GALVESTON, TX -- The Blinn Buccaneers got back to their winning ways Friday with a 2-1 victory over the Galveston Whitecaps.
Pinch runner Scott Jones scored on a wild pitch in the top of the ninth inning and relief pitcher Christian DeLeon, who got the Bucs out of an eighth-inning jam, closed the door in the ninth to earn the win.
“It feels like we just won 10,” said Blinn coach Harvey McIntyre, whose club ended a five-game losing streak with the victory. “The kids were outstanding. They gave their best effort and they really played well.”
Sophomore Trevor Seidenberger set the tone for the Bucs, allowing one earned run over 7 2/3 innings. He allowed just five hits while striking out four.
“He kept making pitches and putting up zeros,” McIntyre said. “He pitched out of some tough situations.”
With two outs and runners on second and third in the eighth inning, McIntyre turned to the bullpen, calling upon Christian DeLeon to get out of the jam. DeLeon delivered, getting a ground ball to send the game into the ninth.
Blinn’s pitchers were aided by what McIntyre said was the Bucs’ best defensive performance all season. Left fielder Markus Carr threw a runner out at second base as he tried to stretch a single into a double, and later that inning Boss, the right fielder, threw out another runner at second.
“That may have been the ballgame,” McIntyre said.
Eric Preuss got the game-winning rally started when he reached on an error, and a ground ball advanced him to third. Jones, the pinch runner, scored on a wild pitch to end the game.
Eric Wood got the Buccaneers on the scoreboard in the first inning when he followed Tyler Boss’ two-out double with an RBI single that made it 1-0.
“That was kind of the ice breaker we needed, especially with two outs,” McIntyre said. “The wind was blowing in at 20, 25 mph so we knew runs were going to be at a premium.”
Wood finished the game 2-for-3 with a double, and Boss went 2-for-4.
The Buccaneers, who are now 30-21 on the season and 19-13 in the Region XIV Conference, have already clinched a berth to the Region XIV Tournament, but could still finish anywhere from first to fourth in the South Zone headed into the final day of the conference race. Saturday’s 2 p.m. double-header against Galveston at Leroy Dreyer Field will conclude Blinn’s regular season.
