BRENHAM, Texas – Alyssa Hitt finally put an end to a marathon opening game as she delivered a walk-off single in the 13th inning to give Blinn a 2-1 victory over San Jacinto College-South in the opening game of a doubleheader Thursday afternoon at Hohlt Park.
San Jacinto did come back to beat Blinn 3-2 in the second game to force a split of the doubleheader. With the split, Blinn’s overall record moves to 31-13 and the Region XIV record is now 15-3. Blinn still holds a one-game lead over San Jacinto (18-4 in Region XIV) in the South Zone Division.
Blinn 2 – San Jacinto 1
In the 13th inning, it was Hitt who played the hero with the walk-off single to give Blinn a 2-1 victory over San Jacinto to open the doubleheader.
Hitt had a pair of singles but her biggest one came with two outs in the 13th inning to help the Buccaneers win the game. Shelby Achille had the other RBI all the way back in the fifth inning as she hit a double and a single in the win.
Colleen Bentke put in an amazing effort in the circle as the sophomore gave up a single run in the first inning and then pitched zeros for the following 12 innings. Bentke gave up 10 hits and struck out five while throwing 187 total pitches to improve to 17-3 on the season.
San Jacinto took advantage of Bentke’s only shaky inning and scored a single run to take a 1-0 lead. Blinn was able to get on the scoreboard in the fifth when Nicole Garcia started it with a one-out single and then touched the plate to tie the game at 1-1 after an RBI single from Achille.
Blinn had plenty of chances to score from innings six to 12 but it was the 13th inning where the Buccaneers cashed in. Amy Alexander started the 13th with a single and Makalah Norman came in to pinch run. With Norman on second, Hitt dropped a single to right-center just outside the reach of the San Jacinto outfielder to score Norman for the 2-1 victory.
San Jacinto 3 – Blinn 2
San Jacinto came up with the dramatic plays in the second game as the visitors scored a single run in the sixth and seventh innings for a come-from-behind 3-2 victory over Blinn to earn a split.
Garcia had the lone RBI for the Buccaneers. Morgan Gray had three singles while Kalli Edwards, Achille and Emily Noah each hit two singles in the loss.
Sam Junkin pitched a solid game by going 6 1-3 innings and allowing two earned runs on eight hits.
Blinn struck first in the second inning as Hitt reached base on a walk and then later came around to score on a passed ball for a 1-0 Buccaneer lead. San Jacinto came back to tie the game in the third with a single run to make the score 1-1.
The Buccaneers fought back for the lead in the fourth as Katy Sawyer reached on an error and Abby Olejniczak came on as a pinch runner. Olejniczak later scored on a sacrifice fly to left by Garcia to give Blinn a 2-1 lead. Unfortunately, San Jacinto came back to tie the game with a single run in the sixth and took the lead with a single run in the seventh for a 3-2 lead. Blinn had chances in the final inning but was unable to push across a run as San Jacinto held one for the one-run victory.
Blinn will next host Coastal Bend College on Tuesday, April 18 for a doubleheader that begins at 1 p.m. at Hohlt Park.
Before the start of the doubleheader, athletic director Scott Schumacher honored Blinn head softball coach Rick Church for his 800th victory with a plaque.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 36 NJCAA national championships since 1987. For more information, visit www.buccaneersports.com.
