Highlanders, Leopards baseball split
Herbelin picks up win, loss on the mound
The McLennan Highlanders and Temple Leopards split Thursday's conference doubleheader at Bosque River Ballpark.
McLennan took game one 3-2 with Patrick Herbelin getting the win on the mound.
Temple began the scoring with one run in he third as Matt Valdez was hit by the pitch, advanced around to third on an error and scored on a groundout by Blake Kopetsky.
The Leopards added one run in the fifth as Cory Raley singled, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Tucker Pennell, moved to third on a single by Austin Bishoff and scored on an error.
McLennan got on the board with two run in the fifth. Mason George singled. Sydney Daley followed with a fielder's choice, putting George out at second. Miles Manning tripled to score Daley and then scored on a Temple error.
The Highlanders sealed the win with a run in the sixth as Andrew Rhodes doubled, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Zach Gonzalez and scored on a passed ball.
Temple defeated McLennan 8-7 in the nightcap with Herbelin taking the loss.
The Highlanders scored one run in the bottom of the first as Evan Williams singled, moved to second on a single by Max Hogan, advanced to third on the walk of Rhodes and scored on the walk of Podsednik.
McLennan added one run in the second as Daley drew a walk, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Dalton Rodriguez, moved to third on a groundout by Evans and scored on a passed ball.
The Highlanders increased the lead with three runs in the fourth. Daley drew a walk, stole second and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Rodriguez. Matt Campbell then singled to score Daley. Campbell stole second and moved to third on an error that put Hogan on first. Rhodes then singled to score Campbell and Hogan.
The Leopards scored two runs in the top of the fifth. Ryan King and Trey Silvers both walked. Garrett Kizer then singled to score King. Valdez was hit by the pitch to load the bases. Kopetsky followed with a walk, bringing Silvers in to score.
Temple tied the game with three runs in the sixth. King singled, moved to second on a groundout by Bishoff and scored on a single by Silvers. Adam Ortega followed with a triple, scoring King. Valdez then singled to score Ortega.
McLennan scored two runs in the seventh to regain the lead. Zac Valenzuela walked and Gonzalez singled. Both runners scored on a single by Williams.
The Leopards stole the win with three runs in the top of the ninth. Valdez led off with a triple and scored on a Highlander error that put Kopetsky on first. Raley then doubled to score Kopetsky. Raley moved to third on a fly out by Law and scored on a wild pich.
McLennan 3, Temple 2
Temple 001 010 0 – 2 8 1
McLennan 000 021 x – 3 9 3
Aaron Burns, Carson Bohler (6) and Tucker Pennell. Sterling Wynn, Patrick Herbelin (6) and Mason George. WP: Herbelin; LP: Burns. Leading hitters – Temple: Matt Valdez (2-3), Blake Kopetsky (0-3, RBI) and Corey Raley (2-4); McLennan: Evan Williams (2-3, 2 2B RBI), Andrew Rhodes (1-3, 2B), Trevor Podsednik (2-3) and Miles Manning (2-2, 3B, RBI). Record: McLennan 13-11 (2-3).
Temple 8, McLennan 7
Temple 000 023 003 – 8 10 2
McLennan 110 300 200 – 7 10 1
Josh SMith, Nathan Schleede (5), Joe Hauser (7) and Garrett Kiser, Tucker Pennell (7). Enrique Oquendo, Tyler Watson (5), Miles Manning (7), Patrick Herbelin (9) and Dalton Rodriguez. WP: Hauser; LP: Herbelin. Leading hitters – Temple: Matt Valdez (2-4, 3B, RBI), Blake Kopetsky (0-4, RBI), Cory Raley (3-5, 2B, RBI), Trey Silvers (1-4, RBI), Adam Ortega (1-3, 3B, RBI) and Garrett Kizer (2-2, RBI); McLennan: Evan Williams (2-6, 2 RBI), Matt Campbell (2-5, RBI), Andrew Rhodes (2-3, 2 RBI) and Trevor Podsednik (1-3, RBI). Record: McLennan 13-12 (2-4).