ALVIN, Texas – The offense for Blinn College baseball came alive in the series finale against Alvin Community College as the Buccaneers won 12-9 Monday afternoon to cap the series.
Alvin did shut Blinn out earlier in the doubleheader 5-0 to earn a split of games. With the split, Blinn's record moves to 12-10 overall and 5-4 in Region XIV play. The series finale win broke a four-game losing streak for the Buccaneers.
Alvin 5 – Blinn 0
Blinn could not get anything going offensively in the opening game of the doubleheader as Alvin won 5-0 to begin the day.
The Buccaneers could only muster a single by Drew Ardoin and Jay Anderson and left three on base in the shutout loss. Andrew Morgan pitched well in the loss, going five innings and allowing only three earned runs on eight hits while striking out four.
The game remained scoreless for the first three innings. Alvin was able to get on the board first with two runs in the fourth and sixth innings and a single run in the fifth to take a 5-0 victory.
Blinn 12 – Alvin 9
Blinn put together a much more impressive offensive performance in the second game, even after falling behind by three runs early. The Buccaneers were able to forge a come-from-behind 12-9 victory to earn a split on the day.
Trent Murphy made his presence known in the second game by going 4-for-6 with a home run, double and two singles while driving in a pair of runs. Colton Parrish added three RBIs and three singles. Angel De La Fuente, Sam McElreath and Marshall Skinner each had two RBIs in the victory.
Zach Smith came on in relief and pitched six complete innings while allowing three earned runs on seven hits while striking out six in the victory. Cody Collins came on to retire the final five batters to pick up the save while allowing a lone hit and striking out one.
Blinn was able to strike first in the opening inning when Anderson, Anthony Jones and Parrish all singled to load the bases. De La Fuente took one for the team by driving in a run by getting hit by a pitch to start the scoring. McElreath doubled in a pair to right to give Blinn a 3-0 lead after a half inning. The lead didn't last as Alvin scored four in the bottom half of the first and then added two more in the second to take a 6-3 lead.
The Buccaneers did show some fight by chipping away at the lead in the fourth. Tyler Fowler singled to begin the inning and then came around to score on an RBI ground out by Parrish to get within 6-4.
Blinn went after the lead in the fifth as McElreath started off the inning by getting hit by a pitch to get on base. McElreath later scored on an RBI single to left by Murphy to get within 6-5. Skinner tied the game at 6-6 with a sacrifice fly to right. Parrish brought in a run with a bases-loaded walk to give the Buccaneers a 7-6 lead. Alvin would later take an 8-7 lead after single runs in the sixth and seventh innings.
The eighth inning turned out to be a great inning for Blinn even though it didn't start out that way. The Buccaneers had two outs after two batters but Murphy kept the inning alive with a two-out double. Murphy later scored on an RBI single by Marshall to center to knot the game at 8-8.
Jones, Parrish and De La Fuente drew three consecutive bases loaded walks to pile onto the lead and take an 11-8 advantage. Alvin scored one in the eighth to get within 11-9 but it would be the final run scored by the Dolphins. Murphy put on the finishing touches on his day with a solo home run in the ninth to give Blinn the 12-9 victory.
Blinn will be back at home on Wednesday, March 15 against South Suburban College at 3 p.m. at Leroy Dreyer Field.
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.
