Baseball 5/7/2026 11:59:00 PM

Dominant pitching, Bohacek's homer lead No. 3 Blinn to win over Paris in South Regional opener

The Buccaneers carried a no-hitter into the ninth inning before hanging on for a one-run victory

Baseball 5/7/2026 11:59:00 PM

Dominant pitching, Bohacek's homer lead No. 3 Blinn to win over Paris in South Regional opener

The Buccaneers carried a no-hitter into the ninth inning before hanging on for a one-run victory

The third-ranked Blinn College baseball team opened postseason play with a strong showing on the mound Thursday.

The top-seeded Buccaneers carried a no-hitter into the ninth inning and got a timely two-run home run from sophomore shortstop Jacob Bohacek in a 2-1 victory over fourth-seeded Paris Junior College in the opening round of the Region 14 South Regional Tournament at Leroy Dreyer Field in Brenham, Texas.

"We knew this was going to be a tough game regardless of who was in the other dugout," Bucs head coach Dusty Hart said. "In this tournament, everybody wants to win and everybody plays you tough, so at the end of the day, all that matters is we got the win in a really good baseball game."

With the win, Blinn improved to 41-12 overall and advanced to the tournament semifinals, where it will face San Jacinto College-North at 6 p.m. Friday in Brenham. The Bucs also extended their season-high winning streak to nine games and moved one step closer to a fourth consecutive South Regional championship.

Thursday's matchup marked a postseason rematch between the two programs after Paris defeated Blinn in the opening round of the 2025 regional tournament. The Bucs later eliminated the Dragons in a consolation matchup before capturing the tournament title.

Blinn's pitching staff dominated for much of Thursday's contest as four pitchers combined to hold Paris hitless through 8 1/3 innings.

Sophomore Ben Polleschultz received a no-decision following a rollercoaster start. The left-hander did not allow a hit while striking out eight Dragons, though he also walked two batters and hit five.

In the sixth inning, Paris put two runners on with no outs against Blinn redshirt freshman reliever Marc Barnhard (2-0), but a pop out and one of three Bucs double plays helped the hosts escape the jam unscathed.

Paris mounted its biggest threat in the top of the seventh inning when it loaded the bases against Barnhard with no outs. After Blinn redshirt freshman pitcher Travis Minard entered in relief, the Dragons scored their lone run on a run-scoring double play before the left-hander prevented further damage. Minard induced a pop out to preserve the Bucs' one-run cushion.

Minard added a 1-2-3 eighth inning.

The Bucs broke through offensively in the bottom of the sixth inning when sophomore infielder Hunter Smolinski singled with one out and Bohacek launched a homer – his team-leading 12th of the season – to left field to give Blinn a 2-0 advantage.

"I just wanted to pass the bat to the next guy in the lineup, so the goal was to find my pitch and hit it hard," Bohacek said. "It didn't matter if it was a walk, a single, or a home run, I just wanted to do my job and get the next guy up, and it worked out in the best way possible."

Blinn finished with six hits, including two singles from sophomore outfielder Reece Lunsford.

The Bucs carried their combined no-hit bid into the ninth inning before Paris recorded its lone hit of the game. Sophomore closer Hudson Melaerts issued a one-out walk and surrendered a single before settling in and inducing consecutive groundouts to end the game and secure Blinn's semifinal berth.

The save was Melaerts' ninth of the season.

"We had gotten out of several jams leading into the ninth inning, so it almost seemed fitting that I found myself in one at the end," Melaerts said. "You never want to put guys on with a one-run lead, but I'm sent out there in the ninth to do a job and the baserunners didn't change that. I know when I'm out there, I can look anywhere on the diamond or peek over into our dugout and see that everyone has faith in me to get outs, and that's what drove me to finish it out."

Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 53 national championships since 1987.

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