The fourth-ranked McLennan Highlanders took a pair of conference wins from the #12 Temple Lady Leopards on the road.
The Highlanders needed an extra inning to defeat the Lady Leopards 4-3 in the opener. Cydney Whitacre picked up the win in the circle.
McLennan began the scoring with a run in the top of the second. Ally Thompson singled and advanced on a wild pitch. MJ Nicholson walked, and Thompson scored on a single by Madison Garcia.
The Highlanders added a run in the third. Trinity Allen reached on an error, and Aynsli Lawson singled. Allen then stole home on the double steal.
McLennan scored another urn in the fifth. Mickayla Tosch, Allen and Macie Jansky all singled. Tosch then scored on a sacrifice fly by Lawson.
Temple got on the board with two runs in the bottom of the fifth. Angie DeLeon singled and scored on a triple by Lily Garcia. Garcia then scored on an error.
The Lady Leopards tied the game with a run in the bottom of the seventh. Garcia walked and advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Emily Delgado. Ma'Rya Quarles then singled to score Garcia.
The Highlanders sealed the win with a run in the top of the eighth. Nicholson and Tehya Pitts both singled. Delanie Roeder came in as the pinch runner for Nicholson. Allen then singled to score Roeder.
McLennan took game two 6-2 with Natalie Klenda going the complete game in the circle for the win.
McLennan scored one run in the top of the first as Pitts singled and stole her way home.
Four more Highlander runs scored in the third. Ellie Loveless singled and advanced on a sac bunt by Garcia. Pitts doubled, scoring Loveless. Tosch followed with a two-run homer.
Temple scored two in the fourth. DeLeon and Cottrell both singled. DeLeon then stole third and scored on a sacrifice fly by Delgado. Paige Findley came in as a pinch runner for Cottrell and scored on a ground out by Lexi Dudeczka.
McLennan added two more runs in the sixth. Lilli Piersons tripled and scored on a sac fly by Lawson. Thompson reached on an error and stole second. Nicholson then doubled to score Thompson.
McLennan 4, Temple 3
McLennan 011 010 01 – 4 12 1
Temple 000 020 10 – 3 8 1
Kynlei Chapman, Cydney Whitacre (7) and Macie Jansky. Haley Crawford and Lily Garcia. WP: Whitacre; LP: Crawford. Leading hitters – McLennan: Trinity Allen (3-4, 2B, RBI), Aynsli Lawson (1-3, RBI) and Ally Thompson (2-3); Temple: Lily Garcia (2-4, 2B), Reese Cottrell (2-3, 2B, 3B,) MA'Rya Quarles (1-1, RBI). Record: McLennan 21-3 (5-0).
McLennan 6, Temple 2
McLennan 103 002 0 – 6 8 1
Temple 000 200 0 – 2 5 1
Natalie Klenda and Lilli Piersons. Hannah Calhoun, Reese Cottrell (3) and Lily Garcia. Leading hitters – McLennan: Tehya Pitts (3-4, 2 2B, RBI), Mickayla Tosch (1-4, HR, 2 RBI), Lilli Piersons (2-3, 3B), Aynsli Lawson (0-2, RBI), MJ Nicholson (1-3, 2B, RBI); Temple: Emily Delgado (0-2, RBI) and Lexi Dudeczka (1-3, RBI). Record: McLennan 22-3 (6-0).
