the Buccaneers April 7 at Leroy Dreyer Field in Brenham.
Blinn is stuck in a rut right now as the loss to Navarro equals its seventh loss in a row as the overall record sags to 17-16. The conference record for the Buccaneers stays put at 8-14.
The Buccaneers hit the ball in spurts with nine total hits but couldn’t string hits together in the later innings. Hunter Lehman had a solid game at the plate, going 3-for-3 with a double and a pair of singles. Jager Toffan and Cullen Jozwiak each picked up a pair of hits and knocked in a run each while Ben Upton also had an RBI in the loss.
Pitching for Blinn struggled as it issued 14 walks and the game could have been much worse if Navarro did not strand 18 runners on the base paths.
Navarro jumped ahead in the first inning with a single run but that lead didn’t hold up. Jozwiak was able to draw a lead-off walk and then came around to score on an RBI single by Toffan to right to knot the game up at 1-1 after an inning.
It appeared that the momentum was leaning towards the Buccaneers as Lehman started the second inning with a double and then Upton followed with an RBI single to give Blinn a 2-1 lead. Jozwiak singled in run with a hit to right for the third run and then Walker Winders was able to score on an error to give Blinn a 4-1 lead after two innings.
Unfortunately for Blinn, that would be the final time it would touch the plate as Navarro exploded for 11 unanswered runs using the long ball and drawing walks and that was enough to hand Blinn a 12-4 loss.
Blinn will get back into conference play as it travels to face Alvin Community College April 8 for a double-header that begins at 1 p.m.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 30 NJCAA national championships since 1987. For more information, visit: www.buccaneersports.com.
