Highlanders defeat Frank Phillips in Region V Tournament
The McLennan Highlanders opened Region V Tournament play with a 7-2 win over the Frank Phillips Plainsmen on Friday morning in Lubbock.
William Hairston's solo home run in the bottom of the first inning gave Frank Phillips the lead.
McLennan took the advantage with three runs in the top of the third. Evan Williams singled and scored on a home run by Andrew Rhodes. Trevor Podsednik drew a walk, stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error. Zach Gonzalez followed with a single to score Podsednik.
The Plainsmen added one run in the bottom of the third as Wesley Harris singled, moved to second on a groundout by Hairston and scored on a double by Jarryd Klemm.
The Highlanders rounded out the scoring with four runs in the sixth inning. Dalton Rodriguez walked and scored on a double by Williams. Matt Campbell followed with a single to score Williams. Max Hogan then doubled to score Campbell. Hogan advanced to third on a balk and scored on single by Podsednik.
"Today's game was exactly what the doctor ordered," head coach Mitch Thompson said. "We played very well.
"Kody Hessemer was outstanding on the mound. Frank Phillips is a very aggressive, quality hitting team. We felt Kody was our best matchup against their right-handed hitters. He competed hard and threw all of his pitches for strikes. He was constantly ahead of their hitters and was able to make some big pitches when he got in trouble. Kody wanted to finish the game and I wanted to let him, but I may be in a position to bring him back later in the tournament and decided to get him out of there in the top of the ninth," Thompson said.
"We played very well defensively and had quality, productive at bats. Andrew Rhodes came up big for us with the home run early in the game and we pieced together several doubles in the big four-run sixth inning," Thompson said. "It's only one win, but it was definitely the type of win that we needed heading into the thick of this tournament. I'll take several more like it if you give me my choice."
McLennan 7, Frank Phillips 2
McLennan 003 004 000 – 7 14 0
Frank Phillips 101 000 000 – 2 10 3
Kody Hessmer, Conner Camacho (9) and Dalton Rdriguez. Conrad Wozniak, Marc-Andre Habeck (6) and John Baida. WP: Hessemer; LP: Wozniak. Leading hitters – McLennan: Evan Williams (2-5, 2B, RBI), Matt Campbell (3-5), Max Hogan (1-5, 2B, RBI), Andrew Rhodes (2-4, HR, 2 RBI), Trevor Podsednik (2-4, RBI) and Zach Gonzalez 92-5, RBI); Frank Phillips: William Hairston (2-5, HR, RBI) and Jarryd Klemm (2-5, 2B, RBI). Record: McLennan 30-25 (17-15).