BRENHAM, Texas – Blinn College baseball was able to stay perfect against Wharton County Junior College on the season with a doubleheader sweep on Thursday evening by the scores of 4-1 and 8-7 at Leroy Dreyer Field.
With the sweep, Blinn improves to 20-13 overall and 11-6 in Region XIV play. The Buccaneers extend their winning streak to seven games.
Blinn 4 – Wharton 1
Johnny Rizer was able to supply a couple runs and Andrew Morgan kept Wharton at bay enough to guide Blinn to a 4-1 victory to open the series.
Rizer hit a home run, single and a double to lack only a triple to earn the cycle while bringing in a pair of runs. Jay Anderson and Marshall Skinner each had a single and an RBI in the win.
Morgan improved to 5-2 on the year by pitching all seven innings and allowed just one earned run on seven hits while striking out three.
"Andrew Morgan helped set the tone early for us with our first complete game of the season," said Harvey McIntyre, Blinn head coach.
Wharton was able to strike first with a single run in the third inning but that would be the final run scored on Morgan for the game.
Blinn went after the lead in the fourth inning and it started when Rizer blasted a solo shot into the trees over the right field fence to tie the game at 1-1. Anderson gave the Buccaneers the lead with a two-out RBI single to center for a 2-1 lead.
Blinn added to its lead in the fifth when Colton Parrish started it off with a walk and the came in to score after RIzer nailed a double on a perfectly executed hit and run for a 3-1 lead. Skinner followed with an RBI single sprayed to right for a 4-1 lead. That would be all the runs needed as the Buccaneers held on for the three-run victory.
Blinn 8 – Wharton 7
Blinn trailed by four runs in the sixth inning but the Buccaneers came all the way back with the help of a walk-off double by Rizer to earn an 8-7 victory over Wharton to sweep the doubleheader.
"That last at-bat I was caught up in the moment and didn't try to do too much and got a hold of it," Rizer said. "I have been seeing the ball well lately."
Rizer's lone RBI was a big one in the bottom of the ninth as he hit a pair of doubles. Angel De La Fuente had a big game with a home run and a double to bring in three runs. Anthony Jones, Parrish and Skinner each had an RBI in the win.
Cody Collins came on in the ninth to pitch a scoreless inning and pick up the victory on the mound.
Blinn was able to strike first in the third inning when Trent Murphy started it with a single and then later scored on a passed ball for a 1-0 lead. Wharton took a 2-1 lead in the fourth with a pair of runs.
The Buccaneers battled back in the bottom of the fourth when De La Fuente started it off with a single and then Skinner brought him in with a single up the middle to tie the game at 2-2. Wharton stormed back to score two runs in each the fifth and sixth innings to take a 6-2 lead.
Blinn didn't go away quietly as Parrish singled to begin the sixth and then De La Fuente followed with a two-run home run to get within 6-4. Wharton added a single run in the seventh to take a 7-4 lead but that would be the final run scored by the Pioneers.
The Buccaneers added a couple runs in the bottom of the seventh and it started with a single by Anderson who later scored on a sacrifice fly by Parrish to get Blinn within 7-5. A double by De La Fuente to the wall in center helped the Buccaneers get within 7-6.
Blinn loaded the bases in the eighth inning with a double by Rizer, a walk by Skinner and a single by Drew Ardoin. Jones was able to tie the game after he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to tie the game up at 7-7.
Collins pitched a scoreless top of the ninth to keep the game tied and Blinn went for the win in the bottom half of the ninth. Sam McElreath got it started with a one-out single and then Rizer stepped up by lacing a double down the line in right to push across the winning run.
Blinn will finish off the season series with Wharton with a doubleheader on the road on Saturday, April 1 beginning at 2 p.m.
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.
