Highlanders sweep Midland

The McLennan Highlanders swept the three-game series with the Midland Chaparrals at Bosque River Ballpark.

The Highlanders opened the series with an 8-3 Friday afternoon. Reece Calvert picked up the win on the mound for McLennan and Michael Cugini got the save.
 
Midland began the scoring with one run in the top of the first as Eric Senior singled, moved to second on the walk of Yahir Gurrola, advanced to third on a fly out by Tony Beam and scored on a wild pitch.
 
The Chaparrals added a run in the third. Hill Alexander walked and Gurrola singled. Alexander then came in to score on a Highlander error.
 
McLennan got on the board with a run in the bottom of the fourth. Cory Voss walked and Brendan Ventor singled. Brock Morrison followed with a single to score Voss.
 
Midland's final run came in the top of the fifth as Nolan Rattai was hit by the pitch, advanced around to third on a single by Senior and scored on a fly out by Gurrola.
 
The Highlanders took the lead with three runs in the bottom of the fifth. Vela walked and Chris Roller was safe on an error. Jamed Rudkin flew out, moving Vela to third. Vela then came in to score on another Midland error. Tucker Johnson drew a walk. Voss then doubled to score Roller and Johnson.
 
McLennan added three runs in the sixth. Nic Motley and Joe Breaux both walked. Rudkin then tripled, scoring Motley and Breaux. Johnson followed with a single to score Rudkin.
 
The Highlanders rounded out the scoring with a run in the eighth. Dimas Ojeda led off with a double and was replaced by pinch runner Creighton Eldridge. Eldridge then moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Cole Haring and scored on a single by Vela.
 
"Midland is a talented ballclub with a physical looking lineup and we faced a good starting pitcher for them," head coach Mitch Thompson said. "It wasn't a clean win. We made some mistakes and it cost us a couple runs. But we battled through and when Midland opened the door for us we ran through and scored a bunch as well. Voss and Rudkin had big days at the plate, each driving in a couple runs. Cugini was outstanding out of the bullpen in relief of Calvert. Our pitching was good and we played solid defense. Overall it was a really good win."
 
On Saturday, the Highlanders completed the sweep with two wins.

McLennan began the day with a 15-2 five-inning run-rule victory. Mark Doerries got the win on the mound.

Midland began the scoring with one run in the top of the first. Hill Alexander reached first safely and advanced all the way to third on an error by the Highlanders. Alexander then scored on a sacrifice fly by Eric Senior.

The Highlanders exploded for nine runs in the bottom of the first. James Rudkin drew a lead-off walk and Dimas Ojeda doubled. Cory Voss walked to load the bases. Brendan Ventor then doubled to score Rudkin and Ojeda. Tucker Johnson grounded out, bringing Voss in to score. Brock Morrison then reached first safely on an error, allowing Ventor to score. Joe Breaux followed with a single and Nic Motley was hit by the pitch, loading the bases. Creighton Eldridge then doubled to score Morrison, Breaux and Motley. Eldridge then stole third and scored on another Midland error that put Rudkin on first. Rudkin advanced around to third on an overthrow and scored on a sacrifice fly by Ojeda.

The Chaparrals added a run in the second as Nolan Rattai walked, moved around to third on a double by Braden Hayward and scored on a balk.

McLennan extended their lead with two runs in the second. Morrison hit a solo home run. Breaux then walked, moved to second on a wild pitch and scored on a double by Motley. 

The Highlanders added another run in the third as Ventor doubled and scored on a double by Johnson.

McLennan rounded out the scoring with three runs in the fourth. Breaux and Motley both singled and scored on a triple by Eldridge. Eldridge then scored on a wild pitch.

The Highlanders defeated the Chaparrals 7-1 in the nightcap with Collin Sharp getting the win.

McLennan scored two runs in the first. Rudkin was hit by the pitch and stole second. Voss was also hit by pitch. A wild pitch brought Rudkin in to score and advanced Voss around to third. Voss then scored on a single by Griffin Williams.

The Highlanders added a run in the third as Rudkin walked and scored on a double by Ojeda.

McLennan extended their lead with a run in the fourth as Brady Sullivan tripled and scored on a double by Breaux.

Another Highlanders' run came in the fifth as Ojeda doubled and scored on a double by Motley.

Alex Salcido's solo home run in the eighth was Midland's only run.

McLennan's final two runs came in the bottom of the eighth as Mario Vela doubled and scored on a home run by Breaux.

"It's always nice to get a series sweep. To outscore Midland 30-6 in the three games just shows how dominant we were this weekend and it's exciting to see. It shows that we have the capability to be a very good ballclub," head coach Mitch Thompson said.

"We still have a long way to go, but up and down our lineup, our guys competed very hard. We played good defense over the course of the day. Our pitchers, especially in game two, were outstanding. Sharp had a great start and threw five really strong innings. Then, Dustin Jourdan completed the game with four really good innings as well."

"In each game we had seven extra-base hits. That's exciting because we are driving balls and hitting balls hard. The nice thing is we continue to get the chance to play multiple guys and try out different combinations. I'm very proud of the way we have started the season. I'm sure we will see Midland again at the end of the year and this gives us something to really build on."

McLennan 8, Midland 3
Midland 101 010 000 – 3 7 2
McLennan 000 133 01x – 8 9 0
Tucker Davidson, Zach Murphy (6) and Tony Beam. Reece Calvert, Michael Cugini (6) and Cory Voss. WP: Calvert; LP: Davidson; SV: Cugini. Leading hitters – Midland: Yahi Gurrola (0-2, RBI) and Eric Senior (2-4); McLennan: James Rudkin 1-5, 3B, 2 RBI), Tucker Johnson (1-3, RBI), Cory Voss (2-4, 2 2B, 2 RBI), Dimas Ojeda (1-1, 2B), Brock Morrison (1-4, RBI) and Mario Vela (1-3, RBI. Record: McLennan 8-1.

McLennan 15, Midland 2
Midland 110 00 – 2 2 2
McLennan 921 3x – 15 12 1
Shane Browning, Jake Gonzales (1), Ramon Salazar (4) and Tony Beam. Chris Glover, Mark Doerries (4) and Nic Motley. WP: Doerries; LP: Browning. Leading hitters – Midland: Eric Senior (1-2, RBI) and Braden Hayward (1-2, 2B); McLennan: Dimas Ojeda (1-3, 2B), Brendan Ventor (2-3, 2 2B, 2 RBI), Tucker Johnson (1-3. 2B, 2 RBI), Brock Morrison (1-3, HR, 2 RBI), Joe Breaux (2-2, RBI), Nic Motley (2-2, 2B, RBI) and Creighton Eldridge (3-3, 2B, 3B, 5 RBI). Record: McLennan 9-1.

McLennan 7, Midland 1
Midland 000 000 010 – 1 9 0
McLennan 201 110 02x – 7 9 0
Brady Moxham, Jesse Borden (5), Jason Conway (9) and Alex Salcido. Collin Sharp, Dustin Jourdan (6) and Cory Voss, Nic Motley (3). WP: Sharp; LP: Moxham. Leading hitters – Midland: Yahir Gurrola (2-4, 2B), Alex Salcido (1-4, HR, RBI), Dally Burney (1-3, 2B) and Nick Russell (2-4); McLennan: Joe Breaux (2-5, 2B, HR, 3 RBI), Dimas Ojeda (2-4, 2 2B, RBI), Griffin Williams (1-3, RBI), Brady Sullivan (1-4, 3B), Mario Vela (1-4, 2B) and Nic Motley (1-3, 2B, RBI). Record: McLennan 10-1.