Galveston College exhausted its offense in the first four innings of the opening game of its doubleheader against San Jacinto College-North on Saturday, but it was enough to earn a split of the twin bill.
The visiting Whitecaps held on to defeat the Ravens, 9-7, and fell, 9-0, in the nightcap. With the split, GC improved to 29-21 overall on the season, 17-14 in the NJCAA Division I Region 14 South Conference, and remained in third place with four games left to play in the regular season. The Whitecaps have secured a spot in the regional tournament.
“Playing on the road is always tough, especially when you’re playing against a talented team like San Jac-North,” said GC Head Baseball Coach, Brian Reinke. “We managed to split the series on the road and we won two out of three against the Ravens. The team continues to learn and improve. We finish the regular season playing three of our last four games against Wharton this week and we can secure third place in the conference.”
In the opening game on Saturday, the Whitecaps jumped out to a 9-0 lead, boosted by a seven-run surge in the fourth inning.
The Ravens woke up in the following inning and began to chip away at the Whitecaps’ nine-run lead. SJCN scored two runs in the fifth inning, added another pair of scores in the sixth and three more in the seventh before GC stalled the home team’s rally to secure a 9-7 win.
Whitecaps sophomore right-handed hurler John Alkire pitched five innings of five-hit ball, allowed two runs and struck out two Ravens batters to claim the victory, and improved to 8-4 on the season. GC freshman righty Brandon Vassallo struck out the only batter he faced and was credited with his first save of the year.
GC first baseman MD Conner went 2-for-2 and scored two runs while shortstop Marcus Delgado went 1-for-3 with one run scored and two RBIs.
In the second game, SJCN scored at least one run in every inning except the first and tossed a one-hitter to shutout GC, 9-0.
Whitecaps sophomore left-handed pitcher Jacob Cyr pitched four innings, allowed six runs and nine hits, and struck out two opposing batters before calling it a night. Cyr took the loss to fall to 5-4 on the season.
GC will visit Wharton County Junior College on Wednesday at 6 p.m. and will return home to host WCJC in the doubleheader regular-season finale on May 3 at 2 and 4 p.m., at Bernard Davis Field, located at 81st Street and Frank Guisti Drive in Galveston. Games are free and open to the public.
For more information about the Galveston College Whitecaps baseball program, rosters and season schedule, visit https://www.gcwhitecaps.com/landing/index.
ABOUT GALVESTON COLLEGE
Galveston College was founded in 1967 and is a comprehensive community college providing the residents of Galveston Island and the surrounding region with academic, workforce development, continuing education and community service programs.