The McLennan Highlanders and Hill Rebels split Wednesday's conference doubleheader at Bosque River Ballpark.
The Rebels came from behind to steal game one 7-5 with Palmer Wenzel taking the loss on the mound for the Highlanders.
McLennan began the scoring with three runs in the bottom of the first. Chris Roller led off with a single and Joe Breaux drew a walk. Nic Motley followed with a double to score Roller. Joe Breaux and Motley then scored on a single by Josh Breaux.
Hill got on the board with Dean Frew's solo home run in the second.
The Rebels added a run in the fourth as Frew walked and scored on a triple by Hayden Brown.
The Highlanders also added a run in the fourth. Roller was hit by the pitch, Joe Breaux singled and Brendan Venter was hit by the pitch to load the bases. Roller then came in to score on an interference by the third baseman.
Hill tied the game wth two runs in the fifth as Craig Keuchel was safe at first on a dropped third strike and scored on a D.J. Petrinsky home run.
McLennan took the lead with a run in the bottom of the fifth as Chase Sortor was hit by the pitch, moved around to third on wild pitches and scored on a single by Roller.
The Rebels stole the win with three runs in the top of the sixth. Bobby Strahan singled and Marco Navarro was hit by the pitch. DeVaughn Gales followed with a three-run homer.
The Highlanders dominated game two, defeating the Rebels 19-7 in a seven-inning run-rule contest. Kyrell Miller picked up the win on the mound for McLennan.
McLennan took control from the start, scoring eight runs in the bottom of the first. Roller led off with a single. Joe Breaux, Venter and Motley drew back-to-back-to-back walks to score Roller. Josh Breaux then walked to score Joe Breaux. Cole Haring was hit by the pitch bringing Venter in to score. Brock Morrison then singled to score Motley and Josh Breaux. Roller and Joe Breaux both walked bringing Haring in to score. Venter then singled to scored Morrison and Roller.
The Highlanders scored four runs in the second. Griffin Paxton was hit by the pitch and scored on a double by Josh Breaux. Josh Breaux moved to third on a passed ball and Haring walked. Morrison was safe on a Hill error bringing Josh Breaux in to score. Haring scored on a sacrifice fly by Roller, and Morrison scored on a double by Joe Breaux.
Hill scored two in the third as Keyton McMillion was hit by the pitch and scored on a home run by Nathan Vail.
McLennan added two runs in the third. Motley doubled and Paxton walked. Josh Breaux singled to score Motley, and Paxton scored on a single by Morrison.
The Rebels added a run in the fourth as Blake Mooty tripled and scored on a wild pitch.
Roller's solo home run in the fourth added another run for the Highlanders.
Three more Highlander runs scored in the fifth. Haring singled and Griffin Williams was safe on fielder's choice. Both runners scored on the three-run homer by Joe Breaux.
Hill plated two runs in the sixth. Mooty walked, Aaron Fanning singled and Strahan walked to load the bases. Mooty scored on a Highlander error and Fanning scored on a single by Vail.
The final Highlander run came in the bottom of the sixth as Jackson Nichols was safe on an error, moved around to third on a ground-rule double by Haring and scored on a sacrifice fly by Morrison.
Hill rounded out the scoring with two runs in the top of the seventh. Navarro was safe at first on a McLennan error, Mooty walked and Fanning singled to load the bases. Strahan walked to score Navarro, and Mooty scored on the walk of Mark Golladay.
The two teams will complete the four-game series with a 1 p.m. doubleheader Saturday in Hillsboro.
Hill 7, McLennan 5
Hill 010 123 0 – 7 8 1
McLennan 300 110 0 – 5 9 0
Patrick Morrow, Javier Eguia (2), Luke Baley (4), Chris Campbell (4), Dave Haveman (5) and D.J. Petrinsky. Bailey Horn, Palmer Wenzel (6) and Josh Breaux. WP: Haveman; LP: Wenzel. Leading hitters – Hill: D.J. Petrinsky (1-4, HR, 2 RBI), Bobby Strahan (2-4), Dean Frew (1-3, HR, RBI), Hayden Brown (1-3, 3B, RBI) and DeVaughn Gales (2-3, HR, 3 RBI); McLennan: Chris Roller (2-3, RBI), Nic Motley (2-4, 2B, RBI), Josh Breaux (1-3, 2 RBI), Cole Haring (1-4, 2B) and George Callil (1-4, 2B). Record: McLennan 22-6 (6-3).
McLennan 19, Hill 7
Hill 002 102 2 – 7 10 3
McLennan 842 131 x – 19 14 3
Aaron Stramel, Dane Kapande (1), Chase Brown (1) Lachlan MacDonald (5) and D.J. Patrinsky, Nathan Vail (3). Kyrell Miller, Connor Heffron (5), Hunter Spaeth (6), Colton Bailey (7) and Nic Motley, Nick Thornquist (6). WP: Miller, LP: Stramel. Leading hitters – Hill: Nathan Vail (2-3, HR, 3 RBI), Blake Mooty (1-1, 3B), Aaron Fanning (2-4), Bobby Strahan (1-2, RBI) and Mark Galloday (0-2, RBI); McLennan: Chris Roller (2-2, HR, 2 RBI), Joe Breaux (3-3, 2B, HR, 5 RBI), Brendan Venter (1-3, 2 RBI), Nic Motley (1-3, 2B, RBI), Josh Breaux (2-3, 2B, 3 RBI), Cole Haring (2-3, 2B, RBI) and Brock Morrison (3-4, 5 RBI). Record: McLennan 23-7 (7-3).
