McLennan Highlanders claim NTJCAC Championship

The McLennan Highlanders captured the North Texas Junior College Athletic Conference Championship with a doubleheader sweep of the Temple Leopards this afternoon at Bosque River Ballpark.
 
McLennan defeated Temple 2-0 in the opener with Logan Freeman picking up the win on the mound.
 
Alex Lopez put the Highlanders on the board with a solo home run to lead off the bottom of the second inning.
 
McLennan's final run came in the bottom of the fourth as Dominic Tamez doubled and score on a single by Hank Bard.
 
Game two provided more offense from both squads with the Highlanders taking the 13-9 victory. Landry Wideman got the win on the mound.
 
Temple scored two in the top of the first inning but McLennan responded with three runs in the bottom of the inning to take the lead. The Leopards tied the game with a run in the top of the second but once again, the Highlanders responded, scoring two in the bottom of the inning to go ahead 5-3. Temple tied the game at five with two runs in the third and took a one-run lead in the top of the fourth, 6-5. McLennan added three runs in the fifth to go back on top 8-6. The Leopards added another two runs in the sixth to tie up the game once again but a Highlander run in the bottom of the inning put McLennan back on top, 9-8. Temple scored in the eighth to tie things up once again but McLennan broke the game open with four runs in the bottom of the eighth, sealing the victory.
 
The two teams will complete the regular season with a noon doubleheader Saturday in Temple.
 
McLennan will host a NJCAA Region V Tournament May 14-17 at Bosque River Ballpark. The double-elimination tournament will consist of the McLennan, the top seed from the North, and the North's third seed, along with the second and fourth seeds from the West.