The McLennan Highlanders came from behind in both games of Friday's doubleheader to open the 2017 season with a sweep of the Angelina Roadrunners at Bosque River Ballpark.
McLennan defeated Angelina 4-3 in game one with Palmer Wenzel getting the win on the mound.
The Highlanders began the scoring with one run in the bottom of the first. Griffin Williams and Chris Roller both singled. Josh Breaux then singled to score Williams.
McLennan added one run in the bottom of the fifth as Nic Motley walked, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by George Callil and scored on a double by Roller.
Angelina took the lead with three runs in the top of the sixth. Tucker Redden tripled and scored on a wild pitch to being the scoring. Alec Paz was hit by the pitch and Jacob Finke followed with a fielder's choice. A Highlander error put runners on the corners with one out. Jesse Cravey and Nathan Miranda both walked bringing Paz in to score. Finke then scored on the walk of Christian Leonard.
The Highlanders tied the game with a run in the bottom of the sixth as Josh Breaux was hit by the pitch, stole second and scored on a double by Brock Morrison.
McLennan sealed the win with a run in the bottom of the seventh. George Callil led off with a single, Wiliams walked and Roller singled. Brendan Venter then singled to score Callil.
Angelina was in control for much of the second game but the Highlanders prevailed with a 6-5 victory.
The Roadrunners began scoring with a run in the second. Josh Elvir and Blake Lazarine drew back-to-back walks. Elvir then stole third and scored on a wild pitch.
Angelina scored three runs in the third. Antonio Lima reached first base safely on an error and moved to second on a passed ball. Evian Benjamin singled and Roberto Malinowski flew out to right field bringing Lima in to score. Benjamin moved to second on an error and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Leonard also walked. Finke flew out to centerfield scoring Benjamin and moving Leonard to third. Leonard then scored on a balk.
The Roadrunners' final run came in the top of the fourth. Lazarine reached on an error and Chris Booth doubled. Miranda then flew out to score Lazarine.
The Highlanders began their comeback with two runs in the bottom of the fourth. Joe Breaux singled and moved to second on a ground out by Venter. Josh Breaux doubled to score his older brother, Joe. Griffin Paxton grounded out to move Josh Breaux to third and a wild pitch brought Josh in to score.
McLennan tied the game with three runs in the sixth. Joe Breaux was hit by the pitch and Josh Breaux singled, both advancing on a passed ball. Paxton followed with a double to score the Breaux brothers. Mario Vela followed with a single. Paxton was replaced at second by pinch runner Cole Haring. Pinch hitter Ragan Forrest then singled to score Haring.
The Highlanders scored the winning run in the bottom of the seventh. Roller drew a lead-off walk and stole his way around to third. Venter drew a walk to put runners on the corners. Josh Breaux then singled in Roller to end the game.
"This was a great start to the season. Anytime you can come away with two walk-off wins, I think it's a neat day; it doesn't happen very often. In the first game, we had several guys step up to the plate and come up with big two-out hits. Wenzel was outstanding out of the bullpen and we made the plays at the end to get the win, so that was great," head coach Mitch Thompson said. "To come back out in game two and get behind 5-0 after three innings and then fight back to win 6-5 says a whole lot about our ballclub. Our offense continued to battle and Spaeth was outstanding, fighting his way out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam and not giv[ing] up anything. Then we came through at the end of the game, and Josh Breaux got the big hit to win it. Overall, I have to be very happy. I love the character that our guys showed. We had great crowd support and it was a lot of fun."
McLennan 4, Angelina 3
Angelina 000 003 0 – 3 4 0
McLennan 100 011 1 – 4 10 2
Baily Holstein, Jarod Sprinkle (5), Nick Bowan (7) and Tucker Redden. Bailey Horn, Kyrell Miller (4), Palmer Wenzel (6) and Nic Motley. WP: Wenzel; LP: Bowman. Leading hitters – Angelina: Evian Benjamin (2-4), Tucker Redden (1-3, 3B), Nathan Miranda (1-1, RBI), and Christian Leonard (RBI); McLennan: Chris Roller (3-4, 2B, RBI), Brendan Venter (2-4, RBI), Josh Breaux (1-2, RBI), Cole Haring (1-3, 2B), and Brock Morrision (1-3, 2B, RBI). Record: McLennan 1-0.
McLennan 6, Angelina 5
Angelina 013 100 0 – 5 5 0
McLennan 000 203 1 – 6 8 3
Jeremy Rodriguez, Jesse Cravey (5), Garrett Herman (7) and Roberto Malinowski. Logan Freeman, Michael Cugini (5), Hunter Spaeth (7) and Josh Breaux. WP: Spaeth; LP: Herman. Leading hitters – Angelina: Evian Benjamin (2-3), Roberto Malinowski (RBI), Jacob Finke (RBI) and Chris Booth (2-2, 2B); McLennan: Josh Breaux (3-4, 2B, 2 RBI), Griffin Paxton (1-3, 2 RBI) and Ragan Forrest (1-1, RBI). Record: McLennan 2-0.
