BRENHAM, Texas – Blinn College baseball scored early on and then relied on relief pitching to hold off Navarro College for a 6-4 victory Tuesday afternoon at Leroy Dreyer Field.
The Buccaneers improve to 10-6 overall with the win and stay at 3-0 in Region XIV play.
Johnny Rizer led the way offensively with two RBIs coming off two solo home runs. Jay Anderson had an RBI single while Drew Ardoin also had an RBI in the win.
Evan Mata came on in relief in the fourth inning and pitched 4 2-3 scoreless innings while giving up only two hits and striking out three. Zach Smith came on in the ninth to pick up a save while striking out two.
"Evan Mata was great in scoreless relief and recorded first-batter outs," said Harvey McIntyre, Blinn head coach. "Great win to make it six in a row heading into the Galveston series."
Rizer hit his first bomb in the opening inning over the fence in center with two outs for a 1-0 lead. The Buccaneers extended that lead in the second by loading the bases with a single by Conner Whitaker, walk by Zach Cherry and Hunter Trinidad was hit by a pitch.
Ardoin brought in a run after getting hit by a pitch for a 2-0 lead. Anderson made the score 3-0 after a single to right for the Buccaneers. Navarro came right back and scored three in the third to tie the game up at 3-3.
Blinn loaded the bases in the fourth again when Sam McElreath walked, Tyler Fowler reached on an error and Whitaker singled. McElreath was able to score after a groundout for a 4-3 Blinn lead. Fowler later scored on a Navarro throwing error for a 5-3 Buccaneer lead. Navarro scored one in the fourth to get within 5-4 but that would be the final runs allowed by Blinn on the day.
Rizer provided a little bit of a cushion with a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth to make it 6-4 Blinn. That would be all the offense needed as the Buccaneers held on for the win.
Blinn will get back into conference play by hosting Galveston College on Thursday, March 2 at 6 p.m. Galveston is currently 1-2 in Region XIV play through three games.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 34 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.
