Peyton Welker (Joe Alberico)The Blinn College softball team split a twin bill with seventh-ranked McLennan Community College on Wednesday at the Hohlt Park in Brenham, Texas.

Playing for the first time since Feb. 24, the Buccaneers (11-5) earned a 10-2 run-rule victory over the Highlassies in game one before falling 8-4 in game two.

Blinn head coach Rick Church said he was proud of the way his team responded to the weather-induced layoff, and was equally impressed with the way his team answered being run-ruled by McLennan during their first meeting on Feb. 18.

“We talked before the game today and told our team that it was time to go out and make a statement,” Church said. “We certainly did that in the first game, and in game two, we never gave up. I was really proud of the way we competed and I’m happy with the split.”

Alayna Calvillo (Joe Alberico)Blinn rallied out of a 2-0 deficit in game one, tying the contest with two runs in the third inning before going ahead with a four-run fourth frame.

Sophomore Madeline Stephenson singled and scored on an error following a single by freshman Alayna Calvillo in the second inning. Alayna took third on the error and crossed the plate when sophomore Emily Kristynik singled to center to make it 2-all.

In the fourth, freshman Madison Dorrow doubled on a line drive to left field to drive in freshman Ripley Welker. Stephenson plated Dorrow with a single. Blinn’s lead grew to 6-2 when Kristynik singled in freshman Erynne Castillo and Calvillo.

In the home half of the sixth, Stephenson and Calvillo singled, and after a Kristynik RBI single made it 7-2, sophomore Skylar Shanahan sent a three-run walk-off home run over the wall in left field.

Skylar Shanahan (Joe Alberico)“I was confident in myself, I knew my team was confident in me, and I just wanted to get it done for them,” Shanahan said. “I was just waiting on my pitch, and the pitcher gave me that pitch and I sent it out.”

Blinn finished with 13 hits, left by a three-hit, four-RBI performance for Kristynik. Shanahan finished with three RBIs. Calvillo and Welker had two hits apiece. Calvillo also scored three runs.

The Bucs made a winner out of freshman pitcher Peyton Welker, who tossed a complete game and improved to 4-1 on the year. Welker allowed two earned runs on four hits with three walks and a strikeout.

“I knew my offense and defense had my back, so it was really easy to just stay calm out there,” said Welker. “I was in a few jams, but it came down to trusting myself, my coaches, and my teammates, and the hard work I’ve put in.”

In the finale, the Highlassies got going early with a two-run first inning and never surrendered their lead.

Blinn scored one run in the bottom of the first on a Shanahan sacrifice fly, and made it 5-2 in the fourth with an RBI single off the bat of Dorrow.

McLennan tallied three runs in the top of the fifth.

A Shanahan single in the home half of the fifth scored Calvillo, and the Bucs added one more on a Shanahan RBI groundout in the seventh.

The Bucs tallied nine hits, including two apiece for Calvillo, Dorrow, and Kristynik.

Sophomore pitcher Chloee Mason was tagged with the loss following 2 1/3 innings of work. She allowed four runs (three earned) on four hits with a walk. Blinn will hit the road this weekend to face Tyler Junior College in a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 11, in Tyler, Texas.

Story by Joe Alberico, Blinn College Sports Information

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