With basketball’s regular season winding down to its final weeks, baseball and softball seasons are picking up steam, meaning there’s plenty of game action taking place on the Angelina College campus. We had everything from walk-offs to buzzer-beaters to keep things rowdy around here.
Following is a recap of the week, along with information on upcoming events.
Lady Roadrunner Basketball Splits Games
AC’s ladies handled Jacksonville College 93-54 Wednesday at Shands Gymnasium, with Amyria Walker leading the way for AC with 23 points. Alecia Rivera-Scott came off the bench to drill six three pointers on her way to an 18-point night, while India McMahon added 14 points and Janay Quinn 11 points in the win.
On Saturday, however, the Lady ‘Runners’ six-game winning streak came to an end in Athens, with No. 12 Trinity Valley Community College handing AC a 77-52 loss.
Nevertheless, the Lady Roadrunners (17-8, 9-2) maintain their hold on first place in the Region XIV conference standings with five games remaining in the regular season.
The Lady ‘Runners host Blinn College Wednesday at Shands Gymnasium, with tipoff scheduled for 6:30 p.m. AC will close out the week at Tyler Junior College on Saturday. That game is set for a 2 p.m. start.
NOTE: AC’s Walker still leads Region XIV in scoring at a 19.9 points-per-game clip.
Roadrunner Basketball Drops Heartbreaker to No. 11 Lee College
When AC’s Xavier Owens let fly a three-pointer that swished the net at the buzzer signaling the end of regulation, the Roadrunners had every right to feel as if they were about to steal another game against the No. 11-ranked Navigators from Lee College. After all, the ‘Runners had managed to erase an eight-point deficit in about 90 seconds to force overtime.
But the Navigators managed to hold off the Roadrunner charge, handing AC an 82-72 loss Saturday at Shands Gymnasium.
Eddie Evans scored 16 points to lead the ‘Runners, followed by Nehikare Igiehon with 15 and Owens with 14.
Despite the loss, the Roadrunners (16-9, 7-7) still sit in third place in the Region XIV South Zone standings with five games left to play on the regular-season schedule.
AC’s men travel to Jacksonville College on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. game and will host Lamar State College-Port Arthur Saturday at 4 p.m.
Lady Roadrunner Softball Takes Five Wins this Week
The Lady ‘Runners opened their week with their first three-game winning streak of the season and capped the week with a doubleheader split against a nationally ranked team.
AC on Wednesday took both games of a twin bill at Kilgore College, beating the Lady Rangers 11-2 and 15-4. Riley Davila tripled twice in the opener, and Skyler Martin, River Hulsey and Lindsey McKnight each drove in two runs.
In the nightcap, Martin and Kaetlyn Dunbar each homered, with Dunbar finishing with four RBI and Martin three.
On Friday, the Lady ‘Runners handled Monroe College (NY) by a 9-1 final. Davila finished with three hits (including another triple) in three trips to the plate, and Hulsey rocked a three-run homer.
Friday evening’s game with No. 15 Butler CC (KS) saw the Lady ‘Runners fall 16-8, but in Saturday’s doubleheader against the same Grizzlies’ team, AC rallied to win a thrilling 12-11 game in walk-off fashion. Gabree-Ella Harris set off the celebration with a line drive single to left field to score Davila with the game-winner. Martin drove in four runs in the game, Davila accounted for three RBI and Lorelei Graham drove in two more.
Butler would hold off another AC rally in Saturday’s nightcap, with the Lady ‘Runners falling 8-5 despite erasing a five-run deficit.
Davila certainly earned herself conference Player of the Week considerations with her five-game numbers: 17-24 at the plate for an astronomical .708 batting average, 12 runs scored, five RBI, three triples and a double.
The Lady Roadrunners are on the road at Paris College on Wednesday and in Denison (TX) on Saturday against Grayson College at the Grayson College Invite. Both those doubleheaders start at 1 p.m.
Roadrunner Baseball Drops Pair of Doubleheaders
The Roadrunner baseball team dropped a pair of doubleheaders this past week, falling 11-1 and 11-6 Wednesday at Alvin College and 13-0, 8-6 Saturday against Temple College at Poland Field on the AC campus.
In Wednesday’s 11-6 loss to Alvin, Cole Standley drove in three runs while going 2-for-4 at the plate, and Mason Lampe added an RBI with a solo homer.
