WHITEHOUSE, Texas — The Blinn College softball team (7-9) dropped a pair of games to No. 5 Tyler Junior College on the road Saturday.
Despite the Buccaneers tallying 16 hits and 14 runs off the Apaches, Blinn fell to Tyler, 21-9 (five innings) and 13-5 (five innings).
"We ran into a buzz saw today," said Rick Church, Blinn head coach. "Tyler is a great team."
Tyler 21 – Blinn 9
Although Blinn racked up nine hits and nine runs against Tyler, it wasn't enough to defeat the Apaches as the Buccaneers fell 21-9 in five innings.
Gabi Lopez and Anna Pisaro led Blinn's offense with two hits each. Lopez knocked in three runs and scored one, while Pisaro batted in two runs and scored two. Jordyn Smith also scored two runs.
Tyler's offense came out swinging in the first inning to total 11 runs.
Blinn was able to close the gap with five runs in the second inning. Blinn led off the inning with the bases loaded as Smith drew a walk, and Bailey Zibelin and Pisaro each singled. Lopez drove in the first two runs with a double and Pisaro scored on Toomey's sacrifice fly. Lopez moved to third on Samantha Rodriguez's sacrifice bunt and scored on Marley Mahoney's double. Back-to-back errors allowed Mahoney to score Blinn's fifth run as the Buccaneers trailed Tyler 11-5.
The Apaches took a 17-5 lead when they answered back with six runs in the bottom of the second inning.
Both teams kept runs off the board in the third inning and scored four runs apiece in the fourth. Mikaela Lopez started things off in the inning with a single and scored on Smith's single. With two outs, Pisaro hit a double for Mayela Fernandez and Smith to score, and Gabi Lopez hit a single for Pisaro to score and Blinn to trail 17-9.
Tyler scored four runs in the bottom of the fourth inning and kept Blinn off the board in the top of the fifth for the run-rule victory.
Tyler 13- Blinn 5
Blinn could never recover from an early deficit as the Buccaneers fell to Tyler, 13-5, in five innings.
Smith went 3-for-3 to score two runs and drive in one to lead Blinn's offense, while Toomey and Pisaro scored one run and batted in one run each.
Tyler scored four runs in the first inning, and two runs in each of the second and third innings to build an early 8-0 lead.
With two outs, Blinn scored four runs in the fourth inning to cut the Apaches lead in half. Smith got things rolling with a single and scored on a Toomey double. Pisaro followed with a double that let Toomey come home. After Amy Hitt singled and Emelyn Couss0u walked, Pisaro and Hitt scored on a Tyler error.
Tyler came back at Blinn with one run in the bottom of the fourth inning to lead 9-4.
Smith hit a solo home run in the fifth inning for Blinn's final run before Tyler scored four runs in the bottom half to walk off with the win.
Next, Blinn will open conference play against Lamar State College-Port Arthur on the road. The Buccaneers will compete in a doubleheader on Friday, March 13, starting at 1 p.m.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 41 NJCAA national championships since 1987.
