The seventh-ranked McLennan Highlanders swept the Angelina Roadrunners this afternoon in the first two games of a four-game series between the two squads.
McLennan shut out Angelina 9-0 in the opening game with Connor Phillips getting the win on the mound and Ryan Segner getting the save.
The Highlanders first run came in the bottom of the second as Caleb Balgaard tripled and scored on a single by Alex Lopez.
McLennan added two runs in the third. Jaylen Williams singled and stole second. Jimmy Crooks also singled and Cole Moore was safe on an error, loading the bases. Garrett Martin was hit by the pitch, bringing Williams in to score. Brett Squires then walked to score Crooks.
Another Highlander run scored in the fifth as Moore singled, moved to second on a wild pitch, advanced to third on a fly out by Martin and scored on a single by Balgaard.
McLennan rounded out the scoring with five runs in the sixth. Crooks walked and Moore singled, both scoring on a three-run homer by Martin. Squires walked and Balgaard singled. Squires scored on an Angelina error and Lopez singled to score Balgaard.
The Highlanders defeated the Roadrunners 9-3 in the second game with Dawson Sweatt getting the win.
McLennan scored three runs in the second. Martin and Squires drew back-to-back walks. Balgaard followed with a double to score Martin. Miguel Santos then singled to score Squires and Balgaard.
The Highlanders added three runs in the fifth. Squires drew a lead-off walk. Balgaard followed with a double to score Squires, and Hank Bard singled to score Balgaard. Bard then moved to second on a single by Santos, advanced to third on a fielder's choice by Nick Pierce and scored on the walk of Crooks.
Angelina got on the board with two runs in the sixth as Joseph Munoz walked and scored on Dalton Roblin's home run.
McLennan's final three runs came in the bottom of the sixth. Pierce reached safely on an error. Jalen Battles and Moore both walked, loading the bases. Pierce scored on a wild pitch, and Battles scored on a ground out by Martin. Squires then doubled to score Moore.
The Roadrunners final run came in the top of the seventh. Joshua Youngblood singled and Jeffrey Mercado was hit by the pitch. Karlus Flanagan then singled to score Youngblood.
The teams will complete the series with a doubleheader at 2 p.m. Saturday in Lufkin, a schedule change made due to the possibility of inclement weather Sunday.
McLennan 9, Angelina 0
Angelina 000 000 0 – 0 2 3
McLennan 012 015 x – 9 12 1
Triston Dixon, Caleb Monasmith (5) and Ethan Jacobs. Connor Phillips, Ryan Segner and Jimmy Crooks. WP: Phillips; LP: Dixon; SV: Ryan Segner. Leading hitters – Angelina: Joseph Munoz (2-3, 2B); McLennan: Cole Moore (2-4), Garrett Martin (1-3, HR, 4 RBI), Brett Squires (0-1, RBI), Caleb Balgaard (3-4, 3B, RBI) and Alex Lopez (2-4, 2 RBI). Record: McLennan 4-0.
McLennan 9, Angelina 3
Angelina 000 002 1 – 3 5 1
McLennan 030 303 x – 9 8 1
Patrick Kudelka, Nathan Hardcastle (4), Travis Phillips (5), Ryan Galvan (6) and Joshua Youngblood. Dawson Sweatt, Joey Martin (5) and Cole Moore. WP: Sweatt; LP: Kudelka. Leading hitters – Angelina: Dalton Roblin (2-4, HR, 2 RBI) and Karlus Flanagan (1-3, RBI); McLennan: Jimmy Crooks (1-2, 2B, RBI), Garrett Martin (0-3, RBI), Brett Squires (1-2, 2B, RBI), Caleb Balgaard (3-4, 2 2B, 2 RBI), Hank Bard (1-3, RBI) and Miguel Santos (2-3, 2 RBI). Record: McLennan 5-0.