In Saturday’s 8-6 loss to Temple, the ‘Runners’ Sean Bazmore picked up three RBI in the loss. Kristopher Grimes and Ryan Lewis also drove in a run each.
The Roadrunners (2-10) are on the road Monday at Dallas College-Mountainview (1 p.m. start) before returning home for Wednesday’s doubleheader against Alvin College. First pitch at Poland Field is at 1 p.m.
AC will close the week with a single, nine-inning game at home against Dallas College-Eastfield on Saturday, Feb. 24.
West Sabine Tigers Shoutout
Members of both the girls’ and boys’ basketball teams from West Sabine High School showed up to support the Lady Roadrunners during Wednesday’s home game against Jacksonville College. They were loud and awesome all night long.
UPCOMING EVENTS OF NOTE:
Women’s/Men’s Basketball Sophomore Day: Saturday, March 2. AC teams hosting Coastal Bend CC in a doubleheader starting at 2 p.m. Sophomore Day festivities will take place before each game.
Tyler Rayburn Baseball Tribute: Tyler Rayburn was a key (and very popular) part of the Angelina College baseball team for a couple of years. Sadly, we lost Tyler when he passed away in 2023, but the Roadrunner baseball program plans to honor his memory with a tribute tentatively scheduled for Saturday, March 23 at Poland Field. The Roadrunners host TCS Post Grad in a doubleheader that day, so the ceremony (including a ceremonial first pitch) will take place before the first game, currently scheduled for a 1 p.m. start.
Softball National Champions 10-Year Reunion: Yes, 2024 marks the 10th anniversary of Angelina College’s only national title: The Lady Roadrunner Softball team’s 2014 national championship. Current plans include hosting a reunion ceremony tentatively scheduled for Saturday, April 20, when the Lady Roadrunner softball team will host Blinn College in a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. We’ll issue more information once we’ve solidified all the plans.
Region XIV Basketball Conference Tournament Information
This year’s Region XIV Basketball Conference Tournament will take place from March 12-16 at Tyler Junior College’s Wagstaff Gymnasium in Tyler. The tourney opens on Tuesday, March 12 with the men’s first round starting at 1 p.m. Wednesday, March 13 features the women’s opening round, also starting at 1 p.m.; Thursday is the men’s quarterfinals round; Friday is the men’s and women’s semifinal round; and Saturday marks the championship games for both women (4 p.m.) and men (7 p.m.). Tournament winner earns an automatic bid to its sport’s respective national tournament (Casper, WY for the women and Hutchinson, KS for the men), and tourney runners-up are virtually guaranteed an at-large bid.
Tyler JC has ticket information available at www.apacheathletics.com/tickets.
Full brackets won’t be available until after the final regular-season games on Wednesday, March 6.
This Week’s Schedule (NOTE: Baseball and softball subject to change with pending inclement weather):
Roadrunner Baseball:
Monday, Feb. 19: AC at Dallas College-Mountain View, DH starting at 1 p.m. in Dallas
Wednesday, Feb. 21: AC vs. Alvin College, DH starting at 1 p.m., Poland Field on the AC campus.
Saturday, Feb. 24: AC vs. Dallas College-Eastfield, single 9-inning game starting at 1 p.m., Poland Field on the AC campus.
Lady Roadrunner Basketball:
Wed., Feb. 21: AC vs. Blinn College, 6:30 p.m. at Shands Gymnasium.
Sat., Feb. 24: AC at Tyler JC, 2 p.m. in Tyler.
Roadrunner Basketball:
Tuesday, Feb. 20: AC at Jacksonville College, 7 p.m. in Jacksonville.
Saturday, Feb. 24: AC vs. Lamar State College-Port Arthur, 4 p.m., Shands Gymnasium.
Lady Roadrunner Softball:
Wednesday, Feb. 21: AC at Paris College, DH (doubleheader) starting at 1 p.m. in Paris.
Saturday, Feb. 24: AC at Grayson College (Grayson Invite), DH starting at 1 p.m. in Denison, TX.
For up-to-date information on any potential schedule changes, AC fans can visit the Angelina College Athletics website (www.angelinaathletics.com) or follow on social media (@ACAthletics on X/Twitter, or Angelina College Athletics Facebook page.)
For any other information, contact Gary Stallard at gstallard@angelina.edu.
We’ll see you at the games.
Gary Stallard
Email: gstallard@angelina.edu.
Phone: (936) 465-4614
