The Blinn College softball team split two games of the National Preview Tournament on Thursday at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Ala.
The Buccaneers fell to No. 13 Indian Hills Community College, 3-2, before earning a 2-0 win over Wallace Community College. The remainder of the tournament was canceled due to weather.
Blinn is now 10-3 overall.
(Pictured: Blinn's Skylar Shanahan)
In the opener, the Bucs jumped out to a 1-0 lead over Indian Hills thanks to an RBI single from Skylar Shanahan in the top of the first inning.
The Warriors tied the game in the third and took the lead with two in the fifth. Blinn started a rally in the seventh, getting an RBI double from freshman Alayna Calvillo to cut its deficit to one, but Calvillo was stranded at second base to end the game.
Blinn finished with eight hits. Sophomore Madeline Stephenson went 3 for 3 with a double and a run scored.
"After we scored the run in the first, Indiana Hills took momentum away from us," Bucs head coach Rick Church said. "We tried to come back in the seventh, but it wasn't enough. Chloee (Mason) pitched well enough; we just didn't have enough support for her."
Mason, a sophomore, tossed six innings. She allowed two earned runs on six hits with two strikeouts and two walks.
(Pictured: Blinn's Emily Kristynik)
In Blinn's second game of the day, sophomore Emily Kristynik smacked a two-out solo home run in the first inning to give her team all the offense it needed. However, in the sixth, the Bucs got an insurance run off the bat of sophomore Kenley Strange when she scored Kristynik with a sacrifice fly.
Shanahan did her part in the pitcher's circle, tossing five scoreless innings. She allowed five hits with four punchouts and three walks. Freshman Sydnie Cline came on in relief to toss two scoreless frames for the save. She fanned three.
"We came back in the second game and got a much-needed win," added Church. "There weren't many runs today, but we did get a victory out of it."
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 42 NJCAA national championships since 1987.
