The McLennan Highlanders and Cisco Wranglers split today's conference doubleheader in Cisco.
McLennan shutout Cisco in game one, 5-0. Paul Kirkpatrick got the win on the mound, recording seven strikeouts.
The Highlanders scored one run in the second as Noah McGowan doubled, moved to third on a ground out by Brock Morrison and scored on a sacrifice fly by Dimas Ojeda.
McLennan added two runs in the fourth. Brendan Venter drew a walk and scored on a double by Morrison. Morrison then moved to third on a single by Ojeda and scored on a sacrifice fly by Cole Haring.
The final two runs came in the top of the sixth.. McGowan led off with a double and Morrison singled. A Cisco error brought McGowan in to score and advanced Morrison to second. Ojeda then singled to score Morrison.
Cisco bounced back to defeat McLennan 15-4 in the nightcap. Michael Cugini took the loss on the mound for the Highlanders.
Delvin Granberg's home run in the bottom of the first began the scoring for Cisco.
All four of the Highlanders' runs came in the top of the second. Cory Voss drew a walk, Joe Breaux singled and Nic Motley was hit by the pitch, loading the bases. Voss scored on a wild pitch. Griffin Williams then singled to score Breaux and Motley. Williams stole second. Tucker Johnson singled and Ojeda walked to load the bases again. Williams then scored on a balk.
The Wranglers took the lead with five runs in the bottom of the second. Dalon Farkas, Henry Rodriguez and Calvin Hernandez all walked, loading the bases. Noah Lee was hit by the pitch, bringing Farkas in to score. Granberg walked, scoring Rodridguez. Zachary Rheams was hit by the pitch, bringing Hernandez in to score. Ryan Nelson then singled to score Lee and Granberg.
Cisco added six runs in the fourth. Jax Biggers was safe at first on a passed ball third strike and Granberg singled. Rheams followed with a double, scoring Biggers. Granberg came all the way around from first to score on a Highlander error. Nelson followed with a two-run homer. Grant Ruben doubled and Farkas singled. Rodriguez was safe on a bunt, scoring Ruben. Farkas advanced to third on a Highlander error and scored on a fly out by Lee.
The Wranglers' final three runs came in the fifth. Rheams walked and scored on another home run by Nelson. Ruben then doubled and scored on a error that put Farkas on first.
"Kirkpatrick was tremendous in game one. He really set the tone for our team on the mound. Anytime you have three pitches going for strikes, you have a great chance for success," head coach Mitch Thompson said. "I wanted to let him finish the complete game shutout, but felt that I had taken him as far as I could safely take him today with his pitch count. He obviously will give our pitching staff a big boost to have him with us and at full strength on the mound the rest of the season."
"I'm disappointed in how game two turned out because I felt we shot ourselves in the foot. We didn't locate pitches and didn't make plays on defense which led to Cisco putting a hurting on us. I give their hitters credit because they showed good discipline at the plate and also hit some balls very hard."
"At the end of the day, we split a conference road doubleheader, and that's not all bad. We will put this behind us and get ready to play two quality games against Cisco at home on Saturday."
McLennan 5, Cisco 0
McLennan 010 202 0 – 5 9 0
Cisco 000 000 0 – 0 5 1
Paul Kirkpatrick, Palmer Wenzel (7) and Cory Voss. Kyle Laberge, Braden Baker (7) and Noah Lee. WP: Kirkpatrick; LP: Laberge. Leading hitters – McLennan: Tucker Johnson (1-3, 2B), Noah McGowan (3-4, 2 2B), Brock Morrison (2-4, 2B, RBI), Dimas Ojeda (2-2, 2 RBI), Cole Haring (0-2, 2B) and Mario Vela (1-3, 2B); Cisco: Ryan Hogerworf (1-2, 2B) and Delvin Granberg (1-3, 2B). Record: McLennan 21-4 (4-1)
Cisco 15, McLennan 4
McLennan 040 000 0 – 4 4 3
Cisco 150 630 x – 15 10 0
Michael Cugini, Justin Garcia (2), Daniel Bullard (4), Jamie Andriot (5) and Nic Motley. Matt Littrell, Trae Patterson (7) and Noah Lee. WP: Littrell; LP: Cugini. Leading hitters – McLennan: Griffin Williams (1-3, 2B, RBI); Cisco: Delvin Granberg (3-4, HR, 2 RBI), Zachary Rheams (1-2, 2B, 2 RBI), Ryan Nelson (3-4, 2 HR, 6 RBI), Grant Ruben (2-4, 2 2B), Dalon Farkas (1-3, RBI), Henry Rodriguez (1-3, RBI) and Noah Lee (0-3, 2 RBI). Record: McLennan 21-5 (4-2).
