The Blinn College baseball team learned Thursday that the quickest way to erase a big deficit is with a big inning.
The second-ranked Buccaneers dug themselves out of a 10-run hole with a 12-run third inning and cruised from there as Blinn shocked San Jacinto College-North 18-12 at Leroy Dreyer Field in Brenham, Texas.
“How could you be any prouder of a group of baseball players than I am right now of our guys,” Blinn head coach Dusty Hart asked. “I’m just smiling from ear to ear right now. We got sped up in the early innings tonight and fell behind, but we turned the scoreboard off in our minds and played unselfish baseball. We played the type of baseball that allows comebacks like the one we had tonight to happen.”
The Region XIV South victory pushed the Bucs to 31-8 overall and 19-3 in the region standings, where they increased their first-place lead over the second-place Ravens to four games.
Things nearly went off the rails for Blinn in the early innings as San Jacinto took advantage of an off night for Bucs freshman pitcher , as well as some defensive miscues by the Blinn defense.ย
The Ravens grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first inning but erupted for eight more runs in the second before making it a 10-0 ballgame in the top of the third.
From there, however, it was virtually an all-Blinn ballgame.
(Pictured: Blinn’sย Caden Ferraroย puts a ball into play during a game against San Jacinto-North on April 10, 2025)
A walk and a single got the Bucs started in its half of the third before sophomoreย Caden Ferraroย sent a one-out three-run home run โ his team-high 13th of the season โ to make it a 10-3 game.
The rally continued with back-to-back singles from sophomoresย Matt Quintanarย andย Lane Allen, and after a fielder’s choice advanced the runners, the Bucs scored eight more runs with two outs.
Sophomoreย Ryan Williamsย was hit by a pitch to load the bases and freshmanย Drew Brittonย was also plunked to plate another run. Sophomoreย Ryder McDanielย followed with a two-run single, and two more walks made it 10-8.
Quintanar’s second at bat of the inning resulted in a game-tying two-run single to complete the comeback, and Allen followed with a go-ahead RBI base hit. Sophomoreย Bennett Frymanย gave the Bucs some insurance with an RBI single to make it 12-10.
Blinn finished with nine hits, three walks, and a pair of hit batsmen in the inning.
“The right approach at the plate allowed that rally to happen,” Hart added. “If you’re going up to the plate with your eyes on the scoreboard and making your decisions based on what you see, you’re probably going to have a bad at bat. But we didn’t do that; we made the right swings on the right pitches and took our walks when they came. That’s how you put together big innings like we had tonight.”
In the bottom of the fifth, the Bucs added a run on an error and another on a Fryman RBI single before Britton reached on a run-scoring error for a 15-10 cushion.
(Pictured: Blinn’sย Bennett Frymanย singles during a game against San Jacinto-North on April 10, 2025)
In the seventh, Allen lined a double to left for an RBI and freshmanย Trey Craig’sย sacrifice fly closed out the scoring for Blinn.
A San Jacinto home run pushed two tallies across for the Ravens in the eighth.
The Bucs racked up 19 hits, led by a 4-for-5 night for Quintanar. Ferraro, Allen, and Fryman had three hits apiece, and freshmanย Reece Lunsfordย added a pair out of the leadoff spot.
While the Bucs offense did its share of the heavy lifting, Blinn freshman pitcherย Ben Polleschultzย also played a big part in Thursday’s rally.
After Shaw was chased after 1-plus innings of work, Polleschultz came on in relief in the second frame. The left-hander tossed 5 1/3 workmanlike innings of two-run ball in which he allowed five hits and no walks. He struck out three while improving to 2-0 on the year.
(Pictured: Blinn’sย Ben Polleschultzย delivers a pitch during a game against San Jacinto-North on April 10, 2025)
“That’s what has to happen in those situations,” Hart said. “If somebody can come in and put up zeroes on the scoreboard, they’re giving you a chance to come back, and that’s what Polleschultz did for us. The bullpens were the difference in the game.”
Freshmanย Hudson Melaertsย worked 1 2/3 innings before sophomoreย Hunter Bondย entered in the ninth and struck out three straight Ravens to end the game.
The three-game set between Blinn and San Jacinto concludes with a doubleheader at 2 p.m. on Saturday in Houston.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 50 national championships since 1987.
