Highlanders, Wranglers split series-opening doubleheader

The No. 5 McLennan Highlanders and No. 20 Cisco Wranglers split Wednesday afternoon's conference doubleheader in Cisco.

The Highlanders only needed five innings to get the 12-2 run-rule victory in game one with Alex DeLeon getting the win on the mound.

Josh Breaux's solo home run in the top of the first put McLennan on the board.

The Highlanders added a run in the second inning. Griffin Paxton and Nick Thornquist led off with back-to-back singles and advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Chase Sortor. George Callil followed with a sacrifice fly to score Paxton.

Three more McLennan runs crossed the plate in the bottom of the fourth inning. Thomas Santos singled, and Paxton was hit by the pitch. Callil followed with a three-run homer.

The Highlanders exploded for seven runs in the top of the fifth. Aidan Shepardson singled, Breaux walked, and Keaton Milford bunted to load the bases. Santos followed with a double, scoring all three runners. Paxton was hit by another pitch, and Thornquist singled, bringing Santos in to score. A Cisco error scored Paxton and moved Thornquist around to third. Sortor walked, and Thornquist was out at the plate on a fielder's choice by Callil. Dylan Neuse singled to score Sortor, and Callil scored as Shepardson was safe at first on an error.

Both of the Wranglers' runs came in the bottom of the fifth. Anthony Dominguez doubled and scored on a double by Christian Smith. Michael Berglund then doubled to score Smith.

Cisco defeated McLennan 11-7 in the nightcap with Shane Daughety taking the loss on the mound.

Once again, the Highlanders began the scoring with a run in the top of the first as Breaux singled, moved to second on a single by Milford, advanced to third on a passed ball and scored on a wild pitch.

McLennan added two runs in the third as Neuse singled and scored on Shepardson's homer.

The Wranglers scored a run in the bottom of the third as Ryne Edmondson reached first safely on an error, moved to second on a wild pitch, advanced to third on a McLennan throwing error, and scored on a ground out by Tommy Sepulveda.

Cisco took the lead with three runs in the fourth. William Hollis doubled, Zach Sweet singled, and Smith walked to load the bases. Hollis scored on a sacrifice fly by Justin Fragale, and Edmondson tripled to score Sweet and Smith.

The Wranglers added a run in the fifth as Berglund walked, advanced to second on a balk, moved to third on a single by Dominguez and scored on a passed ball.

Milford led off the top of the sixth with a solo home run for the Highlanders.

Four Cisco runners crossed the plate in the bottom of the sixth. Fragale was safe at first on an error, and Edmondson bunted for a single. Sepulveda followed with a single to score Fragale, and Edmondson scored on a single by Berglund. Dominguez then doubled to score Sepulveda and Berglund.

McLennan scored a run in the top of the seventh as Callil walked, moved to second on a single by Shepardson, advanced to third on the walk of Breaux and scored on a sacrifice fly by Milford.

The Wranglers' final two runs came in the bottom of the seventh. Fragale doubled and scored on a single by Edmondson. Edmondson then advanced to second on a passed ball, moved to third on an overthrow, and scored on a triple by Berglund.

The Highlanders rounded out the scoring with two runs in the top of the ninth as Neuse walked and scored on Breaux's home run.

The teams will complete the four-game series with a 1 p.m. doubleheader Friday at Bosque River Ballpark.

McLennan 12, Cisco 2
McLennan 110 37 – 12 10 0
Cisco 000 02 – 2 6 3
Alex DeLeon and Josh Breaux. John Mike Rodriguez, Daniel Nelson (5) and Michael Hoehner. WP: DeLeon; LP: Rodriguez. Leading hitters – McLennan: Dylan Neuse (1-4, RBI), Aidan Shepardson (1-4, RBI), Josh Breaux (1-3, HR, RBI), Thomas Santos (2-3, 2B, 3 RBI), Nick Thornquist (2-3, RBI) and George Callil (1-2, HR, 4 RBI); Cisco: Michael Berglund (1-3, 2B, RBI), Anthony Dominguez (2-2, 2B) and Christian Smith (1-2, RBI). Record: McLennan 33-9 (18-3).

Cisco 11, McLennan 7
McLennan 102 001 102 – 7 9 4
Cisco 001 314 20x – 11 12 1
Shane Daughety, Nick Urbantke (5), Payton Strambler (6), Brady Childress (7), Daniel Cole (8) and Nick Thornquist. Joseph Sgambelluri, Garrett Cobb (7) and Justin Fragale. WP: Sgambelluri; LP: Daughety. Leading hitters – McLennan: Aidan Shepardson (2-4, HR, 2 RBI), Josh Breaux (2-3, HR, 2 RBI) and Keaton Milford (3-4, HR, 2 RBI); Cisco: Tommy Sepulveda (1-4, 2 RBI), Michael Berglund (2-3, 3B, 2 RBI), Anthony Dominguez (2-5, 2B, 2 RBI), William Hollis (1-4, 2B), Justin Fragale (1-3, 2B, RBI) and Ryne Edmondson (3-4, 3B, 3 RBI). Record: McLennan 33-10 (18-4).