The fourth-ranked Blinn College baseball team is homing in on a third consecutive Region XIV South crown, and took one more step toward its goal Monday.
The Buccaneers raced past Alvin Community College 12-4 (seven innings) at Leroy Dreyer Field in Brenham, Texas.
Blinn (38-11, 26-6 South) has three regular-season contests remaining – each against Alvin – and leads second-place San Jacinto College-North in the South standings by 2 1/2 games.
If the Bucs clinch first place, they will also host the Region XIV South Regional Tournament for the third time in as many seasons.
“We just have to continue to play good baseball, that’s the biggest thing,” Blinn head coach Dusty Hart said. “We want to host the regional again, but we also want to make sure we’re still focused on playing the game the right way when we take the field. Whether that’s on our field or somewhere else, that’s the more important thing right now.”
The Bucs played a solid game against the Dolphins in the opener of a four-game series.
(Pictured: Blinn freshman starting pitcher delivers against Alvin Community College on April 28, 2025)
Freshman starting pitcher Cadyn Shaw tossed 4 2/3 innings of three-run ball to improve to 5-1 on the year, and sophomore Bennett Fryman went 3 for 4 with a home run and three RBIs to propel Blinn.
After Shaw blanked the Dolphins in the top of the first, Fryman and the Bucs started rolling right out of the gate.
After sophomores Caden Ferraro and Matt Quintanar were walked and hit by a pitch, respectively, with one out in the bottom of the inning, Fryman smacked a double to center field for a 1-0 lead. Sophomore Lane Allen followed with a sacrifice fly to push the lead to two.
In the third, freshman Reece Lunsford added a sac fly, and Fryman clobbered a solo shot into the trees beyond the right-field wall for a 4-0 cushion.
Blinn erupted for eight runs in the fourth frame, highlighted by back-to-back, two-run doubles for Ferraro and Quintanar. Fryman added an RBI single, freshman Trey Craig drove in two with a base hit, and freshman Kason Atkins – in his first collegiate game of his baseball career – added a sac fly to cap the Bucs’ outburst.
(Pictured: Blinn sophomore Bennett Fryman watches his home run leave the ballpark against Alvin Community College on April 28, 2025)
Blinn finished with nine hits and drew five walks.
Alvin got on the board with four runs in the fifth to extend the game and avoid the five-inning run rule.
“Cadyn has had some rough luck this year, but he’s pitched well in spite of it,” Hart said of Shaw. “He has pitched around lightning delays; he’s battled through an injury that cost him a start; and today we went into the fourth inning and hit for 45 minutes. You get a break like that and it’s hard to get back on the mound with the same sharpness. We still thought he threw extremely well and did what we expected him to do, which is go out there and put up zeroes. He gave us four today and gave us a chance to win the ballgame.”
Taylor entered the game with two outs in the fifth and went on to work 1 1/3 innings. He allowed one earned run on two hits with two strikeouts. Freshman Hudson Melaerts worked a perfect seventh inning to bring the run rule into effect.
“Alvin started to gain some momentum in that fifth inning, and things were starting to look hairy there for a minute,” Hart added. “Matt and Hudson coming in and putting out the first was huge for us.”
The Bucs and Dolphins resume their series at 1 p.m. on Wednesday in Alvin, Texas, before returning to Brenham for a series-ending twin bill at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 53 national championships since 1987.
