Highlanders take two at Howard

The McLennan Highlanders won two out of the three games with the Howard Hawks.

The Highlanders opened the three-game series with a 17-4 run-rule win over the Hawks Friday afternoon. Reece Calvert picked up the win on the mound for the Highlanders.

McLennan began the scoring with four runs in the top of the second. Tucker Johnson and Joe Breaux both singled, and Nic Motley was hit by the pitch to load the bases. Creighton Eldridge followed with a fielder's choice, scoring Johnson and putting Motley out at second. James Rudkin then singled to score Breaux and Eldridge. Dimas Ojeda drew a walk, moving Rudkin to second. Rudkin then came around to score on a Howard error.

The Highlanders added three runs in the third. Johnson was safe at first on an error and moved to second on a ground out by Breaux. Motley followed with a single, scoring Johnson. Mario Vela then tripled to score Motley. Vela scored on a sacrifice fly by Eldridge. 

McLennan exploded for five runs in the top of the fifth to extend the lead. Johnson was safe at first on an error but was put out at second on a fielder's choice by Breaux. Motley singled and Eldridge was hit by the pitch to load the bases. Rudkin singled to score Breaux and Motley. Ojeda and Cory Voss drew back-to-back walks, bringing Eldridge in to score. Brendan Venter then singled to score Rudkin and Ojeda. 

All four of Howard's runs came in the bottom of the fifth. Pablo Delgado singled and Tyson Mauser walked. Robbie Lammons followed with a home run. Cameron Williams then reached first and advanced to second on a Highlander error. Williams then moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a sacrifice fly by Rahman Williams.

The Highlanders added two runs in the sixth. Chris Roller drew a walk and stole second. Vela singled to score Roller. Vela then moved to second on an overthrow, advanced to third on a balk and scored on an error.

McLennan rounded out the scoring with three runs in the seventh as Venter and Motley both singled and scored on a home run by Vela.

"This was a good win against a traditionally strong Howard program. It's tough to get off the bus and play well after a five hour bus ride, but I give our guys credit; we battled through it," head coach Mitch Thompson said. 

"Calvert threw the ball well and went six strong innings even though he wasn't as sharp as he has been earlier in the season. It was good to get Paul Kirkpatrick into the game for the first time this season. He was very good in his one inning."

"We had the 14-hit attack and had to be pleased with our bats. When Howard opened the door and created some opportunities by keeping an inning going because of an error, we ran right through it. Rudkin and Vela had big days. It's nice to see somebody at the top and somebody at the bottom of the lineup continue to hit."

"We have a doubleheader tomorrow and we are going to try to get out of here with three wins. We will have our hands full I'm sure."

Howard came from behind to take game one, 11-10. Mark Doerries took the loss for the Highlanders. McLennan led 6-1 after 3 1/2 innings of play. Howard tied the game with five runs in the bottom of the fourth and added two runs in the fifth to take the 8-6 lead. The Highlanders tied the game with two runs in the top of the sixth. The Hawks regained the lead with three runs in the bottom of the sixth. McLennan scored two runs in the top of the seventh, but it wasn't enough. Tucker Johnson and Cory Voss led the Highlanders at the plate. Johnson was 3-4 with a home run and four RBIs while Voss was 3-4 with a double, a home run and two RBIs. Joe Breaux recorded two hits. Creighton Eldridge and Mario Vela both picked up an RBI, and Brock Morrison hit a double.

McLennan bounced back to defeat Howard 11-2 in the nightcap with Dustin Jourdan getting the win on the mound. James Rudkin hit two home runs and picked up three RBIs while Morrison was 2-5 with a double. Brendon Venter was 3-5 with a home run and an RBI. Griffin Williams went 2-3 with a double and an RBI while Johnson recorded two hits. Chris Roller was 3-5 with a home run and four RBIs, and Cole Haring hit a solo home run.

"Anytime you go on the road and beat a team like Howard two out of three games, you have to feel pretty good about the weekend," head coach Mitch Thompson said. "I don't feel like we played very good in the second game of the series. We didn't play very good defense and we didn't make big pitches when we needed them."

"Overall, getting two out of three is good. We are currently sitting 13-2 and you have to be happy with that so far this season. We got the chance to get a lot of guys out on the field and get their feet wet and they responded well. I like the way we responded after the loss, coming back to win big. We had five home runs and 15 base hits." 

"We tried a few different things, playing some people in different positions and it opened up some doors for us. Overall, it was a good weekend. We had to play a good club on the road in a tough environment and we played well." 

McLennan 17, Howard 4
McLennan 043 052 3 – 17 14 3
Howard 000 040 0 – 4 4 6
Reece Calvert, Paul Kirkpatrick (7) and Cory Voss. Tyler Giovanoni, Brady Allen (2), Alberto Rosario (7) and Robbie Lammons. WP: Calvert; LP: Giovanoni. Leading hitters – McLennan: James Rudkin (2-5, 4 RBI), Cory Voss (1-4, RBI), Brendan Venter (2-5, 2 RBI), Nic Motley (3-4, RBI), Mario Vela (3-5, 3B, HR, 5 RBI), Creighton Eldridge (0-2, 2 RBI) and Brock Morrison (1-1, 2B); Howard: Robbie Lammons (1-3, HR, 3 RBI) and Rahman Williams (0-2, RBI). Record: McLennan 12-1.

Howard 11, McLennan 10
McLennan 203 102 2 – 10 13 4
Howard     100 523 x – 11 13 1
Collin Sharp, Mark Doerries (5) and Cory Voss. Jose Quezada, Jake Davis (6) and Tracker Conn. WP: Davis; LP: Doerries. Leading hitters – McLennan: Joe Breaux (2-3), Cory Voss (3-4, 2B, HR, 2 RBI), Tucker Johnson (3-4, HR, 4 RBI), Creighton Eldridge (0-2, RBI), Mario Vela (1-3, RBI) and Brock Morrison (1-1, 2B); Howard: Robbie Lammons (2-4, 2 RBI), Dominic Thornton (3-4, HR, RBI), Brendon Foust (2-4, HR, 2 RBI), Andrew Beck (1-4, RBI), Hunter Hill (3-4, 2B, RBI), Rahman Williams (1-3, 2 RBI) and Tyson Mauser(1-2, 2B, RBI). Record: McLennan 12-2.

McLennan 11, Howard 2
McLennan 110 021 213 – 11 17 3
Howard 000 000 011 – 2 12 1
Dustin Jourdan, Michael Cuginin (4), Palmer Wenzel (8) and Nic Motley. Parker Towns, Brandon Maine (6), Pake Montgomery (8), Brandon White (9) and Tracker Conn. WP: Jourdan; LP: Towns. Leading hitters – McLennan: James Rudkin (2-3, 2 HR, 3 RBI), Brock Morrison (2-5, 2B), Brendon Venter (3-5, HR, RBI), Tucker Johnson (2-4), Griffin Williams (2-3, 2B, RBI), Chris Roller (3-5, HR, 4 RBI) and Cole Haring (1-2, HR, RBI); Howard: Dominic Thornton (2-5, 2B, RBI) and Tracker Conn. (2-3). Record: McLennan 13-2.