LONGVIEW, Texas – The second-ranked Blinn College softball team beat Paris 9-8 but fell to Kilgore 11-0 in the opening day of the Region XIV Round Robin.
Freshman Shannon O’Connor (4-5) earned the win in the Bucs’ tournament opener, scattering 10 hits and a walk as she struck out four.
She got plenty of early run support as Blinn scored six in the bottom of the first. Tiffani McKnight hit an RBI single, Kristina Davila launched a three-run homer and Caitie Carney added a two-run blast to put the Buccaneers ahead early.
Carney added an RBI single in the third, but Paris bounced back with a seven-run fourth-inning rally. The Lady Dragons piled up eight hits in the frame, including a three-run home run.
Blinn took the lead once again in the bottom of the fourth when McKnight reached on an error, then scored on an RBI single by Peyton Webb.
Paris tied the score in the top of the sixth, but Webb came through with another RBI single in the bottom of the inning and O’Connor retired the side in order to secure the victory.
Blinn wasn’t nearly as sharp against Kilgore. The Lady Rangers piled up nine hits and the Buccaneers committed four errors as Carney (2-3) took the loss. The game ended via mercy rule after five innings.
Blinn continues tournament play with three games Saturday. The Buccaneers play Midland at 11 a.m., Navarro at 3 p.m. and Trinity Valley at 7. On Sunday, the Bucs play Northeast Texas at 9 a.m. and Bossier Parish at 1 p.m.
For more information on Blinn softball, visit www.buccaneersports.com.