The McLennan Highlanders closed out the four-game series sweep of the Ranger Rangers with a pair of run-rule victories this afternoon at Bosque River Ballpark.
The Highlanders defeated the Ranger 15-3 in five innings of the opener with Owen Egan getting the win on the mound.
McLennan began the scoring with five runs in the second inning. McClane Helton walked and scored on a double by Cage McCloud. Sherman Johnson and Spencer Butt both walked, loading the bases. Marcus Smith then doubled to score all three runners. Daniel Harden was hit by the pitch, and Smith stole home.
Ranger got on the board with a run in the third as Jayden Brown tripled and scored on a ground out by Ashton Fisher.
Two more Ranger runs scored in the fourth. Shayne Gardiner walked and scored on a double by Larry Drake. Drake then stole third and scored on a ground out by Koen Piepkorn.
The Highlanders added five runs in the bottom of the fourth. Butt walked, advanced on a balk and scored on a single by AJ Goytia. Helton singled, and Goytia scored on a single by Deiten Lachance. McCloud was hit by the pitch, and Helton scored on a wild pitch. Owen Smith then singled to score Lachance and McCloud.
McLennan sealed the run rule with five runs in the bottom of the fifth. Butt and Marcus Smith both singled, and Harden was hit by the pitch to load the bases. Goytia doubled to score Butt and Marcus Smith. Helton was also hit by the pitch. Lachance followed with a walk-off double, scoring all three runners.
In the nightcap, the Highlanders topped the Rangers 19-9 with Jonah Conradt picking up the win.
Ranger began the scoring with a run in the first. Fisher walked and advanced on a sac bunt by Brown. Michael Lozano then singled to score Fisher.
McLennan took the lead with six runs in the bottom of the first. Johnson doubled and scored on a single by Harden. Harden stole second and scored on a double by Goytia. Helton was hit by the pitch and Lachance singled to score Goytia. McCloud then singled to score Helton, and Owen Smith doubled to score Lachance and McCloud.
The Rangers added four runs in the second. Jose Rodriguez walked and Iann Cobos followed with a fielder's choice but both runners were safe on an error. Rodriguez scored on a fly out by Piepkorn. Fisher walked, and Brown singled to score Cobos. Both runners advanced on a balk and scored on a single by Lozano.
The Highlanders added five runs in the second. Butt singled and Marcus Smith doubled. Goytia was hit by the pitch, loading the bases. Helton then singled scored Butt. Lachance walked, scoring Marcus Smith, and Goytia scored on a fielder's choice by McCloud that put Lachance out at second. Owen Smith then triple to score Helton and McCloud.
Ranger added two more runs in the third. Tui Amosa walked and advanced on a sac bunt by Rodriguez. Cobos doubled to score Amosa, and Fisher singled to score Cobos.
McLennan responded with five more runs in the bottom of the inning. Butt doubled and Marcus Smith walked, both advancing on a balk. Helton then doubled to score both runners, and Lachance singled to score Helton. McCloud followed with a single, and Lachance scored on an error. McCloud then scored on a passed ball.
The final two Ranger runs came in the fourth. Jeremiah Torres and Drake both singled. Amosa reached on an error, scoring Torres, and Drake scored on a sac fly by Rodriguez.
The Highlanders scored two in the fourth. Johnson walked and advanced on a sac bunt by Butt. Marcus Smith singled to score Johnson, and Goytia singled to score Marcus Smith.
McLennan secured the run rule with one run in the bottom of the sixth. Johnson was safe on a dropped third strike. Butt walked and both runners advanced on a wild pitch. Marcus Smith also walked to load the bases. Harden then walked to score Johnson and end the game.
McLennan 15, Ranger 3
Ranger 001 20 – 3 3 0
McLennan 050 55 – 15 11 1
Jaykub Reyes, Abel Anzaldua (2), Anthony Kelley (5) and Andrew Perez. Owen Egan, John Carmichael (5) and Deiten Lachance. WP: Egan; LP: Reyes. Leading hitters – Ranger: Ashton Fisher (0-2, RBI), Larry Drake (1-2, 2B, RBI), Jayden Brown (1-2, 2B) and Koen Piepkorn (0-2, RBI); McLennan: Marcus Smith (2-3, 2B, 3 RBI), AJ Goytia (2-4, 2B, 3 RBI), Deiten Lachance (3-4, 2 2B, 4 RBI), Cage McCloud (1-1, 2B, RBI) and Owen Smith (1-3, 2 RBI). Record: McLennan 21-10 (9-6).
McLennan 19, Ranger 9
Ranger 142 200 – 9 9 1
McLennan 655 201 – 19 16 2
Clint Burkey, Wade Huckaby (2), Ethan Loera (3), Sam Thomason (5) and Jose Rodriguez. Griffin Lewis, Jonah Conradt (2), Gavin McCullough (4), Ty Waid (5) and Deiten Lachance. WP: Conradt; LP: Burkey. Leading hitters – Ranger: Ashton Fisher (1-1, RBI), Jayden Brown (1-3, RBI), Michael Lozano (2-4, 3 RBI), Larry Drake (2-3), Tui Amosa (0-3, RBI), Jose Rodriguez (1-1, RBI), Iann Cobos (1-4, 2B, RBI) and Koen Piepkorn (0-3, RBI); McLennan: Sherman Johnson (1-4, 2B), Spencer Butt (2-3), Marcus Smith (2-3, RBI), Daniel Harden (1-4, 2 RBI), AJ Goytia (2-3, 2 RBI), McClane Helton (2-3, 3 RBI), Deiten Lachance (2-3, 3 RBI), Cage McCloud (2-3, 3 RBI) and Owen Smith (2-4, 4 RBI). Record: McLennan 22-10 (10-6).
