McLennan Softball ends season as Region V North Runner-Up

The McLennan Highlassies fought in the blazing Texas sun for three games and 21 innings Monday afternoon at the Region V North Tournament with hopes of securing a national tournament berth, but despite a valiant effort, that trip to Utah slipped away.

McLennan began the day with a 5-2 victory over Weatherford to secure a spot in the championship. Victoria Vasquez got the win in the circle.

Both of Weatherford's runs came in the top of the second inning. Analiese Galdeano reached first and moved to second on a Highlassie error, and Camden Rasmussen drew a walk. Amanda Vallejo singled to score Galdeano, and Rasmussen stole home.

McLennan got on the board with a run in the bottom of the fourth as Ariana Hernandez reached first safely on an error, stole second, moved to third on a fly out by Brittany Montoya, and scored on a single by Emeri Eubanks.

The Highlassies took the lead with three runs in the fifth. Breanna Heredia and Olivia Lantigua both singled and scored on a triple by Kaitlin Richards. Richards then scored on a fly out by Genisa Marrero-Carter.

McLennan rounded out the scoring with a run in the sixth as Heredia singled and came around to score on a single by Cassie Pavlas.

The Highlassies shut out the Temple Lady Leopards 2-0 in eight innings of the championship game to force the "if necessary game" to determine the regional champion. Once again, Vasquez got the win in relief of Emily Gray and Emily Klanika.

McLennan scored both runs in the top of the eighth inning. Zayra Olguin and Pavlas both singled. Lantigua followed with a single to score Olguin and move Pavlas to third. Pavlas then stole home.

The Highlassies came up short in the final game of the day, falling to Temple 11-3.

Temple scored five runs in the third inning. Kaitlyn Jones singled and Haley Moore reached first safely on an error. Daisy Gonzalez followed with a double to score Jones and Moore. Kelsie Murie followed with a double to score Gonzalez. Murie then moved to third on a ground out by Lindsey Taylor and scored on a home run by Madilyn Weatherly.

The Lady Leopards added a run in the fifth as Moore singled, stole second and third, and scored on a passed ball.

All three McLennan runs came in the top of the sixth. Pavlas reached first safely on an error and Lantigua singled, both scoring on a double by Marrero-Carter. Marrero-Carter then moved to third on an error and scored on a single by Maddie Warhol.

Temple scored five runs in the bottom of the sixth to secure the run-rule win. Weatherly led off with a home run, and Skye Koehl drew a walk. Kylie Mica followed with a triple, scoring Koehl, and Jones singled to score Mica. Jones stole second, moved to third on a passed ball and scored on a single by Moore. Moore then stole second and scored on a double by Gonzalez to end the game.

McLennan ended the season as the Region V North Runner-Up with an overall record of 30-13.

The Highlassies' road to the championship began with a 9-2 victory over the Grayson Lady Vikings Saturday afternoon. Vasquez picked up the win in the circle for McLennan.

Grayson opened the scoring with a run in the top of the first as Morgan Lewis walked, stole second and scored on a single by Shelby Fleming.

McLennan tied the game with a run in the bottom of the first inning. Lantigua and Richards drew back-to-back walks. Hernandez was hit by the pitch to load the bases. Marrero-Carter hit into a double play, but Lantigua was able to score from third.

The Highlassies took the lead with three runs in the bottom of the second. Olguin singled and Heredia was hit by the pitch. Pavlas followed with a three-run bomb over the left-field fence.

The Lady Vikings' final run came in the top of the third as Baylee McBrannon walked, stole second and third, and scored on a Highlassie error.

McLennan added another run in the third. Richards reached first safely on an error, Marrero-Carter was hit by the pitch, and Montoya singled to load the bases. Eubanks followed with a fielder's choice, putting Richards out at the plate. Olguin then singled to score Marrero-Carter.

The Highlassies rounded out the scoring with four runs in the fourth inning. Pavlas was hit by the pitch, and Lantigua walked. Richards followed with a double to score both runners. Marrero-Carter reached first safely on a Grayson error, moving Richards to third. Richards then scored on a double steal. Eubanks followed with a double to score Marrero-Carter.

In their second game Saturday, the Highlassies came from behind to defeat the Weatherford Lady Coyotes 5-4 in dramatic fashion. Gray picked up the win in the circle and Vasquez got the save.

McLennan began the scoring with two runs in the top of the first as Lantigua singled and scored on a two-run homer by Richards.

Weatherford tied the game with two runs in the bottom of the inning. Marissa Cruz drew a lead-off walk and scored on a triple by Eliza Eberhard. Morgan Page then singled to score Eberhard.

The Lady Coyotes took the lead with a run in the bottom of the second as Cruz walked, stole second and scored on a double by Eberhard.

The Highlassies scored three runs in the top of the fifth to take the lead. Eubanks singled and advanced around to third as Olguin was safe at first on a Weatherford error. Warhol drew a walk to load the bases. Pavlas followed with a double, scoring Eubanks, Olguin and Warhol.

Weatherford had a chance to steal the win in the bottom of the seventh inning. With two outs already on the board, Kristeny Magallanes homered to pull the Lady Coyotes within one. Page followed with a triple, and Kalina Sato was hit by the pitch, putting runners on the corners. McLennan catcher Kaitlin Richards caught a pop up in foul territory behind home plate to seal the win.

