By Stephen Collins Sports Editor Alvin Community College took charge in the Region XIV Red Zone Baseball Conference standing by winning three out of four games against Galveston College at Phillips Field over the weekend. This four-game matchup saw the Red Zone Co-Leaders compete, with the Whitecaps narrowly defeating Alvin 3-1 on Thursday, as Galveston’s […]
By Stephen Collins
Sports Editor
Alvin Community College took charge in the Region XIV Red Zone Baseball Conference standing by winning three out of four games against Galveston College at Phillips Field over the weekend.
This four-game matchup saw the Red Zone Co-Leaders compete, with the Whitecaps narrowly defeating Alvin 3-1 on Thursday, as Galveston’s Guillaume Blanchette bested the Dolphins’ sophomore pitcher Bryson Mitchell.
Mitchell was taking the mound for the first time since achieving a perfect game against Blinn the prior weekend.
Nonetheless, Alvin (16-5 overall, 10-2 in conference) bounced back with a 6-5 victory in the second game, which was halted late Thursday due to darkness.
When action resumed on Friday, Cameron Cooper delivered a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the 11th inning.
The Dolphins went on to sweep the doubleheader on Saturday, winning 3-1 and 6-4.
Consecutive no-out singles from Austin Finnigan, Cooper, and Lewis Guilbeau set up Jack Kaiser’s RBI grounder and a run scored by Cooper on Rick Normura’s infield hit, giving ACC a 2-0 edge.
Dolphins’ starting pitcher and winning player Nick Hernandez (complete game, seven strikeouts) appeared to evade a bases-loaded, one-out situation in the third, as the infield umpire initially ruled the Whitecaps’ runner out at first for an inning-ending double play.
However, the home plate umpire later reversed the call, allowing Galveston to score its first run, but Hernandez limited the damage to that sole score, with the Dolphins responding in the fourth on Michael Page’s sacrifice fly.
Romeo Cortina contributed two RBIs for ACC in the series-deciding game, while Normura recorded two hits.
Alvin also mounted a comeback, scoring three runs in the bottom of the ninth to edge Chicago South Suburban 6-5 in a non-conference match on Friday.
The Dolphins will host Wharton County next, playing on Thursday at noon, followed by two games at Wharton on March 15, starting at 2 p.m.
Lady Dolphins split with Blinn, San Jac – The ACC Softball team split their doubleheaders against Blinn College and San Jacinto South over the weekend.
The Lady Dolphins fell 8-3 in their first game against Blinn on Friday in Brenham, but secured a 4-3 victory in the second game.
Bianca Barrera (Alvin High School) and Caitlyn Gunn each had three hits in that match, supporting winning pitcher Monica Montelongo. Alvin and San Jac faced off with 3-2 results on Saturday at Ruth Ryan Field, where the Lady Dolphins again won the second game.
The Lady Dolphins came back from a 2-0 deficit, scoring two runs in the sixth and then clinching the game-winner in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Montelongo grabbed the win in the circle, and Gunn contributed an RBI. Former Alvin Lady Yellowjacket Karri Smith, who recently earned Region XIV Pitcher of the Week accolades, was the winning pitcher for the Lady Coyotes in the first game.
The Lady Dolphins will host Coastal Bend for a Wednesday doubleheader, starting with the first game at 1 p.m.
