The McLennan Highlanders smashed the Howard Hawks 21-9 in Friday's opening game of the three-game weekend series at Bosque River Ballpark.
Jack Finnegan picked up the win for the Highlanders. The bats were hot from top to bottom in the lineup. Dimas Ojeda was 5-6 at the plate with a triple and three RBIs. James Rudkin went 4-5 and picked up two RBIs. Brandon Grudzielanek went 3-6 with a double and two RBIs. Kirby McGuire and Tucker Johnson both went 2-5 with a triple. McGuire recorded two RBIs and Johnson had one. Noah McGowan recorded a doubled and an RBI, while Braxton Hollenshead hit a home run and picked up three RBIs. Mason George went 3-4 with a double and three RBIs, and Sydney Daley had an RBI.
"Friday was a good day to swing the bat. The wind made the ballpark a very offensive park, and our guys did a nice job up and down the lineup," coach Mitch Thompson said. "We showed good patience when it was required, while also staying very aggressive. I like the way we are swinging the bat right now.
"I was proud of the way Finnegan competed for us today on the mound. He gave us a solid six innings against a very good Howard lineup. They have some extremely physical hitters and for the most part, Jack kept their lineup in check. His performance allowed us to keep our bullpen rested and ready to go for tomorrow's doubleheader."
The Highlanders defeated the Hawks 5-4 in game one on Saturday with Dustin Jourdan picking up the win on the mound. Johnson went 2-3 with two RBIs. Ojeda recorded a double and an RBI. Jon Tauzin hit a double, while McGowan hit a double and picked up an RBI.
The Hawks bounced back to defeat the Highlanders 6-4 in the final game of the series with Chris Glover taking the loss. Braxton Hollenshead hit a double and recorded an RBI to lead the Highlanders at the plate. McGuire and McGowan both picked up an RBI.
"Saturday was a different day at the park as the wind was blowing in all day," Thompson said. "It was much more challenging to score runs. We had a great walk-off win in game one with Johnson coming up with the key hit. It was his second walk-off hit of the week. Nathan Bertness was very good in the opener, striking out nine batters in six innings, and Jourdan was outstanding in relief.
"In the nightcap, we struggled to get anything going offensively. You have to credit the Howard pitcher, he kept us off balance and made a lot of quality pitches.
"Overall it was a very good weekend for our ball club. We were able to win two of the three games with an outstanding team that really challenged us. We learned a lot about ourselves this weekend and will work hard to continue getting better."
McLennan will open conference play on Wednesday, March 4, traveling to Temple for a 2 p.m. doubleheader.
McLennan 21, Howard 9
Howard 002 201 013 – 9 13 4
McLennan 143 312 07x – 21 25 3
Zach Winn, Jake Davis (4), Chris McKeehan and Ryan McVarvel. Jack Finnegan, Corey Watkins (7), Jako Kelm (9) and Mason George. WP: Finnegan; LP: Winn. Leading hitters – Howard: Brandon Wagner (2-4, 2 RBI), Matthew Holcombe (2-5, 2B), Ryan McCarvel (4-5, 2 HR, 3 RBI), Josh Moore (2-4, 2 RBI) and Skyler Bean (1-4, RBI); McLennan: Tucker Johnson (2-5, 3B, RBI), Dimas Ojeda (5-6, 3B, 3 RBI), James Rudkin (4-5, 2 RBI), Brandon Grudzielanek (3-6, 2B, 2 RBI), Kirby McGuire (2-5, 3B, 2 RBI), Noah McGowan (2-4, 2B, RBI), Braxton Hollenshead (1-3, HR, 3 RBI), Mason George (3-4, 2B, 3 RBI) and Sydney Daley (1-1, RBI). Record: McLennan 8-4.
McLennan 5, Howard 4
Howard 010 200 01 – 4 6 1
McLennan 001 020 02 – 5 9 2
Brandon Maine and Tracker Conn. Nathan Bertness, Dustin Jourdan (7) and Jon Tauzin. WP: Jourdan; LP: Maine. Leading hitters – Howard: Ishmael Edwards (1-4, 2B), Jarret DeHart (1-2, 2B, RBI) and Eddie Paparella (1-3, HR, 3 RBI); McLennan: Tucker Johnson (2-3, 2 RBI), Dimas Ojeda (1-4, 2B, RBI), Jon Tauzin (1-3, 2B) and Noah McGowan (2-2, 2B, 2 RBI). Record: McLennan 9-4.
Howard 6, McLennan 4
Howard 312 000 0 – 6 9 3
McLennan 101 002 0 – 4 3 2
Kenny Roder and Ryan McCarvel. Chris Glover, Collin Sharp (2), Zachary Kornely (4), Jamie Andriot (7) and J.T. Stevenson. WP: Roder; LP: Glover. Leading hitters – Howard: James Davidson (2-2), Matthew Holcombe (0-2, RBI), Jarret DeHart (2-4, HR, 2 RBI) and Eddie Paparella (2-4, HR, 2 RBI); McLennan: Kirby McGuire (0-1, RBI), Noah McGowan (0-3, RBI) and Braxton Hollenshead (1-1, 2B, RBI). Record: McLennan 9-5.
