Highlassies finish third in Region V North Tournament

The McLennan Highlassies defeated the Ranger Lady Rangers 2-1 Friday afternoon in the opening round of the Region V North Tournament at The Ballfields at Craig Ranch in McKinney.

Vannessa Castro picked up the win for the Highlassies in the circle and Victoria Vasquez got the save.

McLennan scored both of its runs in the top of the fifth inning. Victoria Gonzales was hit by the pitch to lead off the inning. Haley Webre followed with a fielder's choice that was misplayed by the Ranger defense, allowing both Gonzales and Webre to score.

Ranger's only run came in the bottom of the sixth. Mackenzie Stark and Kendra Evans both walked. Macey Marino followed with a single to score Stark.

The Highlassies advanced to the quarterfinalas and defeated the conference champion Weatherford Lady Coyotes 4-3 Friday night.

Weatherford jumped out to an early lead, scoring two runs in the bottom of the first as Kalina Sato singled and scored on a Macie Perrin home run.

McLennan got on the board with a run in the top of the second. Dariann Resendez drew a walk and Haley Webre singled. Estrella Guardiola followed with a single to score Resendez.

The Highlassies took the lead with two runs in the top of the fifth. Guardiola singled and was replaced at first by pinch-runner Zayra Olguin. Olguin then moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Angie Camacho and advanced to third on a passed ball. Elizabeth Svienty bunted for a single. Theresa Gonzales followed with a double to score Olguin and Svienty.

The Lady Coyotes tied the game with a run in the bottom of the fifth. Morgan Rackel walked and moved to second on a passed ball. Aspen Grimes then singled to score Rackel.

McLennan scored the winning run in the top of the seventh. Guardiola singled and moved to second on another sacrifice bunt by Camacho. Svienty then doubled to score Guardiola.

Weatherford had chances to the tie the game or steal the win in the bottom of the seventh, but McLennan pitcher Victoria Vasquez stepped up to the challenge. Rackel led off with a double and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Kristeny Magallanes. Vasquez then issued back-to-back walks to Maddison Hightower and Aspen Grimes, loading the bases. Vasquez followed with back-to-back strikeouts to seal the win.

The Highlassies came up short in Saturday's semifinal contest, falling to the North Central Lady Lions 7-1.

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.

The Highlassies took an 11-3 loss to the Weatherford Lady Coyotes Sunday afternoon in the consolation game. Victoria Vasquez took the loss for McLennan.

The Highlassies began the scoring with a run in the top of the first as Theresa Gonzales singled, stole second and came around to score on a Weatherford error. 

McLennan doubled its lead with a run in the third as Theresa Gonzales walked, moved to second on a single by Gabrielle Fonseca, advanced to third on a fly out by Victoria Gonzales and scored on a single by Dariann Resendez.

Weatherford got on the board with Francine Garcia's solo home run in the third.

The Lady Coyotes tied the game with a run in the fourth. Kristeny Magallanes singled, moved to second on a Highlassie error, advanced to third on a ground out by Maddison Hightower and scored on a single by Aspen Grimes.

The Highlassies took the lead with a run in the top of the fifth as Theresa Gonzales singled, moved to second on a sacrifice by Serena Saldivar and scored on a double by Victoria Gonzales.

Weatherford broke the game open with five runs in the fifth. Mikala Douglas drew a lead-off walk, Garcia doubled and Kalina Sato also walked, loading the bases. Macie Perrin followed with a grand slam. Morgan Rackel singled, Magallanes was hit by the pitch, and Hightower singled to reload the bases. Rackel then scored on a sacrifice by Courtney Campbell.

The Lady Coyotes sealed the run-rule win with four runs in the bottom of the sixth. Garcia singled and was replaced by pinch runner Jordyn Logan. Sato also singled. Rackel followed with a three-run homer, and Magallanes ended the game with a solo home run.

McLennan ends the season with an overall record of 39-19 and a conference record of 21-11.

McLennan 2, Ranger 1
McLennan 000 020 0 – 2 2 1
Ranger 000 001 0 – 1 5 1
Vannessa Castro, Victoria Vasquez (6) and Estrella Guardiola. Lindsey Honeycutt and Macey Marino. WP: Castro; LP: Honeycutt; SV: Vasquez. Leading hitters – McLennan: Victoria Gonzales (1-2, 2B); Ranger: Chandon Morris (1-4, 3B) and Macey Marino (2-3, 2B). Record: McLennan 38-17.

McLennan 4, Weatherford 3
McLennan    010 020 1 – 4 9 1
Weatherford 200 010 0 – 3 7 1
Elizabeth Donaldson, Victoria Vasquez (3) and Estrella Guardiola. Morgan Rackel and Courtney Campbell. WP: Vasquez; LP: Rackel. Leading hitters – McLennan: Elizabeth Svienty (3-4, 2 2B, RBI), Theresa Gonzales ( 1-4, 2B, 2 RBI) and Estrella Guardiola (3-3, RBI); Weatherford: Kalina Sato (2-4), Macie Perrin (2-4, 2B, HR, 2 RBI), Morgan Rackel (1-2, 2B) and Aspen Grimes (2-3, RBI). Record: McLennan 39-17.

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.

Weatherford 11, McLennan 3
McLennan    101 010 – 3 6 1
Weatherford 001 154 – 11 13 2
Victoria Vasquez, Vannessa Castro (5) and Estrella Guardiola. Morgan Rackel and Courtney Campbell. WP: Rackel; LP: Vasquez. Leading hitters – McLennan: Theresa Gonzales (2-2), Gabrielle Fonseca (1-3, RBI), Victoria Gonzales (1-3, 2B, RBI) and Dariann Resendez (1-2, RBI); Weatherford: Francine Garcia (3-4, 2B, HR, RBI), Macie Perrin (2-4, HR, RBI), Morgan Rackel (2-4, HR, 3 RBI), Kristeny Magallanes (2-3, HR, RBI), Aspen Grimes (1-2, RBI) and Courtney Campbell (0-2, RBI). Record: McLennan 39-19 (21-11).