Both the Lady Roadrunner softball team and the Roadrunner baseball team played their final home stands of the season, with each team celebrating its Sophomore Day.
And while the Lady ‘Runners’ 2024 campaign came to a close on Saturday, the Roadrunners are still in the fight to extend their season with a possible postseason berth.
In addition, the entire Athletics program celebrated a massive “Signing Day” at which numerous athletes from every AC team celebrated their elevation to the next level of their respective sports.
Here’s a recap of the week, along with some upcoming events.
Roadrunner Baseball Makes Jump in Standings in Final Week
The ‘Runners started the week in last place in Region XIV’s North Division. But after taking two out of three games from third-place Northeast Texas Community College, AC now finds itself in fifth place – just three games back of fourth-place Panola College, with both teams having just three games remaining in the regular season.
The math is pretty clear for the Roadrunners: They’ll need to win all three road games at Bossier Parish Community College in the series starting on Wednesday and concluding with Saturday’s doubleheader. AC will need help, as Panola will need just one win to eliminate the Roadrunners.
In Saturday’s doubleheader win over NTCC, starting pitcher Gabe LeBlanc tossed his second complete game of the season as the ‘Runners took the 7-5 win over the Eagles. Christian Letendre went 3-for-4 at the plate, homering and driving in two runs to lead the offense. Mason Lampe, Hayden Hupe and Taz Pate also knocked in runs for AC.
In the nightcap, Ethan Jezierski threw six strong innings, allowing a single earned run while striking out five Eagles in AC’s 9-1 win in seven innings. Spencer Alexander tossed a scoreless inning of relief. Hitters were Sam Hardcastle with a pair of homers – and five RBI – and Letendre with his second long ball of the day. Lampe and Michael Herndon also drove in a run each.
Following the day’s games, the team recognized its 10 sophomores appearing in their final home games as Roadrunners: Dalton Mullins, Mason Lampe, Noah “Taz” Pate, Walton Jack, Christian Letendre, Sam Hardcastle, Spencer Alexander, Hunter Ditsworth, Hayden Hupe and Gabe LeBlanc.
AC (21-29, 10-17) finish up the regular season at Bossier Parish CC with a three-game series starting on Wednesday.
Lady Roadrunner Softball Season Ends in Galveston
The Lady Roadrunners took the playoff race down to the final day of the regular season, but the team this week just couldn’t get past two of the conference’s best teams.
In this past week, AC hosted third-place Blinn College on Monday and fell 7-3 and 6-5 to the Lady Bucs. The Lady ‘Runners bounced back with a convincing home sweep of Coastal Bend CC on Wednesday, taking wins of 10-0 and 12-0. Those wins moved AC’s ladies to within two games of a playoff spot with just two games to play.
That scenario set up a Saturday showdown at second-place Galveston College, and the Whitecaps proved too much for the young Lady ‘Runners, who finished the last few weeks of the season with just two sophomores in the lineup. Galveston ended AC’s season on Saturday with wins of 12-0 and 12-6, leaving the Lady Roadrunners with a final record of 19-39, 9-15.
On Monday, the team celebrated Sophomore Day, bidding farewell to sophomores Skyler Martin, Paige Castillo, Kaetlyn Dunbar and Emma Kovasovic. Martin finished her sophomore season ranked in the nation’s Top 50 in runs batted in with 61.
AC Athletics Signing Ceremony
On Tuesday, April 23, the AC Athletics program celebrated the reason so many athletes come here in the first place with a massive Signing Day ceremony held inside Shands Gymnasium.
A total of 18 student-athletes from every AC team showed up to sign their letters of commitment to play at the next levels of their chosen sport. There are still players going through the recruiting process as the year winds down, meaning the total certainly will grow over the next few weeks.
Click the link for the full story and list of signed athletes:
https://angelina.prestosports.com/general/2023-24/releases/athleticssigningcermonyapril232024
Montgomery Serves as Keynote Speaker
AC athletics director and head men’s basketball coach J.J. Montgomery spent a busy week addressing the community, first as a guest speaker on Monday at Hospice in the Pines, where he led a discussion on “Team Leadership.”
Montgomery then served as the keynote speaker for Central High School’s athletics banquet.
There are photos provided from each event.
This Week’s Schedule (NOTE: Baseball subject to change with pending inclement weather):
Roadrunner Baseball:
Wednesday, May 1: AC at Bossier Parish CC, single 9-inning game starting at 1 p.m. in Bossier City, LA.
Saturday, May 4: AC at Bossier Parish CC, doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. in Bossier City, LA.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Camp Roadrunner – Angelina College’s Camp Roadrunner is a series of recreational and athletics camps offered throughout the summer for youngsters of various age groups (Kindergarten through 5th grade). On the Athletics side, there will be camps offered in every sport. Here are the current schedules by sport:
Baseball: June 3-5.
Softball: June 10-13.
Basketball: June 10-13; June 24-27; and July 15-18.
Soccer: June 10-13; and July 15-18.
Here’s the link providing pertinent information regarding registration and requirements: https://www.angelina.edu/camproadrunner/
In addition, there likely will be various evaluation camps offered for prospective athletes. We’ll send out notifications as the information is provided to us.
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.)
Reminder: Nearly all Angelina College games (even road games) are live-streamed on TSBN Sports. Visit the Angelina College Athletics website (www.angelinaathletics.com), look for the scrolling schedule on the right, and click the blue “Video” link for the game you want to watch. (If there’s no blue link, that means TSBN isn’t streaming that particular game.)
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