Highlanders defeat Wharton on opening day

The McLennan Highlanders opened the 2016 season with a 12-7 win over the Wharton Pioneers at Bosque River Ballpark.

The Highlanders exploded for seven runs in the bottom of the second. Nah McGowan led off, reaching first and moving to second on a Wharton error. Cory Voss followed with a home run over the left-field fence. Brendan Venter doubled and scored on a double by Brock Morrison. Creighton Eldridge followed with a single. Morrison then scored on a sacrifice fly by Mario Vela. Tucker Johnson then doubled to score Eldridge. Joe Breaux followed with a single. Johnson and Breaux both came around to score on another Wharton error.

Wharton got on the board with one run in the top of the third as Spencer Griffin was safe on a McLennan error, advanced to second on a ground out by Enrique Sanchez, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a single by Ricky Gonzales.

McLennan added one run in the fourth. Johnson was safe at first on a fielder's choice and stole second. Breaux then singled to score Johnson.

The Highlanders' final four runs came in the bottom of the sixth. Chris Roller and Vela both doubled and scored on a triple by Cole Haring. Haring scored on a sacrifice fly by Rudkin. Noah McGowan then singled, moved to second on a single by Nic Motley and scored on a single by Venter.

The Pioneers scored two runs in the top of the seventh. Griffin tripled and Gonzales drew a walk. Griffin came in to score on a Highlander error that put Stefano on first. Gonzales then scored on a fly out by Gallegos.

Wharton added two runs in the eighth as Timmy Blakeney walked and scored on a home run by Tyler Kimball.

The Pioneers rounded out the scoring with two runs in the top of the ninth as Gonzales walked and scored on a home run by Stefano.

"Today was a very good first day.  We were able to get our feet wet, play a bunch of different guys, get four guys their first work on the mound this year, and come away with a good win, coach Mitch Thompson said. "Offensively, I think we did a nice job swinging the bat and driving the ball.  We had nine extra base hits on the day and scored a dozen runs.  We did all of that while getting 13 different guys at bats, so that was very encouraging. I thought we hit the mistakes that their pitchers made and that we pressured their team defensively by taking the extra base several times. I was very pleased with our aggressiveness running the bases."
 
"I am not happy about giving up seven runs, but I have to give Wharton some credit as they continued to battle even though they were down big late in the game.  We helped them some by making a couple of defensive errors and walking or hitting a few batters. Overall though, it was a good first day."
 
"I am looking forward to seeing our team compete again tomorrow. It will provide us with another opportunity to see the first outings for several more of our pitchers and position players. "

McLennan 12, Wharton 7

Wharton 001 000 222 – 7 9 2
McLennan 070 104 00x – 12 18 1
Kyle Craft, David Leal (5), Conner Baumgardner (7) and Cory Gallegos. Reece Calvert, Zach Sullivan (5), Colton Bailey (8), Palmer Wenzel (9) and Cory Voss. WP: Calvert; LP: Craft. Leading hitters – Wharton: Spencer Griffin (2-4, 3B), Ricky Gonzales (1-2, RBI), Dallas Stefano (2-4, HR, 3 RBI) and Tyler Kimball (2-3, HR, 2RBI); McLennan: Tucker Johnson (2-5, 2 2B, RBI), Joe Breaux (2-3, RBI), James Rudkin (1-4, RBI) Cory Voss (2-3, 3B, HR, 2 RBI), Brendan Venter (3-5, 2B, RBI), Brock Morrison (1-3, 2B, RBI), Mario Vela (1-3, 2B, RBI), Cole Haring (2-2, 3B, 2 RBI) and Chris Roller (2-2, 2B). Record: McLennan 1-0.