No. 5 Highlanders sweep Temple

The No. 5 McLennan Highlanders sealed a series victory over the Temple Leopards with a pair of wins Saturday afternoon at Bosque River Ballpark.

The Highlanders defeated the Leopards 4-1 in game one with Grant Miller getting the win on the mound and Nick Urbantke getting the save.

McLennan got on the board with a run in the bottom of the third as Dylan Neuse doubled, moved to third on a ground out by Aidan Shepardson and scored on a single by Josh Breaux.

The Highlanders added three runs in the fifth. Neuse was hit by the pitch, and Shepardson drew a walk. Breaux followed with a three-run bomb to right-center field.

Temple's only run came in the top of the sixth as Anthony Flores singled and scored on a double by Jordan Monacy.

McLennan dominated the nightcap, defeating the Leopards 14-4 in five innings with Connor Heffron picking up the win on the mound.

The Leopards scored a run in the top of the first as Breck Potvin drew a lead-off walk, moved to second on a wild pitch, advanced to third on a ground out by Joey Orsak and scored on a fielder's choice by Monacy.

The Highlanders scored four runs in the bottom of the first to take the lead. Neuse bunted for a single, and Shepardson singled. Breaux followed with a single to score Neuse. Thomas Santos then doubled to score Shepardson. Keaton Milford followed with a single, scoring Breaux and Santos.

Temple added a run in the second. Devin Tucker walked and Anthony Flores singled. Grayson Lee then singled to score Tucker.

McLennan responded with five runs in the bottom of the second inning. Chase Sortor singled and advanced to second on a sacrifice by George Callil, and Neuse singled. Shepardson followed with a triple to score Sortor and Neuse. Shepardson then scored on a sacrifice fly by Breaux. Santos singled and Milford was hit by the pitch. Nick Thornquist followed with a single to score Santos, and Milford scored on a wild pitch.

The Leopards' final two runs came in the top of the third as Seth Spinn walked and scored on Preston Macik's home run.

Four more Highlander runs scored in the bottom of the third. Neuse singled, stole second and third, and scored on a wild pitch. Breaux was given an intentional walk, and Santos drew a walk. Milford singled to score Breaux, and Griffin Paxton walked to load the bases. Sortor then singled to score Santos and Milford.

McLennan rounded out the scoring with a run in the fourth as Shepardson walked and scored on a triple by Breaux.

McLennan 4, Temple 1
Temple 000 00 1 0 – 1 7 1
McLennan 001 030 x – 4 7 0
Jesse Reed, Jacob Little (6) and Hunter Torrez. Grant Miller, Nick Urbantke (6) and Josh Breaux. WP: Miller; LP: Reed; SV: Urbantke. Leading hitters – Temple: Dalton Watts (2-3) and Jordan Monacy (1-3, 2B, RBI); McLennan: Dylan Neuse (1-2, 2B), Josh Breaux (3-3, HR, 4 RBI) and Keaton Milford (1-3, 2B). Record: McLennan 31-9 (16-3).

McLennan 14, Temple 4
Temple 112 00 – 4 7 1
McLennan 454 1 – 14 14 1
Jared Hart, Kernie Baker (2), Reece Easterling (3) and Anthony Flores. Logan Freeman, Connor Heffron (3), Levi David (5) and Nick Thornquist. WP: Heffron; LP: Hart. Leading hitters – Temple: Jordan Monacy (0-3, RBI), Preston Macik (2-3, 3B, HR, 2 RBI) and Grayson Lee (1-3, RBI); McLennan: Dylan Neuse (3-4), Aidan Shepardson (2-3, 3B, 2 RBI), Josh Breaux (2-2, 3B, 3 RBI), Thomas Santos (2-3, 2B, RBI), Keaton Milford (2-3, 3 RBI), Nick Thornquist (1-3, RBI) and Chase Sortor (2-2, 2 RBI). Record: McLennan 32-9 (17-3).