No. 20 Highlassies sweep NCTC

The No. 20 McLennan Highlassies swept this afternoon's conference doubleheader with the North Central Lady Lions at Bosque River Ballpark.

McLennan came from behind to defeat North Central 2-1 in the first game with Victoria Vasquez getting the win in the circle. Vasquez faced 28 batters in the game, allowing no earned runs and striking out 11.

The Lady Lions' only run came in the top of the sixth as Chelsea Luddeke reached first on an error, stole second and scored on another Highlassie error.

The Highlassies stole the win with a walk-off double by Cassie Pavlas in the bottom of the seventh following back-to-back walks by Brittany Montoya and Zayra Olguin, and a sacrifice bunt by Charley Avery.

McLennan was in control of game two from the start, coming away with the 7-4 victory. Emily Klanika got the win in the circle, striking out seven.

The Highlassies scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning. Pavlas led off with a double and Kaitlin Richards drew a walk. Ariana Hernandez followed with a double to score Pavlas and Richards. Hernandez then scored on a double by Genisa Marrero-Carter.

McLennan added a run in the second as Zayra Olguin singled, moved to second on an error, advanced to third on a single by Pavlas and scored on a sacrifice fly by Olivia Lantigua.

North Central got on the board with a run in the top of the third as Luddeke singled, moved to second on a ground out by Madisyn Hargrove and scored on a single by Christina Hill.

Three more Highlassie runs scored in the third. With two outs on the board, Marrero-Carter singled and stole second. Brittany Montoya walked and Olguin singled to score Marrero-Carter. Avery followed with a triple to score Montoya and Olguin.

The Lady Lions added two runs in the fifth. Hayley Knabe and Luddeke both singled, and Hill walked to load the bases. A McLennan error brought Knabe and Luddeke in to score.

North Central rounded out the scoring with a run in the top of the seventh. Luddeke tripled and Hill walked. Luddeke then scored on a ground out by Taylor White.

McLennan 2, North Central 1
North Central 000 001 0 – 1 3 0
McLennan 000 000 2 – 2 5 3
Taylor White and Lauren Bierschenk. Victoria Vasquez and Breanna Heredia. WP: Vasquez; LP: White. Leading hitters – North Central: Luddeke (1-3, 2B) and Christina Hill (0-3, RBI); McLennan: Cassie Pavlas (1-4, 2B, 2 RBI) and Kaitlin Richards (1-2, 2B). Record: McLennan 19-3 (15-2).

McLennan 7, North Central 4
North Central 001 020 1 – 4 6 1
McLennan 313 000 x – 7 8 3
Ashley Hedrick, Madisyn Hargrove (3) and Lauren Bierschenk. Emily Klanika and Kaitlin Richards. WP: Klanika; LP: Hedrick. Leading hitters – North Central: Chelsea Luddeke (4-4, 3B); Taylor White (0-4, RBI) and Christina Hill (1-2, RBI); McLennan: Charley Avery (1-3, 3B, 2 RBI), Cassie Pavlas (2-4, 2B), Genisa Marrero-Carter (2-3, 2B, RBI), Olivia Lantigua (0-2, RBI), Zayra Olguin (2-3, 2 RBI) and Ariana Hernandez (1-3, 2B, 2 RBI). Record: McLennan 20-3 (16-2).