If the anticipation leading up to the Region XIV Conference Tournament isn't enough, there's one thing that has Blinn baseball coach Harvey McIntyre excited heading into Saturday's ballgame.
"I think we still have our best baseball ahead of us," McIntyre said of his Buccaneers.
The Buccaneers' bid for their first NJCAA World Series appearance since 1992 begins Saturday at 10 a.m. in Lufkin. First up: the Navarro Bulldogs, the No. 2 seed out of the Region XIV East Zone.
"Our entire season has led up to this point," McIntyre said. "What happened a month ago—whether we won a series or struggled to get a sacrifice bunt down—it doesn't matter now. What matters is what happens Saturday."
Navarro is coming off a three-game series sweep to Paris, the East Zone winner, to clinch the No. 2 seed over Panola. Though the Bulldogs struggled to piece wins together early in the season, including a 2-1 loss to Blinn at the Blinn Tournament in February, the Bulldogs gained momentum late in the year to rally to clinch the second seed.
In a lot of ways, McIntyre said, the Bulldogs resemble the Bucs.
"They've got a great pitching staff and a very similar offense to ours," he said. "I think runs are going to be at a premium. So we're going to have to get out and be very productive offensively early to create some things."
To manufacture those runs, Blinn will need help from sophomore Nolan Brown, who batted at a .405 clip during the regular season, had 70 hits and a .631 slugging percentage. Brown, who signed with the University of Louisiana-Lafayette in the fall, has stolen a team-best 22 bases on the season.
While the Bucs could certainly use help from their big bats in Cullen Gassaway, Stephen Stuart and Caden Williams, creating scoring opportunities will also be up to Jose Reyes, Jager Toffan, Cullen Jozwiak, James Duval and Reed Robinson.
With the Bucs new 40-game conference schedule played this season, McIntyre feels the Bucs are more than prepared for the rigors of battling through the five-day tournament to advance to Grand Junction, Colo.
"Those back-to-back doubleheaders are a grind—you're basically playing 32 innings of baseball in a day," McIntyre said. "It definitely prepared us to play back-to-back nine-inning games in that same span."
Even so, Blinn will rely on its starting pitching of Robbie Dickey, Shane McCarley, Keith Brenner and a tandem of freshmen in Seth Ballew and Williams to hold its own so the bullpen isn't depleted too quickly in the tournament.
Dickey has been the Bucs' workhorse this year. He's thrown a team-best 73 1-3 innings, carries a 2.82 earned run average (ERA) and is averaging more than 10 strikeouts a game. The last time Dickey faced Navarro, he struck out 15 in seven innings in the Bucs' 2-1 win.
Cole Dohertry and Dillon Mazzoccoli have provided consistent arms out of the bullpen.
"As long as we take care of the Bucs, we'll have a chance," McIntyre said. "This tournament is wide open."
