The 11th-ranked McLennan Highlanders opened a three-game series with a doubleheader sweep of the Hutchinson Blue Dragons this afternoon at Bosque River Ballpark.
McLennan took game one 4-1 with Connor Zaruba getting the win on the mound.
The Highlanders put a run on the board in the bottom of the second as Sam Flores doubled and score on a single by Marcus Smith.
McLennan added another run in the fourth as Kelly singled and scored on a double by Xander McAfee
Hutchinson's run came on Cody Gunderson's home run in the top of the sixth.
The Highlanders final two runs came in the bottom of the sixth. Mac Rose tripled and scored on a single by Deiten Lachance. Flores was hit by the pitch, and McAfee singled to score Lachance.
McLennan defeated Hutchinson 6-1 in the nightcap with Kade Bing picking up the win on the mound.
The Highlanders began the scoring with a run in the bottom of the first. Daniel Harden led off with a double and came around to score on a single by Lachance.
Two more Highlander runs scored in the fourth. Lachance singled and Kelly doubled. Flores then doubled to score Lachance and Kelly.
McLennan added three runs in the sixth. Rose reached on an error, and Kelly doubled. Flores was given the intentional walk, loading the bases. McAfee, Smith and Harden were all hit by the pitch, bringing Rose, Kelly and Flores in to score.
The Blue Dragons only run came in the top of the ninth. Luis Pimental-Guerrero singled, advanced on a balk, and moved to third on a ground out by Cooper Wesslund. Blake Bradford then reached on a dropped third strike, allowing Pimental-Guerrero to score.
McLennan 4, Hutchinson 1
Hutchinson 000 001 0 – 1 2 0
McLennan 010 102 x – 4 8 1
Ethan Giesbrecht, Jacob Hadden (6) and Cody Gunderson. Connor Zaruba, Clayton Freshcorn (6) and Deiten Lachance. WP: Zaruba; LP: Giesbrecht. Leading hitters – Hutchinson: Cody Gunderson (1-2, HR, RBI); McLennan: Deiten Lachance (1-3, RBI), Mac Rose (1-3, 3B), Sam Flores (1-2, 2B), Xander McAfee (2-3, 2B, 2 RBI) and Marcus Smith (1-3, RBI). Record: McLennan 6-6.
McLennan 6, Hutchinson 1
Hutchinson 000 000 001 – 1 5 1
McLennan 100 203 00x – 6 9 2
Sam Ojeda, Caden Wanless (5), Gus McKay (7) and Colin Cymbalista. Kade Bing, Devin Bennett (5), John Carmichael (8) and Deiten Lachance. WP: Bing; LP: Ojeda. Leading hitters – Hutchinson: Colin Cymbalista (1-4, 3B) and Luis Pimentel-Guerrero (2-4, 2B); McLennan: Daniel Harden (2-4, 2B, RBI), Deiten Lachance (3-4, RBI), Lucas Kelly (2-4, 2 2B), Sam Flores (1-3, 2B, 2 RBI), Xander McAfee (0-3, RBI) and Marcus Smith (0-2, RBI). Record: McLennan 7-6.
