The McLennan baseball squad closed out a three-game series with Frank Phillips with a win this afternoon after dropping the first two games to the Plainsmen.
Frank Phillips took game one 4-2 with Brady Rose taking the loss on the mound.
The Plainsmen scored one run in the top of the third as Darren Zarrillo drew a leadoff walk, advanced to second on an error, moved to third on a single by Yadier Medina and scored on another error.
Frank Phillips added two runs in the top of the sixth. Preston Mills reached on an error and Cameron French singled. A fielder's choice by Trevor Stiles brought Mills in to score and put French out at second. Hayden Foster singled but was out at second on a fielder's choice by Zarrillo. Stiles then scored on an error.
Both McLennan runs came in the bottom of the fifth as Miguel Santos singled and scored on Mason Greer's home run.
The Plainsmen rounded out the scoring with a run in the top of the seventh. Cory Bonstrom walked, Medina singled and Richard Witherspoon was hit by the pitch. Mills hit into a fielder's choice putting Bonstrom out at the plate, and Medina scored on a ground out by French.
Frank Phillips defeated McLennan 10-8 in game two with Kevin Skweres taking the loss on the mound. The first eight innings were played Friday before darkness forced suspension of the game. The final inning was played Saturday morning ahead of the third game of the series.
The Highlanders began the scoring with two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Izzy Lopez singled and scored on a double by Santos. Santos then moved to third on an error and scored on a sacrifice fly by Dominic Tamez.
The Plainsmen tied the game with two runs in the top of the third. Wesley Flatt walked and scored on a double by Medina. Mills walked, and French singled to score Medina.
Frank Phillips took the lead with two runs in the fourth. Foster and Zarrillo both singled, Foster scored on a passed ball and Callon Farr walked. Bonstrom was hit by the pitch, loading the bases. Medina also walked, bringing Zarrillo in to score.
McLennan tied the game with two more runs in the fifth. Greer walked and Tamez singled. Alex Lopez singled to score Greer, and Tamez scored on a fielder's choice by Hank Bard.
The Plainsmen regained the lead with two more runs in the sixth. Bonstrom singled and Mills walked. French followed with a single to score Bonstrom, and Mills scored on an error.
Frank Phillips' final four runs scored in the seventh. Zarrillo reached on an error, moved to second on a ground out by Flatt, advanced to third on a passed ball and scored on an error. Bonstrom walked and Medina was safe on a dropped third strike. Mills followed with a single to score Bonstrom and Medina. French singled, and Mills scored on a wild pitch.
The Highlanders added three runs in the bottom of the seventh. Tamez doubled and Alex Lopez was hit by the pitch. Bard singled to score Tamez, and Nick Pierce doubled to score Lopez. A ground out by Wyatt Childress brought Bard in to score.
McLennan's final run came in the eighth as Blake Jackson doubled, moved to third on a fly out by Santos and scored on a single by Greer.
The Highlanders bounced back to defeat the Plainsmen 6-1 in the final game of the series. Will Carsten picked up with win on the mound and Jack Williams got the save.
McLennan scored three runs in the bottom of the first. Izzy Lopez singled and Santos walked. Both runners scored on a home run by Garrett Martin.
Frank Phillips' only run came in the top of the fifth as Zarrillo doubled and scored on a single by Flatt.
The Highlanders added two runs in the bottom of the fifth. Greer led off with a single. Santos walked but was out at second as Alex Lopez grounded into a double play. Martin singled to score Greer. Bard singled and Tamez walked, loading the bases. Martin then scored on a balk.
McLennan rounded out the scoring with a run in the seventh as Alex Lopez was hit by the pitch and scored on a double by Bard.
The Highlanders open conference play Wednesday, hosting Cisco for a 1 p.m. doubleheader.
Frank Phillips 4, McLennan 2
Frank Phillips 001 002 1 –4 6 3
McLennan 000 002 0 – 2 5 6
Cameron Frank, Nick Flores (6), Colton Taylor (7) and Trevor Stiles. Brady Rose, Gray Harrison (6) and Dominic Tamez, Wyatt Childress (7). WP: Frank; LP: Rose; SV: Taylor. Leading hitters – Frank Phillips: Yadier Medina (2-3), Preston Mills (1-4, 2B), Cameron French (2-4, RBI) and Trevor Stiles (0-3, RBI); McLennan: Mason Greer (1-3, HR, 2 RBI) and Chase Brown (1-2, 2B). Record: McLennan 6-6.
Frank Phillips 10, McLennan 8
Frank Phillips 002 202 400 – 1012 2
McLennan 200 020 310 – 8 14 3
Rijnaldo Euson, Corbin Lingo (6), Johan Gallardo (7), Jake Thielen (7), Nick Flores (9) and Trevor Stiles. Jared Matheson, Bryson Weeks (4), Kevin Skweres (6), Richard Brinson (8) and Wyatt Childress, Dominic Tamez (7). WP: Euson; LP: Skweres. Leading hitters – Frank Phillips: Yadier Medina (2-4, 2B, 2 RBI), Preston Mills (1-4, 2 RBI), Cameron French (3-4, 2 RBI) and Hayden Foster (2-5, 2B); McLennan: Izzy Lopez (3-6), Miguel Santos (2-5, 2B, RBI), Mason Greer (1-3, RBI), Dominic Tamez (3-3, 2B, RBI), Alex Lopez (1-3, RBI), Wyatt Childress (1-2, RBI), Blake Jackson (1-3, 2B), Nick Pierce (1-2, 2B, RBI) and Hank Bard (1-3, 2 RBI). Record: McLennan 6-7.
McLennan 6, Frank Phillips 1
Frank Phillips 000 010 000 – 1 7 2
McLennan 300 020 10x – 6 8 0
Daniel Cardona, Carson Wersel (5), Blake Rodriguez (8) and Trevor Stiles. Will Carsten, Jack Williams (6) and Dominic Tamez. WP: Carsten; LP: Cardona; SV: Williams. Leading hitters – Frank Phillip: Preston Mills (2-4), Hayden Foster (1-3, 2B), Darren Zarrillo (1-2, 2B) and Wesley Flatt (1-3, RBI); McLennan: Garrett Martin (2-4, HR, 4 RBI), Hank Bard (2-4, 2B, RBI) and Jaylen Williams (1-4, 2B). Record: McLennan 7-7.
