Highlanders win two on Friday in Houston

The McLennan Highlanders moved to 5-0 on the season with two wins on day one of the Tournament of Champions in Houston.

The Highlanders began the day with a 10-8 win over St. Petersburg. Chris Glover picked up the win on the mound. James Rudkin led McLennan at the plate, going 4-5 with a triple and three RBIs. Dimas Ojeda was 2-3, with a double, a triple and two RBIs, while Brendan Venter went 3-4 with two RBIs. Brock Morrison hit a home run and Mario Vela doubled. Tucker Johnson and Cole Haring both picked up an RBI.

In the nightcap, the Highlanders defeated Odessa 6-2 with Michael Cugini getting the win. Cory Voss was 2-3 at the plate with a double, a home run and two RBIs. Nic Motley was also 2-3 and recorded a home run and two RBIs. Johnson and Ojeda went 3-5 with a double, and 1-5 with a double and an RBI, respectively. Haring went 2-4 and Vela recorded an RBI.

"It was a good day, however these were really two different ballgames," coach Mitch Thompson said. "In our game against St. Petersburg, we really didn't play very well. Glover gave us a quality start but we didn't pitch well out of the bullpen and had to battle our tails off to get out of there with a win. We had 16 hits and that was a big deal but we just didn't play very well."

"In the second game, we played a good Odessa team and the guys really competed hard. It was a much better overall effort. Calvert was outstanding on the mound and gave us a great start. Cugini and Dustin Jourdan were outstanding out of the bullpen. Pitching and defense were really good. We had bunch of guys swing the bat well but we can't rely on just offense. We have to put it all together as a ballclub."

"I'm very proud of Dimas Ojeda. He is dealing with a personal tragedy in his family and for him to play the way he did just shows what a great human being he is. What a warrior; what a winner that kid truly is. This last week has been extremely difficult for him but the way he responded honors his family and says a lot about him."

McLennan 10, St. Petersburg 8
McLennan 112 011 112 – 10 16 1
St. Petersburg 001 003 202 – 8 12 3
Chris Glover, Zach Sullivan (6), Hunter Spaeth (7), Palmer Wenzel (9) and Cory Voss. Kevin King, Chris Jordan (4), Hayden Goldman (8) and Scott Manea. WP: Glover; LP: King. Leading hitters – McLennan: Tucker Johnson (2-6, RBI), James Rudkin (4-5, 3B, 3 RBI), Brendan Venter (3-4, 2 RBI), Brock Morrison (1-2, HR, RBI), Mario Vela (1-5, 2B), Dimas Ojeda (2-3, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI) and Cole Haring (1-1, RBI); St. Petersburg: Trevor Jenson (2-4), Kellen Brown (1-5, 2B, 2 RBI), Alex Hanson (1-4, RBI), David Hollins (1-5, RBI) and Scott Manea (4-5, 2 2B, 3 RBI). Record: McLennan 4-0.

McLennan 6, Odessa 2
Odessa 000 020 000 – 2 5 0
McLennan 000 101 40x – 6 12 0
Mateo Bocchi, Braydn Tidwell (6), Ruben Renteria (7) and Jakob Nunez. Reece Calvert, Michael Cugini (6), Dustin Jourdan (9) and Nic Motley. WP: Cugini; LP: Tidwell. Leading hitters – Odessa: Grant Jones (2-3, 2 RBI) and Koby Clabrun (1-4, 2B); McLennan: Tucker Johnson (3-5, 2 2B), Dimas Ojeda (1-5, 2B, RBI), Cory Voss (2-4, 2B, HR, 2 RBI), Nic Motley (2-3, HR, 2 RBI), Cole Haring (2-4) and Mario Vela (0-2, RBI). Record: McLennan 5-0.