Lady Roadrunners Earn All-Conference Honors

There were so many new names on the roster before the 2016 season began, Angelina College softball coaches Mark and Barbi Mattson weren’t entirely sure who their key players would be.

As the season unfolded, the entire team proved its ability to compete, with several players catching the eyes of those who vote for post-season superlatives.

The Lady Roadrunners put six players on the Region XIV All-Conference list, with Jynelle Pangelinan, Taylor Odom and Shay Vegas earning First-Team honors. Tiffany Hinkelman, Taylor Davis and Miranda Wiggins landed on the Second-Team list.

Pangelinan, a freshman from Lakewood High School in Lakewood, California, held down the left field spot and quickly proved herself a tough out, striking out just five times in 162 at bats. Pangelinan hit .454 (third in conference) with eight homers and 45 RBI. She led the team with 69 hits, 24 of which went for extra bases, leading to a slugging percentage of .724.

Odom (not pictured) is a freshman pitcher from Lumberton High School in Lumberton, TX. The right-hander went 20-7 on the season, finishing with an ERA of 3.36 (ninth in conference) while striking out 133 batters (second in conference) in 171 innings pitched.

Vegas started most of AC’s games at second base. The freshman from Central Valley High School in Spokane, Washington hit .370 (among the conference’s top 20) with 10 home runs (eighth in conference) and 40 RBI. Vegas also posted a .618 slugging percentage, good enough for second on the team.

Hinkelman, sophomore catcher from Splendora High School in Splendora, Texas, finished the year with a .938 fielding percentage and was charged with just one error in 31 games. Hinkelman also threw out six runners on the base paths.

Davis, a freshman slugger from Nederland High School in Nederland, Texas, led the team with 14 homers (second in conference), drove in 46 runs (ninth in conference) and finished with a .354 batting average and a .658 slugging percentage.

Wiggins, a freshman outfielder from Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu, Texas, hit .363 (among the conference’s top 20) with an on-base percentage of .477 (the team leader) and a slugging percentage of .476. Wiggins also stole 12 bases, good enough to place her ninth among conference leaders in that category.

The Lady Roadrunners finished the season ranked 12th in the nation with an overall record of 32-18. AC opens the conference tournament against Lamar State College-Port Arthur on Thursday at San Jacinto College in Houston. Game time is 12:30 p.m.

The e-mail address for AC’s Sports Information Director is gstallard@angelina.edu.