(Pictured: Blinn College's Dave Wilson)
Big bats and strong pitching performances set the stage for the Blinn College baseball team's doubleheader sweep of Galveston College on Sunday at Fireman's Park in Brenham.
The Buccaneers claimed the Region XIV South twin bill with 9-5 (seven innings) and 8-3 victories, both in come-from-behind fashion. Blinn jumped to 11-21 overall with a 7-11 South Zone record.
The sweep gave the Bucs a split in the four-game road-and-home series with the Whitecaps.
"They showed up and their attitude and outlook were in the right frame of mind," Blinn head coach Harvey McIntyre said. "I think this performance was just kind of a continuation of them having the right outlook and moving forward after losing the first two games of the series."
Helping move the Bucs along were two strong performances from starting pitchers Gage Boehm and Colten Drake, who earned victories in game one and two, respectively.
Blinn also pounded out 24 hits across the two tilts, including three home runs, three doubles, and a triple.
"Everybody came together today," first baseman Dave Wilson said. "Our offense was rolling early in both games, we responded when Galveston put runs on the board, we kept to it and gave our pitchers some support."
In the opener, Wilson tied the game 4-4 with an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth inning before Luke Nail pushed the Buccaneers ahead for good with a two-run single. Cole Smajstrla added a two-run home run – his fifth of the year – to make it 8-4.
In the sixth, Sean Monsour added a solo shot to cap the scoring for Blinn.
Boehm worked into the seventh inning, getting within an out of a complete game before Eric Oaks closed the door on the Whitecaps with a strikeout.
Boehm allowed five earned runs on nine hits with four walks and one strikeout.
"We knew we needed this win and competed our tails off to get it," Boehm said. "I just threw with no fear and decided that whatever happens, happens. Pitching with a big lead late in the game definitely helped and made me more comfortable on the mound."
(Pictured: Blinn College's Gage Boehm)
Blinn finished with 12 hits in game one, led by a three-hit performance from Monsour, who scored three times.
Wilson, Smajstrla, and Bo Rodgers each had two hits. Smajstrla also tripled for the Bucs and scored twice.
Rodgers drove in two runs.
In game two, Blinn broke up a 3-3 tie with four runs in the bottom of the sixth.
Carter Allen finished with just one hit, but it proved to be a big one as he smacked a two-run single with the bases loaded and two outs in the decisive sixth frame.
"A big at-bat for us right there," McIntyre said of Allen's key hit. "A kid like that comes off the bench cold and gets a start for us and finds a big moment to come through; that's huge."
Wilson also had another big day as his team-leading batting average swelled to .507 (35 of 69). He went 3 for 5 in game two with a solo home run. Across the four-game series, Wilson went 10 for 17 with six RBI and four runs scored.
The Buccaneers posted another 12-hit performance, with Rodgers and Garrison Weiss collecting a pair of hits. Rodgers doubled and plated two runs, and Weiss and Monsour also had one RBI apiece.
On the mound, Drake allowed three runs (all earned) on nine hits in 7 1/3 innings. He fanned four and walked two. Drake also helped his own cause with a pair of 1-6-3 double plays. Justin Barnes struck out two in 1 2/3 innings of relief to finish the game.
"Gage has been a sort of jack of all trades for us; he's closed games out, he's started for us … he's really done everything we've asked of him and done a great job," McIntyre said. "And then Colten, he's gutting out his starts and giving us a chance every time he steps on the rubber. I'm really happy with what those guys did for us today."
Blinn resumes South Zone play when it opens a three-game series on the road with Alvin Community College on Thursday, March 31, in Alvin, Texas. The two teams will then face off in a doubleheader starting at 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 2, at Fireman's Park in Brenham.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 42 NJCAA national championships since 1987.
