The McLennan Highlanders came up short in both games of today's road doubleheader at Grayson.
The Vikings needed extra innings to defeat the Highlanders 8-7 in the opener. Cade Waibel took the loss on the mound.
The Highlanders scored four in the top of the first. Spencer Butt, Deiten Lachance and AJ Goytia all walked. Daniel Harden also walked, scoring Butt. Sherman Johnson then doubled to score all three runners.
Grayson responded with two runs in the bottom of the inning. Loan Barrett and JT Cinega both singled. Austin Godwin reached on an error, scoring Barrett, and Cinega scored on a double by Caleb Hoover.
McLennan added a run in the third with Goytia's solo home run to lead off the inning.
The Vikings took the lead with four runs in the third. Cinega singled and came around to third on a balk and two errors. Nik Sanders doubled and Godwin walked. Hoover then doubled to score Sanders, and Godwin scored on a wild pitch.
Another Grayson run scored in the sixth. Barrett doubled and advanced on a ground out by Cinega. Sanders was given the intentional walk, and Barrett scored on a sac fly by Godwin.
McLennan tied the game with two runs in the top of the seventh. Marcus Smith walked and Lachance doubled. Brecken Menuet replaced Lachance as the runner at second. Harden then singled to score both runners.
Grayson sealed the win with a run in the bottom of the ninth. Hoover walked and advanced on a ground out by Brooks Dwinell. Chase Womack was given the intentional walk. Both runners advanced on a passed ball, and Brandon Creek walked to load the bases. Boston Lee then singled to score Hoover.
In the second game, the Vikings came from behind again to defeat the Highlanders 11-10. Ty Waid took the loss.
McLennan scored one in the first. Butt singled and Smith walked. Lachance then singled to score Butt.
Grayson tied the game with Hoover's home run in the second.
The Vikings took the lead with a run in the third. Barrett singled and advanced on an error and a sac bunt by Cinega. Sanders then grounded out to score Barrett.
The Highlanders exploded for six runs in the fourth to regain the lead. Walker Freeman, Jackson Irons and Cage McCloud all walked, loading the bases. Butt then singled to score Freeman, and Smith walked to score Irons. McCloud scored on a ground out by Lachance, and Goytia followed with a three-run homer.
Two Grayson runs scored in the bottom of the fourth. Lee led off with a solo home run. Womack and Creek both singled and advanced on a wild pitch. Womack then scored on a sac fly by Kain Sanchez.
McLennan tacked on two more runs in the fifth. Freeman walked and scored on an Irons home run.
The Vikings added another run in the fifth as Sanders walked and scored on a double by Godwin.
Two Grayson runs scored in the sixth. Dwinell was hit by the pitch, stole second and advanced to third on a ground out by Brandon Seidmeyer. Sanders followed with the two-run homer.
The Highlanders added a run in the seventh. McCloud was hit by the pitch and Menuet singled. Lachance was also hit by the pitch, and Harden walked to score McCloud.
The Vikings scored three in the bottom of the seventh to steal the win. Lee singled and scored on Womack's home run. Creek singled and advanced on a sac bunt by Easton Paxton. Barrett was given the intentional walked, and Sanders reached on an error bringing Creek in to score.
Grayson 8, McLennan 7
McLennan 401 000 200 – 7 8 2
Grayson 204 001 001 – 8 11 2
Owen Egan, John Carmichael (3), Gavin McCullough (5), Gage Goldman (6), Cade Waibel (8), Isaac Godard (9) and Deiten Lachance. Braydon Risley, Tyler Sudderth (7), Coleman Allison (8) and Kain Sanchez. WP: Sudderth; LP: Waibel. Leading hitters – McLennan: AJ Goytia (2-4, HR, RBI), Daniel Harden (1-3, 3 RBI), Deiten Lachance (1-3, 2B) and Sherman Johnson (1-4, 2B, 3 RBI); Grayson: Sloan Barrett (2-4, 2B), Nik Sanders (3-4, 2B), Austin Godwin (0-3, RBI), Caleb Hoover (2-3, 2 2B, 2 RBI), Easton Paxton (0-4, RBI), and Boston Lee (1-1, RBI). Record: McLennan 17-9 (6-5).
Grayson 11, McLennan 10
McLennan 100 620 1 – 10 8 2
Grayson 011 312 3 – 11 13 0
Logan Harris, Jonah Conradt (4), Ty Waid (7) and AJ Goytia. Donald Lent, Kai Parker (4), Kaden Cox (5), Blaze Milam (5), Jack Sharp (6) and Kain Sanchez. Leading hitters – McLennan: Spencer Butt (2-3, RBI), Marcus Smith (0-2, RBI), Deiten Lachance (1-3, 2 RBI), AJ Goytia (1-5, HR, 3 RBI), Daniel Harden (1-3, RBI) and Jackson Irons (1-2, HR, 2 RBI); Grayson: Sloan Barrett (1-3, RBI), Nik Sanders (1-3, HR, 3 RBI), Austin Godwin (3-4, 2B, RBI), Caleb Hoover (1-4, HR, RBI), Boston Lee (3-4, HR, RBI), Chase Womack (2-3, HR, 2 RBI), Brandon Creek (2-4) and Kain Sanchez (0-1, RBI). Record: McLennan 17-10 (6-6).
