The fifth-ranked McLennan Highlassies opened their 2017 season with a sweep of the No. 17 Howard Lady Hawks Saturday.
The Highlassies run-ruled the Lady Hawks 12-4 in game one with Vannessa Castro getting the win in the circle.
Dariann Resendez led off the top of the first inning with a solo home run to put McLennan up 1-0.
The Highlassies added two runs in the third. Haley Webre and Estrella Guardiola both singled, and Resendez walked to load the bases. Elizabeth Svienty followed with a single to score Webre and Guardiola.
Howard got on the board with two runs in the bottom of the third. Madoline Seumalo singled and stole second. Evelyn Loyola followed with a single, bringing Seumalo in to score. Loyola then scored on a double by Kaylynn Lopez.
McLennan scored three runs in the top of the fourth. Svienty singled and Victoria Gonzales drew a walk. Serena Saldivar followed with a three-run bomb to right-centerfield.
The Lady Hawks' final two runs came in the bottom of the fourth. Tiare Lee singled; then Madison Neff and Honor Hilton drew back-to-back walks, loading the bases. Seumalo then singled to score Lee and Neff.
The Highlassies exploded for five runs in the fifth. Webre walked, and Guardiola singled but was out at second. Resendez also singled. Svienty grounded out to score Webre. Gonzales walked and Saldivar doubled to score Resendez. Ruby Trejo then doubled, scoring Gonzales and Saldivar. Trejo moved to third on a single by Angie Camacho and scored on a single by Zayra Olguin.
McLennan sealed the run-rule with one run in the top of the sixth as Resendez singled, moved around to third on a double by Svienty and scored on a fly out by Gonzales.
The Highlassies came from behind to defeat the Hawks 10-4 in the nightcap with Castro once again getting the win.
Resendez once again put McLennan on the board with a solo home run, this time in the third inning.
Howard took the lead with two runs in the bottom of the third. Loyola singled and Mannah Young walked. Loyola moved to third on fly out by Lee. Loyola and Young both scored on a double by Alexis Velazquez.
The Hawks added a run in the fifth. Young walked and was replaced by pinch runner Victoria Sorokina. Sorokina then came all the way around to score on a Highlassie error.
McLennan took control of the game with nine runs in the top of the sixth inning. Svienty walked and moved to second on a ground out by Gonzales. Saldivar walked and Olguin singled to load the bases. Camacho singled to score Svienty. Webre followed with a single to score Saldivar and Olguin. Trejo then doubled to score Camacho. Resendez doubled to score Webre and Trejo. Svienty was hit by the pitch and Gonzales reached first safely on an error, bringing Resendez in to score. Saldivar then doubled to score Svienty and Gonzales.
Howard rounded out the scoring with a run in the bottom of the seventh. Lee was safe at first on an error and moved to second on a ground out by Hilton. Neff then singled to score Lee.
McLennan 12, Howard 4
McLennan 120 351 – 12 19 0
Howard 002 200 – 4 9 0
Vannessa Castro, Elizabeth Donaldson (4) and Estrella Guardiola. Celeste Villagrana, Kylie Shay (4), Victoria Sorokina (6) and Evelyn Loyola. WP: Castro; LP: Shay. Leading hitters – McLennan: Dariann Resendez (3-4, HR, RBI), Elizabeth Svienty (3-5, 2B, 3 RBI), Victoria Gonzales (0-1, RBI, 4 BB), Serena Saldivar (2-5, 2B, HR, 4 RBI), Angie Camacho (2-4), Zayra Olguin (3-4, RBI), Haley Webre (3-3), Estrella Guardiola (2-4 and Ruby Trejo (1-1, 2B, 2 RBI); Howard: Madoline Seumalo (2-4, 2 RBI), Megan Darling (2-4), Evelyn Loyola (1-3, RBI) and Kaylynn Lopez (1-3, 2B, RBI). Record: McLennan 1-0.
McLennan 10, Howard 4
McLennan 001 009 0 – 10 10 3
Howard 002 010 1 – 4 9 1
Victoria Vazquez, Vannessa Castro (5) and Estrella Guardiola. Mickaela Brown, Allison Tomson (6) and Mannah Young. WP: Castro; LP: Brown. Leading hitters – McLennan: Dariann Resendez (3-4, 2B, HR, 3 RBI), Victoria Gonzales (0-4, RBI), Serena Saldivar (1-3, 2B, 2 RBI), Zayra Olguin (2-4), Angie Camacho (1-4, RBI), Haley Webre (1-3, 2 RBI) and Ruby Trejo (1-2, 2B, RBI); Howard: Megan Darling (2-4), Evelyn Loyola (2-4), Madison Neff (1-3, RBI) and Alexis Velazquez (1-1, 2B, 2 RBI). Record: McLennan 2-0.
