The McLennan Highlanders swept Saturday's nonconference doubleheader with the Coastal Bend Cougars at Bosque River Ballpark.
The Highlanders defeated the Cougars 9-3 in game one with Reece Calvert getting the win on the mound and Mark Doerries picking up the save.
McLennan began the scoring with two runs in the bottom of the first. Joe Breaux led off with a triple and came in to score on a Cougar error. Tucker Johnson drew a walk and stole second. Brendan Venter then singled to score Johnson.
The Highlanders added a run in the third as Dimas Ojeda walked and scored on a double by Cory Voss.
Coastal Bend got on the board with a run in the fourth as Gabriel Murillo singled, moved to second on an overthrow and scored on a single by Josh Evans.
McLennan scored two more runs in the bottom of the fourth as Brock Morrison walked and scored on Chris Roller's home run.
The Cougars added two runs in the top of the sixth. Roland Resendez drew a walk, and both Evans and Oscar Resendez singled, loading the bases. Tyler Solluhus singled to score Roland Resendez. Evans then came in to score on a Highlander error.
The Highlanders rounded out the scoring with four runs in the bottom of the sixth. Venter singled and Noah McGowan doubled. A wild pitch brought Venter in to score and moved McGowan to third. Brock Morrison singled to score McGowan, and Roller drew a walk. Johnson then doubled to score Morrison and Roller.
McLennan run-ruled Coastal Bend 15-4 in the nightcap with Dustin Jourdan getting the win.
The Cougars scored two runs in the top of the first. Allik Anchondo and Tres Luna both singled and advanced on an overthrow. Anchondo scored on a sacrifice fly by Roland Resendez. Luna then scored on a ground out by Murillo.
The Highlanders exploded for seven runs in the bottom of the first. Ojeda hit a solo home run. Voss drew a walk, Venter singled, and McGowan was safe at first on an error, loading the bases. Cole Haring walked, bringing Voss in to score. Then, Creighton Eldridge was hit by the pitch, bringing Venter in to score. McGowan scored on the walk of Nic Motley and Haring scored on a sacrifice fly by Vela. Griffin Williams then tripled to score Eldridge and Motley.
The Cougars added a run in the second as Oscar Resendez singled, stole second and came around to score on a Highlander error.
The Highlanders added three runs in the bottom of the second. Voss walked, Venter was hit by the pitch, and McGowan walked, loading the bases. Voss came in to score on a passed ball. Venter scored on a sacrifice fly by Haring, and McGowan scored on a sacrifice fly by Eldridge.
Another Highlander run scored in the fourth as Haring singled, stole second and third, and scored on a passed ball. McLennan increased their lead with three runs in the fifth. Ojeda was hit by the pitch, but was out at second on a fielder's choice by Voss. Venter singled, putting runners on first and second. Pinch hitter Nick Mireles followed with a three-run homer.
The Highlanders' final run came in the sixth. Motley was hit by the pitch and Vela walked. Motley advanced to third on a fly out by Williams and scored on a sacrifice fly by Ojeda.
Coastal Bend's final run came in the top of the seventh as Oscar Resendez walked, moved to second on a single by Regan Jacobs, advanced to third on the walk of Elias Rodriguez and scored on a sacrifice fly by Charlie Overstreet.
McLennan 9, Coastal Bend 3
Coastal Bend 000 102 0 – 3 8 1
McLennan 201 204 x – 9 8 1
Kyle Kieschnick, Matt Black 6, Jack Howard (6) and Tyler Solluhus. Reece Calver, Mark Doerries (6) and Cory Voss. WP: Calvert; LP: Kieschnick; SV: Doerries. Leading hitters – Coastal Bend: Josh Evans (3-3, 2B, RBI) and Tyler Solluhus (1-3, RBI); McLennan: Joe Breaux (1-2, 3B), Tucker Johnson (1-3, 2B, 2 RBI), Cory Voss (1-4, 2B, RBI), Brendan Venter (2-3, RBI), Noah McGowan (1-3, 2B), Brock Morrison (1-2, RBI) and Chris Roller (1-2, HR, 2 RBI). Record: McLennan 33-9 (14-6).
McLennan 15, Coastal Bend 4
Coastal Bend 210 000 1 – 4 5 1
McLennan 730 131 x – 15 7 1
Travis Quintanilla, Josh Valdez (2), Arnie Salinas (5), Ashton Cleveland (6), Tyler Solluhus (6) and Gabriel Murillo. Collin Sharp, Michael Cugini (3), Dustin Jourdan (4), Daniel Bullard (5), Hunter Spaeth (6), Palmer Wenzel (7) and Nic Motley. WP: Jourdan; LP: Quintanilla. Leading hitters – Coastal Bend: Roland Resendez (0-2, RBI), Gabriel Murillo (0-3, RBI), Oscar Resendez (2-2) and Charlie Overstreet (0-2, RBI); McLennan: Griffin Williams (1-5, 3B, 2 RBI), Dimas Ojeda (2-3, HR, 2 RBI), Brendan Venter (2-3), Cole Haring (1-2, 2 RBI), Creighton Eldridge (0-1, 2 RBI), Nic Motley (0-2, RBI), Mario Vela (0-1, RBI) and Nick Mireles (1-2, HR, 3 RBI). Record: McLennan 34-9 (14-6).
