GALVESTON, Texas — The Blinn College baseball team (12-6, 4-3) split a doubleheader with Galveston College to conclude a four-game conference series on Saturday.
After losing to the Whitecaps, 6-2, in the first game of the doubleheader, the Buccaneers shutout the Galveston, 6-0, to conclude the series.
"I am proud of the way that we handled ourselves and finished the day on a positive note," said Harvey McIntyre, Blinn head coach. "Jack Driskell was phenomenal on the mound today, making pitch after pitch to put zeroes on the board. We had a big inning in the fourth to get a lead and we made it hold up."
Galveston 6 – Blinn 2
A five-run fourth inning led the Whitecaps to a 6-2 win over Blinn to open the doubleheader.
Westley Schields scored both runs for the Buccaneers, while Kam Kelton knocked in one run.
Trevor Mott received the loss after giving up four runs on three hits, while striking out five in 3 1/3 innings. Grant Wood allowed one earned run and four hits in 2 2/3 innings for Blinn.
Schields opened the game with a double in the first inning and scored on Kelton's single to give Blinn a 1-0 lead.
The Buccaneers led until the fourth inning when the Whitecaps racked up five runs. Following a double and walk, Galveston scored its first run on an RBI single to tie the game. After loading the bases with a walk, the Whitecaps walked in one run and two more scored on an error. Galveston's final run of the inning came on a one-run double.
After walking, Schields scored Blinn's last run on an error for the Buccaneers to trail 5-2 in the top of the fifth inning.
Galveston scored its final run in the bottom of the fifth inning after starting off with back-to-back singles and scoring on an error.
Blinn 6 – Galveston 0
Behind solid offensive and defensive efforts, the Buccaneers concluded the day with a 6-0 win over Galveston.
Jack Driskell was solid on the mound for the Buccaneers, pitching seven scoreless innings and allowing five hits, while striking out 10 for the win. Eric Oakes came out of the bullpen to pitch two scoreless innings, and only allowed three hits.
Tyler Russell led Blinn's offense with two RBIs and one run with a two-run homer. Schields, Kelton, and Preston Hoffart all knocked in one run in the win.
After three scoreless innings, the Buccaneers landed on the board with four runs in the top of the fourth inning. Cole Brown led off with a single and scored Blinn's first run on an error. Kelton hit a one-run single for Schell to score and Russell followed with a two-run homer for Blinn to lead 4-0.
Blinn tacked on its final two runs in the top of the eighth inning to lead 6-0. Ben Hovda singled and Caden Homniok walked to lead off the inning. Then, Hovda scored on Hoffart's sacrifice bunt and Homniok socred on Schields' one-run single.
Next, the Buccaneers will take a break from conference play and compete against Navarro College in a nine-inning game on Tuesday, March 3, at 2 p.m. on the road.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 41 NJCAA national championships since 1987.
