PASADENA, Texas – After losing the opening game of the doubleheader, Blinn College softball found itself tied with San Jacinto College-South but the Buccaneers regained the top spot after a 13-0 victory in five innings Friday afternoon in Pasadena.
The Buccaneers were edged in the opening game 3-2 by San Jacinto to split the doubleheader. Blinn remained in first place in the Region XIV South with a 16-4 record while San Jacinto sits with a 19-5 record. Blinn's overall record moves to 32-14.
San Jacinto 3 – Blinn 2
Blinn was able to strike first bit a three-run fourth inning was enough for San Jacinto to pull off a 3-2 victory to open the doubleheader.
Emily Noah hit a solo home run to account for one Blinn run and Calli Birch had the other RBI on a double. Gabriela Gomez added a double in the loss.
Colleen Bentke pitched well enough to win most games by lasting six innings and not allowing an earned run on five hits and striking out seven in the loss.
Blinn was able to strike first in the fourth inning when Noah belted a solo home run to left to give the Buccaneers a 1-0 lead. San Jacinto was able to counter with three runs in the bottom of the fourth to take a 3-1 lead.
The Buccaneers cut into the lead in the sixth when Gomez doubled with two outs and then Birch followed with a double to get Blinn within 3-2. Unfortunately, Blinn was unable to tie the game in suffering the one-run loss.
Blinn 13 – San Jacinto 0
The offensive struggles for Blinn disappeared in the second game as Amy Alexander and Alyssa Vega each had four RBIs in a 13-0 victory over San Jacinto in five innings to regain first place in the Region XIV South.
Alexander and Vega each hit a grand slam to give the offense a boost. Nicole Garcia, Shelby Achille and Noah each had an RBI in the win.
Kamryn Boucher was the beneficiary of all the run support in the circle as she went five innings without allowing a run on four hits while striking out four to pick up the win.
Blinn jumped on the scoreboard in the opening inning as Garcia started it off with a single and then later scored on a single by Noah to right for the first run. Alenander later broke the game open with a grand slam to center for a 5-0 edge.
Blinn stacked on more runs in the third inning as Morgan Gray started the inning with a triple and then scored on a RBI double by Garcia to left for a 6-0 lead. Garcia later scored the seventh run on an error and then Achille made the lead 8-0 with an RBI single to center.
Achille scored the ninth run on a passed ball and then Vega delivered the big grand slam to give the Buccaneers a 13-0 lead. The spacious lead would end the game early in the fifth inning for Blinn.
Blinn will host Lamar State College – Port Arthur for a doubleheader Saturday, April 22 beginning at 1 p.m. The Buccaneers will honor their sophomore players before the opening game.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 36 NJCAA national championships since 1987. For more information, visit www.buccaneersports.com.
About Blinn College
With an enrollment of 19,422 students, Blinn ranks among the nation's leaders in transferring students to leading four-year universities and has received national recognition for affordable educational excellence. For more information, visit www.blinn.edu.
