BRENHAM, Texas - Blinn College baseball swept Alvin Community College in the three-game conference series after winning both games of Saturday's doubleheader at Leroy Dreyer Field. Blinn opened the doubleheader with an 8-3 win and closed it out with a 7-6 victory.
With the pair of victories, Blinn improves its overall record to 12-7 and 8-1 in Region XIV play.
Blinn 8 - Alvin 3
A solid pitching performance by Kyle Gray who pitched a complete game and never allowed Alvin to lead helped Blinn to take the first game of the doubleheader by the score of 8-3.
Left-handed pitcher Gray improved his record to 2-0 after pitching his first complete game of the season and picking up the win. In seven innings, Gray surrendered three runs on five hits, while striking out nine.
Gray Rodgers led the Buccaneers with three RBIs, while Brandon Ashy, Cameron Gibbons, Zach Cherry and Koby Collins each drove in one. Alec Sanchez, Ashy and Rodgers all scored three runs apiece in the win.
Blinn took an early 2-0 lead in the second inning after Cherry, Jacob Miller and Collins strung together three singles in a row to score the first run and Gibbons hit a sacrifice fly for Miller to score the second run.
Alvin evened the score 2-2 in the top of the third inning, but the Buccaneers never surrendered the lead. Blinn answered back with two runs in the bottom of the inning to take back a two-run lead. Sanchez led off the inning with a walk and Rodgers drove him home with a double. Rodgers scored the final run of the inning on a wild pitch for Blinn to lead 4-2.
Ashy led off the fourth inning with a solo home run for Blinn to pull ahead 5-2.
Following a scoreless fifth inning, the Buccaneers added three more runs to their lead in the sixth. Rodgers hit a two-run single for Ashy and Sanchez to score, while Cherry followed with a one-run single that scored Rodgers.
Alvin added one run in the seventh inning before falling 8-3.
Blinn 7 - Alvin 6
A sacrifice fly off the bat of Ashy allowed Miller to score a walk-off run in the bottom of the ninth inning for the Buccaneers to defeat Alvin 7-6 in the second game of the doubleheader.
Bryce Miller picked up his fourth win of the season after coming out of the bullpen for 2/3 innings of work and only allowing one hit, while striking out one.
Ryan Day started the game and surrendered three runs on four hits, while striking out two in six innings.
Marshall Skinner and Gibbons led Blinn with two RBIs each, while Skinner scored two runs and Gibbons scored one. Sammy Blair, Ashy and Collins all drove in one run in the victory, while Rodgers went 4-for-5 and scored one run.
Alvin challenged Blinn with three runs in the top of the ninth inning to even the score, but the Buccaneers came up with a run in the bottom half to walk off the field with the sweep. Miller landed on base after getting hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, while Collins walked and Blair bunted to load the bases. Ashy came up with a sacrifice fly to push the winning run across the plate.
Alvin held a 3-0 lead in the first inning of the game, but the Buccaneers responded in the bottom of the inning with three runs to level the score. Gibbons scored the first run with a solo homer, while Skinner followed with a two-run bomb.
Blinn took a 4-3 lead in the second inning after Gibbons hit a one-run single to score Blair.
Blinn added two more runs in the fifth inning to lead 6-3. After Skinner, Rodgers and Miller loaded the bases to begin the inning, Collins and Blair drew back-to-back walks for two runs to score.
Alvin evened the score 6-6 in the ninth inning before the Buccaneers walked off with the win.
Blinn will be back in action at Leroy Dreyer Field on Wednesday, March 14 to take on South Suburban College in a non-conference game at 3 p.m.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 36 NJCAA national championships since 1987.
