Highlanders get series sweep of Rangers

The McLennan Highlanders swept the Ranger Rangers Saturday afternoon at Bosque River Ballpark to complete the four-game series sweep.

The Highlanders shut out the Rangers in game one, 1-0, with Jase Embry getting the complete-game victory on the mound. The only run came in the top of the third. Mario Vela singled, moved to second on a single by George Callil and advanced to third on a fielder's choice by Joe Breaux. Brendan Venter was then safe at first on an error allowing Vela to score. 

McLennan defeated Ranger 4-3 in the nightcap with Palmer Wenzel getting the win on the mound.

The Highlanders scored two runs in the bottom of the first as Roller drew a lead-off walk and scored on a home run by Nic Motley. 

Ranger got on the board with Austin Stokes' home run in the top of the third.

McLennan added a run in the bottom of the third as Roller doubled, stole third and scored on a wild pitch.

The Rangers tied the game with two runs in the seventh. Hagen Tucker walked and Sebastian Battle doubled. Tucker scored on a ground out by Austin Tidwell and Battle scored on a single by J.J. Avalos. 

Joe Breaux claimed the victory for the Highlanders with a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth. 

"These games with Ranger were two totally different games from what we played Wednesday. Wednesday, we were very offensive, got good pitching, and beat them up pretty good. Today was two dog fights. I give Ranger, their coaches and players a lot of credit; they really competed hard," head coach Mitch Thompson said. "Our guys were up to the challenge and we won two one-run games."

"In game one, Embry was outstanding and took a no-hitter into the seventh inning. I'm really proud of Jase's effort; that's two in a row. I challenged him to go out, be consistent and do it again today, and he did. The challenge is again: can he do it again next week and be good again? I'm very pleased with his outing."

"In game two, we got good pitching again. Jason Blanchard and Connor Heffron were good, Hunter Spaeth got big outs and Wenzel was outstanding to finish the game. I'm really proud of our pitching. If you go back and look at the four games with Ranger, we gave up six runs in four games. With our defense and our pitching going like that, we are going to win a lot of games if we continue to hold down the opponent like that.

"We struggled today offensively, and I wasn't happy with our at-bats. We got picked off a couple times on the bases and just didn't play very well offensively. Then, to win the last game, Motley hit a two-run home run and Joe Breaux had the walk-off home run. It was really outstanding to see Joe stay behind that ball and drive it out of the park. I couldn't be any happier for a guy than that."

"These were big wins for our team. We've got a big non-conference game Monday at 2 p.m. at home against San Jacinto. We need a big crowd out there for that. Two of the best junior colleges in the state of Texas will be hooking up. Both are coming off of conference weekends, and it should be a battle and an interesting game. Then Wednesday, we've got a home conference doubleheader against Hill. It doesn't get any easier for us, but we are prepared for that and looking forward to it and looking forward to the challenges."

McLennan 1, Ranger 0
Ranger 000 000 0 – 0 1 1
McLennan 001 000 x – 1 6 1
Andrew Dean and Ryan Dufrene. Jase Embry, Palmer Wenzel (7) and Josh Breaux. WP: Embry; LP: Dean; SV: Wenzel. Leading hitters – Ranger: Cayde Williams (1-3); McLennan: Brendan Venter (1-3, RBI) and Chase Sortor (2-3). Record: McLennan 20-5 (5-2).

McLennan 4, Ranger 3
Ranger 001 000 200 – 3 8 0
McLennan 201 000 001 – 4 6 0
Nolan Gazouski, Chris Logan (7) and Ryan Dufrene. Jason Blanchard, Connor Heffron (5), Hutner Spaeth (7), Palmer Wenzel (7) and Nic Motley, Nick Thornquist (6). Leading hitters – Ranger: Austin Stokes (2-4, 2B, HR, RBI), Andruid Martinez (2-4, 2B), Ryan Dufrene (1-3, 3B), Sebastian Battle (2-4, 2B), Cristian Sanjurjo (0-4, RBI), and J.J. Avalon (1-1, RBI); McLennan: Chris Roller (2-3, 2B), Nic Motley (1-2, HR, 2 RBI) and Joe Breaux (2-4, HR, RBI). Record: McLennan 21-5 (6-2).