(Pictured: Blaise Wilcenski, left, and Cole Smajstrla)
The Blinn College baseball team capped the Brazos Valley Tournament with a 5-2 victory over Howard College on Sunday at Nutrabolt Stadium in Bryan.
The victory gave the Buccaneers a 2-1 record for the tournament and improved the team to 2-5 overall.
“We told them Saturday after a tough loss to look at this weekend as a three-game series, and in game three you have everything to play for,” Blinn head coach Harvey McIntyre said. “Even if we had beaten Howard three times prior, today’s game would’ve still been extremely important.
“Going 2-1 over the weekend is a positive way to build for the week ahead.”
Behind starting pitcher Ethan Roark and reliever Blaise Wilcenski, Blinn was able to shut down the Hawks.
Roark, making his first appearance of the season, tossed 2 2/3 scoreless innings of three-hit ball. He struck out three and walked two. Wilcenski came on in relief and worked 5 1/3 frames and allowed two earned runs on three hits with one strikeout and one walk. Gage Boehm struck out one in a scoreless ninth and got the save three days after helping teammate Evan Aschenbeck complete a combined no-hitter against Navarro College.
“It was great to get Ethan out there for the first time this season and he gave us a great start,” McIntyre said. “Then, I was very proud to see Blaise bounce back after his tough outing against Angelina last week; he was just nails for five-plus innings and gave Boehm another chance to earn a save for us.”
Freshman Cole Smajstrla got the Buccaneers going right off the bat in the bottom of the first inning with a leadoff home run, his second longball of the year.
Blinn added two runs in the third inning when freshman Luke Nail plated Smajstrla and freshman Cash Callahan with a double.
In the eighth, freshman Jett Garcia scored fellow freshman Tripp Cromer and Nail with a two-run single.
The Buccaneers finished with seven hits.
“We’ve still got to find some answers offensively, but today was a good day for us,” McIntyre added.
Blinn hits the road for a Region XIV doubleheader against Angelina College beginning at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 15, in Lufkin, Texas.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 42 NJCAA national championships since 1987.
