HOUSTON, Texas – One bad inning was enough for San Jacinto College-North to come from behind to beat Blinn College baseball 4-3 Thursday night to open a three-game series.
The loss lowers the overall record for Blinn to 12-12. The Buccaneers moved to 5-5 in Region XIV play with the loss.
Tyler Fowler supplied one of the Blinn runs with a solo home run. Sam McElreath hit a double and two singles and brought in run while Angel De La Fuente also had an RBI and a double. Johnny Rizer had a pair of doubles in the loss.
Cody LeCompte got the start and went 2 2-3 scoreless innings while allowing one hit and striking out one. Cody Collins pitched 3 1-3 scoreless innings of relief and allowed only one hit.
Blinn had everything going in the right direction through seven innings. Blinn was first on the scoreboard in the third inning when Fowler blasted his solo home run to left for a 1-0 lead. The Buccaneers looked for more runs in the sixth when De La Fuente doubled and then came around to score on a double by McElreath to right for a 2-0 lead.
Blinn was cruising along until the eighth inning when San Jacinto scored four in the inning to take a 4-2 lead with the help of a three-run home run. The Buccaneers did not go down without a fight in the ninth as Jay Anderson singled and then came in to score on an RBI ground out by De La Fuente to get within 4-3. Blinn loaded the bases in the ninth after a McElreath walk but San Jacinto would escaped the jam and came away with the victory.
Blinn will host San Jacinto for a doubleheader on Saturday, March 18 starting at 2 p.m. at Leroy Dreyer Field.
The doubleheader against San Jacinto will be a Adam's Angel's Ministry fundraiser doubleheader in which raises money and awareness for Adam's Angels. Adam's Angels Ministry is called to provide care and comfort for families that are in a battle against childhood cancer. The fundraising effort is part of Blinn's annual Adopt-a-Charity program in which all Blinn athletic programs dedicate a portion of their gate proceeds towards a charity. For more information on Adam's Angels Ministry visit www.adamsangelsministry.org.
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.
