Blinn softball team stretches winning streak to 8

BRENHAM – The Blinn softball team stretched its winning streak to eight games by sweeping a doubleheader from Coastal Bend College 3-1, 8-6 in Region XIV South play at Hohlt Park. The Bucs (21-21, 17-5) are tied with Galveston College (28-12, 17-5 for first place with each having two games remaining in the regular season. Blinn trailed in both games Tuesday.

Paige Bunting (10-9) threw a complete game in the opener. She has a six-game winning streak. She struck out five, didn’t have a walk and allowed eight hits and only one earned run.



“My confidence is at an all-time high and I’m trusting my pitches when I’m in the circle,” Bunting said. “When you get three runs of support and you have a small lead, you have to hone-in and focus on hitting the corners [of the plate] and make sure you’re missing the hitters’ barrels.” Costal Bend College (4-39, 4-20), which has wrapped up last place in the seven-team South, scored its run early.

But Grace Bracken had a run-producing single to tie the game in the fourth inning. Cadence Wiese broke the tie with a solo homer in the sixth inning and Bracken added an RBI single in the inning. Blinn had eight hits with two each by Annie Beckendorf and Bracken.

Coastal Bend scored two runs in the first inning of the second game. The Bucs answered with four runs in the second inning. Beckendorf had an RBI double and Bella De Los Santos tied with an RBI single.

T’Era Garrett had a go-ahead RBI double and she scored on Halle Scheel’s single. The Bucs made it 5-2 in the third inning. Both teams scored twice in the fourth inning and the Cougars in the fifth pulled within 7-6.

Bunting pitched the final 2 1/3 innings for the save. Bunting struck out four without allowing a hit or walk. Madisyn Bracknell (4-2) pitched the first three innings to earn the victory.

The Bucs finished with nine hits. Beckendorf’s was 3 for 4 with three RBIs. De Los Santos and Scheel each had two hits.

Blinn will end the regular season with a doubleheader at San Jacinto College-South at 3 p.m. April 23.

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