The McLennan Softball team swept the Blinn Buccaneers this afternoon at Bosque River Ballpark but the two wins couldn't have come in more different fashions.
McLennan battled from behind to take game one 10-9 with Gracy Crafts getting the win in the circle.
McLennan began the scoring with two runs in the bottom of the first. Lindsey Evans led off with a double and scored on a single by Bailey Krolczyk. Krolczyk was out at second as Caitlyn Wong hit into a double play. Mackenzie Adams walked and Melayna Lopez singled. Rosemary Rivera was safe on a fielder's choice to load the bases. Adams then scored on an error.
Blinn got on the board with a run in the second. Shaelyn Sanders was hit by the pitch. Emily Murphy and Samantha Rodriguez both singled, loading the bases. Reagan Majewski followed with a fielder's choice to score Sanders.
The Buccaneers tied the game with a Skylar Shanahan home run in the third.
Blinn took the lead with six runs in the top of the fourth. Majewski and Chandler Talbot both singled. Chloe Woodward singled to score Majewski. Talbot scored on an error, and Mikaela Lopez followed with a two-run homer. Shanahan doubled and Italie. Speziale-Potter replaced her as a pinch runner. Sanders followed with a two-run home run.
McLennan began to chip away at the Blinn lead with three runs in the bottom of the fourth. Rivera was safe on an error and scored on a Ka'Lyn Watson homer. Kenzie Chambers then drew a walk, advanced around to third on a pair of wild pitches and scored on a sacrifice fly by Evans.
The Buccaneers final run of the game came in the top of the fifth. Rodriguez was hit by the pitch and moved around to third on groundouts by Majewski and Talbot. Rodriguez then scored on a McLennan error.
A McLennan run scored in the bottom of the fifth as Rivera was hit by the pitch and scored on a Watson triple.
Two more McLennan runs crossed the plate in the sixth. Evans hit a solo home run to right field. Krolczyk was safe on a dropped third strike and Wong singled. Krolczyk then scored on an error.
McLennan stole the win with two runs in the bottom of the seventh. Watson and Kadyn Trochim both singled. Pinch hitter Sidney Campion followed with a single to score Watson, and Evans was given an intentional walk to load the bases. Wong then reached on an error, scoring Trochim and sealing the win
Game two was all McLennan as the squad got the 12-1 run-rule win over the Buccaneers.
The bottom of the first appeared much like a home run derby as McLennan hit four long balls in the frame. Evans and Krolczyk hit back-to-back bombs to lead off. Wong singled and came around to score on a series of wild pitches. Watson followed with a two-run shot. Julia Herzinger then launched a shot of her own to put McLennan up 6-0 after one inning of play.
The derby continued into the second with three more bombs over the fence. Wong led off with a solo shot to centerfield. Lopez walked and Watson hit another two-run homer. Herzinger then hit her second solo shot of the game.
McLennan added another run in the third as Evans walked and scored on a double by Wong.
Blinn scored one in the top of the fourth. Shanahan singled and advanced to second on a fielder's choice by Renna Toomey. Italia Speziale-Potter singled, and Shanahan scored on an error.
Herzinger's third solo home run of the game came in the bottom of the fourth and rounded out the scoring.
McLennan returns to action Feb. 16 with a 1 p.m. doubleheader in Alvin.
McLennan 10, Blinn 9
Blinn 011 610 0 – 9 11 4
McLennan 200 312 2 – 10 13 3
Kaitlyn Sadler, Gracy Crafts (4) and Bailey Krolczyk. Shaelyn Sanders, Nevada Dolnik (6) and Reagan Majewski. WP: Crafts; LP: Dolnik. Leading hitters – Blinn: Chloe Woodward (2-4, RBI), Mikaela Lopez (2-4, HR, 2 RBI), Skylar Shanahan (2-4, 2B, HR, RBI), Shaelyn Sanders (1-3, HR, 2 RBI) and Reagan Majewski; McLennan: Lindsey Evans (2-3, 2B, HR, 2 RBI), Bailey Krolczyk (2-5, RBI), Mackenzie Adams (2-3), Ka'Lyn Watson (3-4, 3B, HR, 3 RBI) and Sidney Campion (1-1, RBI). Record: McLennan 6-7.
McLennan 12, Blinn 1
Blinn 000 10 – 1 3 2
McLennan 641 1x – 12 12 2
Skylar Shanahan, Nevada Dolnik (1), Renna Toomey (2) and Acie Prince. Haven Stanley and Julia Herzinger. WP: Stanley; LP: Shanahan. Leading hitters – McLennan: Lindsey Evans (1-2, HR, RBI), Bailey Krolczyk (1-3, HR, RBI), Caitlyn Wong (3-3, 2B, HR, 2 RBI), Ka'Lyn Watson (2-3, 2 HR, 4 RBI) and Julia Herzinger (3-3, 3 HR, 3 RBI). Record; McLennan 7-7.
