Blinn sweeps Northeast Texas to claim Mid-South District title, advance to NJCAA World Series

WACO, Texas — Blinn College completed a two-game sweep of Northeast Texas Community College on Friday, defeating the Eagles 11-1 in the Region 14 Super Regional to claim the Mid-South District championship and advance to the NJCAA Division I Baseball World Series.

Blinn, ranked No. 3 nationally, improved to 45-12 overall and outscored Northeast Texas 21-4 across the best-of-three series after opening with a 10-3 victory Thursday.

The Buccaneers earned their fourth consecutive trip to the NJCAA Division I Baseball World Series in Grand Junction, Colo., and the 10th appearance in program history.

Blinn took control early in Friday's clincher, scoring twice in the first inning on a two-run single by Benji Barrera. Hunter Smolinski added a sacrifice fly in the third to make it 3-0 before Northeast Texas scored its lone run in the fourth.

The Buccaneers responded with a four-run fifth inning to break the game open. Jacob Bohacek reached on an error that allowed a run to score, Zavhary Tuxhorn followed with an RBI double, and Ryley Leininger added an RBI single as Blinn extended its lead to 7-1.

Blinn added four more runs in the seventh, highlighted by a three-run double from Reece Lunsford. Bohacek capped the scoring with an RBI single later in the inning.

Luke Ekdall earned the win for Blinn, allowing one earned run on three hits over 5 1/3 innings. He struck out seven and walked five. Ben Polleschultz provided 2 2/3 innings of one-hit relief with four strikeouts, and Hudson Melaerts worked a scoreless ninth inning with two strikeouts.

Northeast Texas closes its season after advancing to the super regional round, while Blinn awaits its seed for the 10-team national tournament. The NJCAA Division I Baseball World Series begins May 23 in Grand Junction.