Blinn falls to Angelina on walk-off single in ninth inning

The Blinn College baseball team fell to Angelina College 6-5 on Monday in Lufkin, Texas.

The Buccaneers fell to 7-4 overall.

Angelina earned the victory with a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Blinn led 3-0 after the second frame but trailed 5-3 heading into the top of the eighth. The Bucs tied the game 5-all on an RBI double from sophomore Ryan Scott and a sacrifice fly from sophomore Cam Wheeler, but couldn't preserve the tie in the home half of the ninth.

"We had a lot of  confidence going into the game, but I think once we went up 3-0 we kind of treated the game as if it was already over," Blinn head coach Dusty Hart said. "We let Angelina back into the game. Once again we showed the heart to fight back and tie it up, but we definitely didn't have our best day. We just have to show a better sense of urgency. Any time you get an early lead like we did you have to put your foot on the gas and we just didn't do that."

The Bucs grabbed their 3-0 lead on an RBI single from freshman Marshall Lipsey and a two-run single from freshman Tanner Reaves

The Roadrunners scored one in the third and two in both the fourth and fifth innings to take the lead before Blinn tied it in the eighth.

The Bucs finished with five hits.

Freshman Carson McKinney started for Blinn and lasted four innings. He allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits with six strikeouts and two walks.

Freshman pitcher Nick Anello was tagged with the loss after he allowed one earned run on one hit and two walks. Sophomore pitcher Tate Bethel was on the mound when the game-winning run scored.

The Bucs continue their season with a road trip to Tyler Junior College at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 15, in Tyler, Texas.

Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 42 NJCAA national championships since 1987.