The McLennan Highlassies fell to the North Central Lady Lions 7-1 this afternoon in the semifinal round of the Region V North Tournament at The Ballfields at Craig Ranch in McKinney. Vannessa Castro took the loss in the circle for the Highlassies.
North Central took control of the game with three runs in the bottom of the first. Hillaree Schwartz and Christina Hill both singled and scored on a home run by Rylee Hodges.
The Lady Lions added a run in the third as Maddie Horn singled, moved around to third on a double by Hodges and scored on a sacrifice fly by Lauren Bierschenk.
McLennan's run came in the top of the fourth as Serena Saldivar singled, moved to second on a single by Gabrielle Fonseca, advanced to third on a fielder's choice by Victoria Gonzales and scored on a fielder's choice by Dariann Resendez.
North Central responded with two runs in the bottom of the fourth as Brooke Ford walked and scored on a home run by Schwartz.
The Lady Lions rounded out the scoring with a run in the sixth. Pinch hitter Chandler Hammon singled and was replaced at first by pinch runner Hayley Kknabe. Kknabe moved to second on a sacrifice by Schwartz and scored on a single by Horn.
McLennan moves to the loser's bracket and will face Weatherford at noon tomorrow with the winner advancing to the Championship Game versus North Central at 2:30 p.m. If North Central is defeated, the If-Necessary Game will begin at 5 p.m.
North Central 7, McLennan 1
McLennan 000 100 0 – 1 6 1
North Central 301 201 x – 7 10 0
Vannessa Castro, Elizabeth Donaldson (4), Kyleigh Homesley (6) and Estrella Guardiola. Brooke Ford and Betsy Bell. WP: Ford; LP: Castro. Leading hitters – McLennan: Serena Saldivar (3-3), Gabrielle Fonseca (2-3) and Dariann Resendez (0-3, RBI); North Central: Hillaree Schwartz (2-3, HR, 2 RBI), Maddie Horn (3-4, RBI), Christina Hill (2-4), Rylee Hodges (2-3, 3B, HR, 3 RBI) and Lauren Bierschenk (0-2, RBI). Record: McLennan 39-18.
