The McLennan Highlanders completed the four-game series sweep of the Temple Leopards with a pair of victories this afternoon in Temple.
The Highlanders defeated the Leopards 6-1 in game one with Grant Miller getting the complete-game win on the mound.
Jalen Battles' solo home run in the fourth put McLennan on the board.
Robert Shaw's solo home run for Temple in the bottom of the fourth tied the game.
The Highlanders sealed the win with five runs in the top of the seventh. Brett Squires walked and Brooks Embry singled. Jaylen Williams followed with a single to score Squires, and Embry scored on a ground out by Aidan Shepardson. Ryan Bishop followed with a double to score Williams. Jordan Yeatts walked and Bishop scored on a sacrifice fly by Battles. Yeatts then stole second, moved to third on a passed ball and scored on a balk.
McLennan got a conference run-rule victory over Temple in the nightcap, 12-3, with Trevor Munsch picking up the win.
The Highlanders scored one run in the first. Battles, Garrett Martin and Squires all walked, loading the bases. Thomas Santos then walked to score Battles.
The Leopards tied the game with a run in the bottom of the first as Breck Potvin walked, stole second, moved to third on a passed ball and scored on a sacrifice fly by Jackson Molinaro.
McLennan took the lead with three runs in the third. Cole Moore tripled and scored on a single by Martin. Squires singled and Martin was caught stealing. Santos followed with the two-run home run.
The Highlanders added two runs in the fourth. Vince Ippoliti walked and moved to second on a passed ball. Battles advanced all the way to third on a Temple error, allowing Ippoliti to score. Martin then doubled to score Battles.
Another McLennan run scored in the fifth as Williams singled, moved to second on Ipploiti's walk and scored on a single by Yeatts.
The Highlanders added to their lead with three runs in the sixth. Martin singled and Squires walked. Santos singled to score Martin, and Williams tripled to score Squires and Santos.
Temple's final two runs came in the bottom of the sixth. Hunter Torrez walked. Aaron Krueger and Reid Hesse both singled, loading the bases. Devin Tucker was hit by the pitch, bringing Torrez in to score. Krueger then scored on a sacrifice fly by Potvin.
McLennan secured the run rule with two runs in the seventh. Battles and Martin both walked. Squires was safe on an error, bringing Battles in to score. Santos then singled to score Martin.
"Today was obviously a good for us. I was really proud of the way our pitching competed. To go through a doubleheader with blustery conditions like we had today, and only give up four runs total, is really a testament to those guys," head coach Mitch Thompson said. "I thought our defense was good as well and made some nice plays. We had some guys step up and do some really good things on defense."
"Miller was outstanding in game one, kept us in the game, and kept throwing up zeros until we could explode and blow it open late in the game. While Mason Hilton wasn't as sharp as he has been in weeks past, he still gave us three good innings; then we could get some other guys in. We had a completely full bullpen. It was a good opportunity to continue to run some different guys out there. Jack Driskell, Munsch and Andrew Cossio all threw the ball extremely well, and we still had three or four guys we could have thrown later."
"I like the way we swung the bats better in game two. In game one, we kind of got ourselves out. We tried to play to the park a little bit and tried to get some balls in the air and we were pulling off balls trying to let them travel with the wind. Hopefully that is a lesson we will learn."
"I'm proud of where we are at right now, 30-7 overall and 15-1 in conference. It's been a great first half of conference. Now we have to turn our focus to Cisco and get ready to go Wednesday at home."
McLennan 6, Temple 1
McLennan 000 100 5 – 6 7 0
Temple 000 100 0 – 1 5 0
Grant Miller and Ryan Bishop. Ben McDonald, Taylor Vaclavis (7) and Hunter Torrez. WP: Miller; LP: McDonald. Leading hitters – McLennan: Jordan Yeatts (1-3, 2B), Jalen Battles (2-3, HR, 2 RBI), Cole Moore (1-3, 2B), Jaylen Williams (1-3, RBI), Aidan Shepardson (0-3, RBI) and Ryan Bishop (1-3, 2B, RBI); Temple: Robert Shaw (1-3, HR, RBI) and Cole Payne (2-2, 2B). Record: McLennan 29-7 (14-1).
McLennan 12, Temple 3
McLennan 103 213 2 – 12 13 1
Temple 100 002 0 – 3 5 2
Mason Hilton, Jack Driskell (4), Trevor Munsch (5), Andrew Cossio (7) and Vince Ippoliti. Blake Bolgiano, Diego Fernandez (5), Jackson Molinaro (6) and Hunter Torrez. WP: Munsch; LP: Bolgiano. Leading hitters – McLennan: Jordan Yeatts (1-5, RBI), Cole Moore (1-5, 3B), Garrett Martin (3-3, 2B, 2 RBI), Thomas Santos (3-4, HR, 5 RBI), Vince Ippoliti (1-1, 2B) and Jaylen Williams (2-2,3B, 2 RBI); Temple: Breck Potvin (1-3, 2B, RBI), Jackson Molinaro (0-2, RBI), Aaron Krueger (2-3) and Devin Tucker (0-1, RBI). Record: McLennan 30-7 (15-1).
