BRENHAM, Texas Blinn College baseball (24-15, 16-11) erupted for a four-run second inning on Monday and never looked back, defeating Temple College 9-6 in a non-conference matchup at Leroy Dreyer Field.
"The biggest thing for us today is that we answered Temple when they took a lead or came close to taking it back," said Harvey McIntyre, Blinn head coach. "This may be the best we have played offensively all year long. It was good to see us compete and walk off the field a winner."
Blinn's offense combined for six extra-base hits including a solo home run off the bat of Jake Miller and two one-run doubles swung by Gray Rodgers. Cameron Gibbons was perfect at the plate with a double and three singles.
"Everyone was taking really good approaches at the plate and seeing the ball really well today," Gibbons said. "We did what we needed to do for the win."
Kyle Gough was credited with the win after throwing three scoreless innings without surrendering a hit, while striking out three.
Temple took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning, but Blinn immediately cut it in half in the bottom half when Rodgers hit a double for Gibbons to score.
After the Leopards extended their lead to 3-1 in the second inning, the Buccaneers answered back again, scoring four runs in the bottom of the inning. Blake Faecher singled to lead off the inning and Brett Minninch followed with a triple to drive in a run. Blinn took advantage of Temple's mishaps for the next two runs as Minninch scored on a wild pitch and Reggie McCalister scored on an error. Gibbons singled to get Alec Sanchez across the plate for Blinn to take a 5-3 lead for good.
Rodgers kept things rolling in the fourth inning, hitting a double for Jake Miller to score and stretch Blinn's lead to 6-3.
Temple came within one run of Blinn's lead by tacking on two runs in the sixth inning. However, Blinn came back with three runs in the bottom half to pull ahead 9-5. Miller sparked the offense with a solo home run to lead off the inning, while Faecher drove in the next run with a single and Rodgers scored on a fielder's choice.
The Leopards rallied for the final run of the game in the eighth inning before Brice Armistead shut down Temple's offense for the save.
Next, the Buccaneers will open the first half of a four-game conference series against Laredo College on Friday, April 26, with a doubleheader beginning at 4 p.m. at Leroy Dreyer Field.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 41 NJCAA national championships since 1987.
