Burks Pitching Gem Fuels AC
A four-run first inning combined with a five-run third provided all the offensive fireworks the Angelina College Roadrunners would need in Monday’s 9-1, seven-inning rout of No. 13 San Jacinto College at Poland Stadium on the AC campus.
It didn’t hurt that starting AC pitcher Garrett Burks was spinning a gem on the mound.
Burks pitched 4 1/3 innings, allowing just two hits and a single earned run while striking out six Ravens. Reliever Harrison Hankins mopped up with 2 2/3 innings of work, giving up a single hit while fanning five batters.
AC’s Marco Bandiero knocked in three runs in a 2-for-3 day at the plate. Jackson Todd added two RBI, while Daigan Venable and Colton Haas also drove in runs for the Roadrunners.
The Roadrunners loaded the bases in the bottom of the first inning without putting a ball in play: Seth Sloan and Cole Standley drew walks, and Brayden Pate took one for the team on a hit-by-pitch to fill up the sacks. Bandiero then drove a long double to the right-field gap to plate a pair of runs, and after a Jackson Pullen walk, Jackson Todd drove home another run with a groundout. Later in the inning, Haas drew a bases-loaded walk for a 4-0 AC lead.
In the third inning, Todd reached on an error and scored ahead of Venable’s single. Seth Sloan singled, and Venable scored on a wild pitch. With the bases loaded, Bandier took a pitch off his thigh for an easy RBI. Sloan would later score on another Raven wild pitch, and Todd earned another RBI after drawing a bases-loaded walk.
Hankins finished off the final eight outs to leave AC with a run-rule win.
The Roadrunners (17-10, 8-7) open a three-game series Wednesday at home against Navarro College. Wednesday’s single, nine-inning game starts at 2 p.m. at Poland Stadium.
The series wraps up on Saturday in Corsicana with a doubleheader scheduled for a 1 p.m. start.
The email address for AC’s Sports Information Director is gstallard@angelina.edu.
