The Blinn College softball team rolled to a twin bill sweep of Region XIV South Zone foe Lamar State College-Port Arthur on Monday at Hohlt Park in Brenham, Texas.
The Buccaneers won both games in five innings, earning an 8-0 victory in game one before prevailing 10-1 in the finale.
Blinn improved to 24-14 overall and 10-6 in the South Zone, where the Bucs are owners of third place and the third seed in the region tournament.
"After dropping our last two against Galveston College, it was important to get back on the winning track today, which we did," Blinn head coach Rick Church said. "Every win in the conference the rest of the way is very important. We just want to solidify our seeding and continue to play better down the stretch."
(Pictured: Blinn sophomore pitcher Chloee Mason delivers against Lamar State-Port Arthur during a game April 17)
In the opener, starting pitcher Chloee Mason improved to 9-5 on the year with a complete-game effort. Just two days after a loss to Galveston, the sophomore allowed a bloop single but nothing else on her way to a one-hitter. She struck out five and walked one.
"We felt it was important for her to get right back in there after her loss to Galveston," Church said.
The Buccaneers backed Mason right out of the gate, scoring a pair of runs in the bottom of the first frame. After freshman Alayna Calvillo tripled to open the inning, she scored on a wild pitch. A walk to freshman Erynne Castillo, and singles by freshman Alyssa Boozy and sophomore Emily Kristynik set the table for sophomore Caitlyn Stevens, who scored Castillo with a sacrifice fly.
"I like getting runs early because it helps our pitcher feel safe and have some cushion behind her," Calvillo said. "As an offense, when you leave zeroes on the scoreboard it adds pressure to your pitcher, so it was important we started hot."
The score would remain 2-0 until the fifth inning, where the Bucs would end the game with a sixth-run outburst. Boozy smacked a two-run single to center field to score freshmen Haley Rust and Ripley Welker for the mercy-rule win.
(Pictured: Blinn freshman Alayna Calvillo crosses the plate in the first inning of a game against Lamar State-Port Arthur on April 17)
Blinn racked up 12 hits, including two apiece for Castillo, Boozy, Kristynik, Rust, and sophomore Madeline Stephenson. Along with Boozy, Stephenson and Rust also had two RBIs.
In game two, freshman Sydnie Cline (3-2) capped a day of strong pitching with a second consecutive complete game for the Bucs. She allowed an earned run on seven hits with five punch outs and one walk.
Two five-run innings – in the second and the fourth – put the hosts ahead 10-0 before the Seahawks crossed the plate in the fifth.
A bases clearing double by Stephenson made it 3-0 in the second, before a Welker RBI groundout and a Castillo single made it 5-0.
(Pictured: Blinn freshman pitcher Sydnie Cline delivers against Lamar State-Port Arthur during a game April 17)
Kristynik's three-run home run highlighted the scoring in the fifth.
Castillo and Stevenson (two doubles) paced the Bucs with two hits each, while Kristynik and Stephenson both finished with three runs driven in.
Up next, Blinn hits the road for a region twin bill against Angelina College beginning at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, April 19, in Lufkin, Texas.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 43 NJCAA national championships since 1987.
