BRENHAM, Texas – Blinn College baseball was able to erase an early deficit in the fifth inning but it was No. 7 McLennan Community College scoring in the later innings to earn a 7-4 victory over the Buccaneers Monday evening at Leroy Dreyer Ballpark.
McLennan scored three runs in the final four innings to hand Blinn the loss and lower the overall record of the Buccaneers to 5-4.
Jay Anderson had a great game from the leadoff position going 3 for 4 with three singles and a walk. Walker Winders and Elijah MacNamee each had two hits in the loss.
"I thought we swung it well enough to win today," said Blinn coach Harvey McIntyre. "We had way too many hitter's counts that we did not take advantage of in the middle innings."
Blinn didn't get off to the best start as McLennan scored one run in the first and three in the second to take a 4-0 lead. The Buccaneers did chip away in the bottom of the second when MacNamee singled to start the inning and later scored on a shallow sacrifice fly hit by Kyle Gray to make the score 4-1. Sam McElreath also later scored on a sacrifice fly hit by George Pappas to get Blinn with 4-2.
The Buccaneers made the McLennan lead disappear in the fifth inning when Austen Swift started with a walk and Hillin Warren followed with a double. MacNamee knocked in a run with a sacrifice fly and then Angel De La Fuente added another sacrifice fly to knot the game at 4-4. Unfortunately, that would be the final runs score by Blinn as McLennan scored single runs in three of the final four innings to take home the victory.
Blinn will take more than a week off before facing Navarro College on Tuesday, Feb. 23 at 3 p.m. at home.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 32 NJCAA national championships since 1987. For more information, visit www.buccaneersports.com.
About Blinn College
With an enrollment of 19,422 students, Blinn ranks among the nation's leaders in transferring students to leading four-year universities and has received national recognition for affordable educational excellence. For more information, visit www.blinn.edu.
