The No. 5 McLennan Highlanders and No. 4 Temple Leopards split today's doubleheader to remain tied for first place in the North Texas Junior College Athletic Conference softball standings.
McLennan won the opener 6-4 with Olivia Garrett going the distance in the circle.
The Highlanders took the early lead with a Kaelani Rogers home run in the bottom of the first inning.
McLennan added two runs in the third. Karaline Smitherman singled and was replaced by pinch runner Jordan Tosch. A Rogers fielder's choice put Tosch out at second. Traci Lowry followed with a triple to score Rogers, and Lowry scored on a wild pitch.
Temple tied the game with three runs in the top of the fourth inning. Lexi Dudeczka and Jasmine Benavidez both singled and stole a base. Dudeczka was caught stealing and Reese Cottrell walked. Kaiyah Ratu followed with a three-run homer.
The Highlanders responded with three runs in the bottom of the inning to take the lead. Tayen Allen walked and Brooke Fechner doubled. Delanie Roeder followed with the three-run homer.
The Leopards final run came on Cottrell's home run in the sixth.
Temple rallied in extra innings of the second game to get the 8-5 victory. Natalie Klenda took the loss in the circle for McLennan.
Once again, the Highlanders scored first. Chayne Allen led off with a single and advanced on error. A fly out by Rogers advanced Chayne Allen to third. Allen then scored on a sacrifice fly by Macie Jansky.
Temple tied the game with a run in the third. Cottrell singled and was replaced by pinch runner Maycee Griffin. Ratu walked, and Garcia singled to score Griffin.
McLennan scored two in the bottom of the third to regain the lead. Rylie Marquart and Chane Allen both singled and advanced on an error. Marquart scored on a sacrifice fly by Rogers. Chayne Allen advanced to third on a fly out by Jansky and scored on a single by Fechner.
The Leopards added a run in the fifth as Ratu led off with a double, advanced on a wild pitch and scored on a sacrifice bunt by Ryley Litchfield.
The Highlanders also added a run in the fifth as Marquart singled and scored on a double by Jansky.
Temple went on top with three runs in the sixth. Brooklyn Walton single and advanced on a sac bunt by Dudeczka. Benavides singled, and Cottrell followed with a double to score both runners. Ratu then singled to score Cottrell.
Rogers launched a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth to tie the game and force extra innings.
The Leopards scored three in the top of the eighth to secure the win. Walton and Dudeczka both singled. Walton scored on a sack fly by Benavides. Cottrell and Ratu both walked. Izzy Garcia singled, scoring Dudeczka, and Cottrell scored on a sac fly by Litchfield.
No. 5 McLennan 6, No. 4 Temple 4
Temple 000 301 0 – 4 5 0
McLennan 102 300 x – 6 5 1
Kat Kram, Reese Cottrell (4) and Kaiyah Ratu. Olivia Garrett and Traci Lowry. WP: Garrett; LP: Kram. Leading hitters – Temple: Kaiyah Ratu (2-3, 2B, HR, 3 RBI) and Reese Cottrell (1-2, HR, RBI); McLennan: Kaelani Rogers (1-3, HR, RBI), Traci Lowry (1-3, 3B, RBI), Delanie Roeder (1-2, HR, 3 RBI) and Brooke Fechner (1-2, 2B). Record: McLennan 36-7 (20-1).
No. 4 Temple 8, No. 5 McLennan 5
Temple 001 013 03 – 8 14 2
McLennan 102 010 10 – 5 12 0
Izzy Garcia and Ryley Litchfield. Natalie Klenda, Skylar Scott (8) and Macie Jansky. WP: Garcia; LP: Klenda. Leading hitters – Temple: Jasmine Benavides (2-3, 2B, RBI), Reese Cottrell (2-2, 2B, 2 RBI), Kaiyah Ratu (2-3, 2B, RBI), Izzy Garcia (2-5, 3 RBI), Ryley Litchfield (1-3, 2 RBI) and Brooklyn Walton (3-4); McLennan: Kaelani Rogers (1-3, HR, 2 RBI), Macie Jansky (2-3, 2B, 2 RBI), Brooke Fechner (1-4, RBI) and Rylie Marquart (3-4). Record: McLennan 36-8 (20-2).
