By MIKE MONTFORT

Navarro Baseball, off its conference series win over Paris, prepares Monday for non-league action as McLennan is scheduled to play a nine-inning game here at 2 pm Monday.

Coach Mitch Thompson's Highlanders (10-9/3-1) dropped out of the NJCAA Top 20 rankings this week after skidding to losses in six of seven games.  MCC won its final three games of a four-game conference weekend series against the Cisco Wranglers.  The Highlanders swept seven-inning games at Cisco Saturday, 9-5 and 15-7. 

NC (13-5/8-2) split its Saturday doubleheader against Paris, beating the Dragons 8-1 in the seven-inning opener before falling 2-1 in Game 2. 

Game 1:  Navarro 8, Paris 1

Alex Vergara and Cash Rugely drove in two runs apiece while Ethan Ruiz and Tallon Heine had multiple hits to back the pitching of starter and winner Jake Combs and reliever Luke Negrete. 

Combs scattered five hits, struck out three and allowed one earned run in his 87-pitch, five-inning effort.  

Vergara doubled home Navarro's first run, and joined Rugely and Zac Vooletich with big hits during the Bulldogs' four-run third inning. 

Game 2:  Paris 2, Navarro 1

Paris starter Hunter Mayo and reliever Tyler Renfro shut the Bulldogs out for 8.2 innings, until first baseman Chad Ricker belted a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth.

Mayo hurled six-hit shutout ball for five innings and struck out nine before turning it over to Renfro.

Paris broke through in the sixth inning of the scoreless game off losing pitcher A.H. Ozorio-Brace, who gave up four hits in his inning of relief behind starter Riley Bauman.  Beau Brewer and Sean Curtis had the run-scoring singles in the inning.  Ozorio-Brace was greeted by consecutive singles from Shelby Becker, Hayden Johnson and Brewer to create the first run.  Curtis' one-out single delivered the other. 

Designated hitter Tyler Dickey drilled three hits, including a double to lead NC's eight-hit attack.  Ricker added two hits for a Bulldog squad that stranded six runners. 

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