The 16th-ranked McLennan Highlanders moved to 5-0 on the season with a 5-3 win over the 17th-ranked Navarro Bulldgos this afternoon in Corsicana. Freshman Kyrell Miller got the win on the mound and freshman Josh Breaux picked up the save.
McLennan began the scoring with two runs in the top of the third. Brock Morrison singled and moved to second on a wild pitch. George Callil followed with a double to score Morrison. Callil moved to third on a ground out by Griffin Williams and scored on a triple by Chris Roller.
Navarro tied the game with two runs in the bottom of the third. Matt Wood drew a walk and Layton Wover laid down a a bunt. Wood moved to second on a wild pitch and scored on a fly out by Matt Munoz. Wolver advanced around to third on a Highlander error and scored on a single by Robert Salazar.
The Highlanders added three runs in the eighth as Callil and Williams both singled and scored on a home run by Roller.
The Bulldogs final run came in the top of the ninth as Salazar doubled, moved to third on a ground out by Beau Orlando and scored on a defensive interference.
"It's always nice to get a win when you don't play very well and today I didn't feel that our team really played well," head coach Mitch Thompson said. "We didn't pitch the ball extremely well. We walked the opponent 10 times and and hit them once. The good news is we did strike them out 14 times and we did make enough plays defensively. Thankfully Roller and Callil had really good days at the plate, came up big for us and drove in the runs to help us win. Josh Breaux was very good coming in from the bullpen. Our bullpen was pretty good for the most part."
"The thing we've got to overcome is we've got to pitch the ball better and not get behind in counts. When we do that I think our team will really take off and keep making good strides forward. But like I say, a win is a win and to not play well and win is a good sign. We will get back after them tomorrow and hopefully play a little bit better and come away with a couple more Ws," Thompson said.
The two teams will complete the three-game series with a noon doubleheader tomorrow at Bosque River Ballpark.
