February 19-26, 2023
It was quite a busy and eventful week for Angelina College Athletics programs. With baseball, softball and basketball (women’s and men’s) all playing simultaneously, there was no lack of action on the courts or on the diamonds.
Following are some re-caps and a little insight on what’s coming up.
Roadrunner Baseball:
The week opened on a high note, with the Roadrunners hosting a highly-ranked Blinn College team in a single, nine-inning game on Monday. In front of a home crowd at Poland Field on the AC campus, the ‘Runners celebrated a walk-off win when Sam Hardcastle drove a ball to the opposite field in right field to score the game winner in the bottom of the ninth inning.
On Wednesday, the Roadrunners swept Spartan Post Grad by 13-2, 14-0 scores. Mason Swidersky knocked in five runs, and Hardcastle and Dalton Mullins each drove in three runs in the opener.
In the nightcap, Christian Letendre, Hayden Hupe and Will Krenek each drove in a pair of runs in the win.
In Saturday’s conference opener against Paris College, the Roadrunners ran into a conference-leading Dragon team and fell 5-2, 9-0 at Poland Field.
The ‘Runners next will play at Navarro College on Wednesday in a conference doubleheader scheduled for a 12 p.m. start in Corsicana. AC then will travel to Louisiana on Saturday for a doubleheader against Bossier Parish Community College scheduled for a 1 p.m. start.
With this week’s wins, AC head coach Jeff Livin is just eight wins away from his 800th career win as a head coach.
Roadrunner Softball:
As expected, the Lady ‘Runner softball team – unable to play a game for the first two weeks of the season because of inclement weather – showed a little rust in its season opener.
AC’s ladies on Monday traveled to Louisiana to face Louisiana State University-Eunice in a doubleheader. The Lady ‘Runners fell 10-4 and 9-1 to the Lady Bengals.
On Wednesday, the Lady Roadrunners were in Tyler, where they lost a heartbreaker in the opener – falling 11-10 on an Apache walk-off homer – before bouncing back in the nightcap for AC’s first win of the season: A 14-4 win in five innings, backed by homers from Bailey Frenzel and Skyler Martin (grand slam).
The win marked the first career win for first-year head coach Brette Kohring.
On Friday, facing conference foe Kilgore College, the Lady ‘Runners earned the sweep; AC took the opener on a two-RBI single from Madi Davis and seven shutout innings from pitcher Mia Gilmore.
In the nightcap – a 13-5 Lady Roadrunner win – Bailey Frenzel homered and drove in four runs, Emma Kovasovic rocked her first collegiate homer while driving in three runs; Martin and Lace Tangianau also drove in a pair of runs each.
The Lady ‘Runners will host the Angelina Invite beginning on Friday and running through Sunday, February 26 at Lady Roadrunner Field on the AC campus. Visit angelinaathletics.com for the weekend’s full schedule.
Lady Roadrunner Basketball:
The Lady Roadrunner basketball team pulled out a big win Wednesday at home against Panola College, racing to a 66-50 win over the Fillies at Shands Gymnasium. Shanbriah Rule erupted for 17 points to lead AC, followed by Marie Kenembeni (14 points, 14 rebounds) and Makenzie Paul with 11 points.
Saturday against No. 5 Trinity Valley Community College didn’t turn out the way the Lady ‘Runners would have hoped, with AC battling but falling 81-62 to the Lady Cardinals.
AC’s ladies travel to Tyler Junior College on Wednesday for a 5:30 p.m. start. The Lady ‘Runners then host their final home game of the season on Saturday against Blinn College starting at 2 p.m.
Roadrunner Basketball:
The ‘Runner guys must be addicted to drama: Wednesday at Victoria College, AC’s men rallied from nine points down in the closing minutes to beat the Pirates 72-64 behind 19 points from Cade Holzman and 14 points each from Xavier Owens and Kanaan Holder.
Saturday at home, the ‘Runners faced Lamar State College-Port Arthur in a thriller at Shands Gymnasium. Down by a point late in the game, the ‘Runners got a huge three pointer from Kanaan Holder followed by an incredible reverse layup from Xavier Owens to secure the 58-53 win over the Seahawks.
AC will be at Lee College in Baytown on Wednesday, Feb. 22 (7 p.m. start) before closing out the home schedule on Saturday at 4 p.m. against Jacksonville College.
NOTE: Both the Lady Roadrunners’ and Roadrunners’ basketball teams will celebrate Sophomore Day on Saturday, Feb. 25 at Shands Gymnasium. In addition, the men’s game vs. Jacksonville College will be an NJCAA national broadcast on ESPN+.
For further information, contact AC Sports Information Director Gary Stallard at gstallard@angelina.edu.
