McLennan & Grayson split regular season finale

The No. 4 McLennan Highlanders and No. 13 Grayson Vikings split today's doubleheader to close out the regular season.
 
It was all McLennan in the opener as the Highlanders defeated the Vikings 11-1 with Wyatt Cheney getting the win on the mound.
 
The Highlanders broke the game open with five runs in the second inning. Daniel Altman and Chase Brown both reached safely on errors. Hank Bard singled to score Altman, and Izzy Lopez singled to load the bases. Hunter Grimes followed with a grand slam.
 
Three more McLennan runs scored in the fourth. Marquis Jackson singled and Ty Johnson was hit by the pitch. Cole Fontenelle doubled to score Jackson, and Johnson scored on a wild pitch. Cole Dillon then singled to score Fontenelle.
 
Grayson's only run came in the bottom of the fourth. Yanluis Ortiz singled and Ian Collier walked. Brandon Howell then singled to score Ortiz.
 
The Highlanders added two runs in the fifth. Brown walked and advanced to second on a ground out by Bard. Lopez singled, scoring Brown, and advanced around to third on a double by Jackson. Lopez then scored on a wild pitch.
 
McLennan rounded out the scoring with a run in the top of the seventh. Bard reached on an error and Lopez walked. Both runners advanced on a ground out by Grimes. Johnson walked to load the bases, and Fontenelle walked to score Bard.
 
Grayson took the nightcap 6-5 with Gray Harrison taking the loss on the mound for McLennan.
 
The Vikings scored one run in the fifth as Brett Nicholas singled, advanced to second on an error and scored on a single by Zach Hudspeth.
 
McLennan took the lead with four runs in the eighth. Katcher Halligan walked, Brown was hit by the pitch, and Jason Hawkins walked, loading the bases. All three runners scored on a triple by Elijah Rodriguez. Rodriguez then scored on a wild pitch.
 
Grayson regained the lead with four runs in the bottom of the inning. Ortiz walked and Devin Warner was hit by the pitch. Luke Piper doubled to score Ortiz and Warner. Tate Bethel followed with a two-run homer.
 
Brown's solo home run for the Highlanders tied the game in the top of the ninth.
 
The Vikings stole the win with a run in the bottom of the ninth as Dean was hit by the pitch, stole second and scored on a walk-off single by Ortiz.
 
Both McLennan and Grayson advance to the Region V Tournament beginning Friday in Midland. The Highlanders will play Howard at 1 p.m., and Grayson will play Odessa at 8 p.m.
 
McLennan 11, Grayson 1
McLennan 050 320 1 – 11 9 3
Grayson 000 100 0 – 1 4 4
Wyatt Cheney, Cash McNicholas (5), Nick Greaney (7) and Hank Bard. Ryan Free, Taylor Calcote (4), Cade Medlin (5) and Ian Collier. WP: Cheney; LP: Free. Leading hitters – McLennan: Hunter Grimes (2-5, GS, 4 RBI), Cole Fontenelle (1-4, 2B, 2 RBI), Cole Dillon (1-3, RBI), Cole Fontenelle (1-4, 2B, 2 RBI), Hank Bard (1-4, RBI), Izzy Lopez (2-3, RBI) and Marquis Jackson (2-4, 2B); Grayson: Brandon Howell (1-3, RBI). Record: McLennan 43-9-1 (28-3).
 
McLennan 6, Grayson 5
McLennan 000 000 041 – 5 3 1
Grayson 000 010 041 – 6 9 0
Will Clements, Will Glatch (3), Ryan Messick (7), Cooper Hrbacek (8), Austin Ford (8), Gray Harrison (8) and Jason Hawkins. Jaron DeBerry, Rye Gunter (7), Zach Ryan (8), Dax Dathe (8) and Yanluis Ortiz. WP: Dathe; LP: Harrison. Leading hitters – McLennan: Elijah Rodriguez (1-4, 3B, 3 RBI) and Chase Brown (1-3, HR, RBI); Grayson: Weston Dean (2-4, 2B), Zach Hudspeth (1-5, RBI), Yanluis Ortiz (1-3, RBI), Devin Warner (1-2, 2B), Luke Piper (1-4, 2B 2 RBI) and Tate Bethel (1-4, HR, 2 RBI). Record: McLennan 43-10-1 (28-4).