On Saturday, the Highlassies dropped a tough 3-2 game to the Temple Lady Leopards.

McLennan jumped out on the Lady Leopards early, scoring two runs in the top of the first inning. With two outs recorded, Richards doubled. Marrero-Carter was then safe at first and moved to second on an error, bringing Richards in to score. Hernandez then singled to score Marrero-Carter.

Temple tied the game with two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Taylor led off with a double and Jones singled. Both runners scored on a double by pinch hitter Gonzales.

The Lady Leopards scored the winning run in the bottom of the sixth. Pinch hitter Michaela Sako singled and moved to second on a ground out by Weatherly. Murie then singled to score Sako.

McLennan 5, Weatherford 2
Weatherford 020 000 0 – 2 2 1
McLennan 000 131 x – 5 10 2
Camden Rasmussen, Katy Simon (4) and Analiese Galdeano. Victoria Vasquez and Breanna Heredia. WP: Vasquez; LP: Rasmussen. Leading hitters – Weatherford: Amanda Vallejo (1-3, RBI); McLennan: Emeri Eubanks (1-3, RBI), Cassie Pavlas (2-4, 2B, RBI), Genisa Marrero-Carter (0-2, RBI), Breanna Heredia (2-3), Ariana Hernandez (2-3) and Kaitlin Richards (2-3, 3B, 2 RBI). Record: McLennan 29-12 (22-10).

McLennan 2, Temple 0
McLennan 000 000 02 – 2 6 0
Temple 000 000 00 – 0 3 0
Emily Klanika, Emily Gray (6), Victoria Vasquez (8) and Breanna Heredia. Dalilah Barrera and Kylie Mica. WP: Vasquez; LP: Barrera. Leading hitters – McLennan: Olivia Lantigua (1-4, RBI) and Ariana Hernandez (1-3, 2B). Record: McLennan 30-12 (22-10).

Temple 11, McLennan 3
McLennan 000 003 – 3 5 1
Temple 005 015 – 11 11 2
Karina Sanchez, Dalilah Barrera (6) and Maycie Walton, Kylie Mica (5).
Victoria Vasquez, Emily Gray (3), Emily Klanika (3), Vasquez (6) and Breanna Heredia. WP: Sanchez; LP: Gray. Leading hitters – McLennan: Genisa Marrero-Carter (1-3, 2B, 2 RBI) and Maddie Warhol (1-1, RBI); Temple: Madilyn Weatherly (2-3, 2 HR, 3 RBI), Daisy Gonzalez (2-3, 2 2B, 3 RBI), Kylie Mica (1-1, 3B, RBI), Kaitlyn Jones (2-3, RBI), Kelsie Murie (1-3, 3B, RBI) and Haley Moore (2-4, RBI). Record: McLennan 30-13 (22-10).

McLennan 9, Grayson 2
Grayson 101 000 0 – 2 6 2
McLennan 131 400 x – 9 9 1
Kylie Williams, Olivia Gutierrez (2) and Lauren Degalia. Victoria Vasquez and Danielle Humphrey. WP: Vasquez; LP: Gutierrez. Leading hitters – Grayson: Baylee McBrannon (2-2, 2B), Shelby Fleming (1-4, RBI) and Desiray Sauseda (1-2, 2B); McLennan: Brittany Montoya (2-4), Emeri Eubanks (1-3, 2B, RBI), Cassie Pavlas (1-3, HR, 3 RBI), Genisa Marrero-Carter (0-3, RBI), Zayra Olguin (2-4, RBI) and Kaitlin Richards (2-3, 2B, 2 RBI). Record: McLennan 27-11 (22-10).

McLennan 5, Weatherford 4
McLennan 200 030 0 – 5 4 0
Weatherford 210 000 1 – 4 9 1
Emily Klanika, Emily Gray (3), Victoria Vasquez (7) and Kaitlin Richards. Katy Simon, Camden Rasmussen (6) and Analiese Galdeano. WP: Gray; LP: Simon; SV: Vasquez. Leading hitters – McLennan: Cassie Pavlas (1-4, 2B, 3 RBI) and Kaitlin Richards (1-4, HR, 2 RBI); Weatherford: Kristeny Magallanes (1-4, HR, RBI), Eliza Eberhard (2-4, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI) and Morgan Page (4-4, 2B, 3B, RBI). Record: McLennan 28-11 (22-10).

Temple 3, McLennan 2
McLennan 200 000 0 – 2 6 1
Temple 000 021 x – 3 6 3
Emily Gray, Emily Klanika (6), Victoria Vasquez (7) and Kaitlin Richards. Karina Sanchez, Dalilah Barrera (4) and Maycie Walton, Kylie Mica (4). WP: Barrera; LP: Klanika. Leading hitters – McLennan: Ariana Hernandez (2-3, 3B. RBI) and Kaitlin Richards (1-3, 2B); Temple: Daisy Gonzales (1-1, 2B, 2 RBI), Kelsie Murie (1-3, RBI) and Lindsey Taylor. (1-3, 2B). Record: McLennan 28-12 (22-11).