The McLennan Highlanders picked up two conference wins with the sweep of the Ranger Rangers at Bosque River Ballpark.
The Highlanders defeated the Rangers 5-2 in game one with Paul Kirkpatrick getting the complete-game win on the mound.
Ranger began the scoring with one run in the top of the second. Emilio Martinez singled and moved to second on a ground out by Carter Gwynne. Ryan Dufrene followed with a single, moving Martinez to third. Martinez then scored on a sacrifice by JoJo Valencia.
McLennan took the lead with four runs in the bottom of the second. Noah McGowan singled and James Rudkin drew a walk. Both runners advanced on a passed ball. Creighton Eldridge followed with a double, scoring McGowan and Rudkin. Eldridge stole third and scored on a single by Joe Breaux. Breaux then stole second and scored on a triple by Tucker Johnson.
The Rangers added a run in the fifth as Bryan Benz was hit by the pitch, stole second, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a single by Cameron Bordeaux.
The Highlanders rounded out the scoring with a run in the sixth as Eldridge walked, stole second and came around to score on a Ranger error.
McLennan run-ruled the Rangers in the nightcap, 11-1 in seven innings. Coleman Beazley picked up the complete-game win on the mound.
The Highlanders scored a run in the first. Dimas Ojeda and Brendan Venter both singled. Cory Voss then singled to score Ojeda.
McLennan added a run in the second as Chris Roller singled, moved to second on a sacrifice by Mario Vela, stole third and scored on a wild pitch.
The Highlanders exploded for five runs in the third. Venter led off with a double and advanced to third on a fly out by Voss. McGowan singled to score Venter. Rudkin also singled. Roller then doubled to score McGowan and Rudkin. Nic Motley followed with the two-run homer.
McLennan's final four runs came in the fourth. Ojeda singled and scored on a home run by Voss. McGowan tripled and scored on a triple by Rudkin. Rudkin then scored on a single by Roller.
Ranger's only run came in the top of the seventh. Jared Prock walked and Benz singled, moving Prock around to third. Prock then scored on a passed ball.
"Today's ballgames were just what the doctor ordered," head coach Mitch Thompson said. "We got two really well-pitched games from Kirkpatrick and Beazley, allowing us to save our bullpen and putting us in a great position to have quality arms available for the weekend games at Ranger."
"We hit some balls hard in game two and made some plays. It was fun to see us play good defense and put together an entire ballgame: running the bases, stealing bags, hitting balls hard and making good plays on defense. I'm real proud of the way the guys showed up and how we kept expanding and put it on them to win game two in run-rule fashion. Today was two good wins, we just have to come out and be ready to do it again Saturday."
McLennan 5, Ranger 2
Ranger 010 010 0 – 2 5 1
McLennan 040 001 x – 5 6 0
Calvin Coker and Tucker Redden, Bryan Benz (1). Paul Kirkpatrick and Cory Voss. WP: Kirkpatrick; LP: Coker. Leading hitters – Ranger: Cameron Boudreaux (1-4, RBI), Emilio Martinez (2-3) and JoJo Valencia (1-2, RBI); McLennan: Joe Breaux (1-3, RBI), Tucker Johnson (2-4, 3B, RBI) and Creighton Eldridge (2-2, 2B, 2 RBI). Record: McLennan 25-8 (8-5).
McLennan 11, Ranger 1
Ranger 000 000 1 – 1 3 1
McLennan 115 400 x – 11 17 0
Andrew Dean, Lukas Holub (4), Matt Riney (6) and Bryan Benz. Coleman Beazley and Nic Motley. WP: Beazley; LP: Dean. Leading hitters – Ranger: Osvaldo Colon (0-2, RBI); McLennan: Dimas Ojeda (3-4), Brendan Venter (2-4, 2B), Cory Voss (2-3, HR, 3 RBI), Noah McGowan (3-4, 3B, RBI), James Rudkin (2-4, 3B, RBI), Chris Roller (3-4, 2B, 3 RBI) and Nic Motley (1-3, HR, 2 RBI). Record: McLennan 26-8 (9-5).
