McLennan defeats North Central on the road
No. 6 McLennan took both games of today's doubleheader over the North Central Lady Lions in Gainesville.
McLennan defeated North Central 7-2 in 10 innings of game one with Hailey Hudson getting the win in the circle.
McLennan scored two runs in the top of the sixth. Julia Herzinger led off with a double. Jalie Neff reached safely and advanced to second on an error, bringing Herzinger in to score. Caitlin Bradley-Tse replaced Neff as the runner at second. Sidney Campion followed with a fielder's choice to score Bradley-Tse.
North Central responded with two runs in the bottom of the inning. Sasha Jennings was safe on an error and Gabbi Smith walked. Both runners advanced on a double steal and scored on a single by Alexis Tanguma.
McLennan sealed the win with five runs in the top of the 10th inning. Neff reached on an error and scored on a Maddie Saven home run. Campion singled and Watson reached on an error. Both runners advanced on a passed ball and scored on a double by Plunkett. Caitlyn Wong then doubled to score Plunkett.
Game two went to McLennan as well with Cheyenne Floyd picking up the 9-3 win in the circle.
Four McLennan runs scored in the top of the second. Jenny Robison led off with a single, and Riley Rutherford reached on an error. Hudson and Saven also reached on errors, bringing Robison and Rutherford in to score. Hudson and Saven both advanced on another error, and Hudson scored on a ground out by Bradley-Tse. Saven then scored on a sacrifice by Ka'Lyn Watson.
The Lady Lions' first run came in the bottom of the third as Smith tripled and scored on a wild pitch.
McLennan added two runs in the sixth. Robison singled and advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Rutherford. Hudson then singled to score Robison. Saven singled and stole second. Bradley-Tse then singled to score Hudson and Saven.
North Central's final two runs came in the bottom of the sixth. Tanguma walked and Liz Linwood singled. Kinzie Schultz reached on an error, bringing Tanguma and Linwood in to score.
The final two McLennan runs came in the top of the seventh. Wong drew a lead-off walk and was replaced by pinch runner Riley Todd. Todd advanced to second on a ground out by Plunkett and scored on a triple by Robison. Robison then scored on a sacrifice fly by Rutherford.
McLennan and North Central complete their conference series with a noon doubleheader Friday at Bosque River Ballpark.
McLennan 7, North Central 2
McLennan 000 002 000 5 – 7 8 4
North Central 000 002 000 0 – 2 3 4
Hailey Hudson and Julia Herzinger. Taylor Spence, Kimberlin Hogan (10) and Jillian Whitmire. WP: Hudson; LP: Spence. Leading hitters – McLennan: Erin Plunkett (2-5, 2B, 2 RBI), Caitlyn Wong (1-4, 2B, RBI), Maddie Saven (1-2, HR, 2 RBI), Julia Herzinger (1-5, 2B) and Sidney Campion (2-5, RBI); North Central: Alexis Tanguma (1-4, 2 RBI). Record: McLennan 41-4 (20-1).
McLennan 9, North Central 3
McLennan 040 003 2 – 9 10 1
North Central 001 002 0 – 3 5 5
Cheyenne Floyd and Riley Rutherford. Alexi Tanguma, Maddie Strickling (6) and Kinzie Schultz. WP: Floyd; LP: Tanguma. Leading hitters – McLennan: Sidney Campion (3-4), Jenny Robison (3-4, 3B, RBI), Riley Rutherford (0-2, RBI), Hailey Hudson (2-4, 2B, RBI) and Caitlin Bradley-Tse (1-3, 3 RBI). Record: McLennan 42-4 (21-1).