4/5/2008 - ‘Runners Hosting Paris Today
While attending Tuesday night’s Lufkin High School baseball
game, Angelina College assistant coach Richard Martinez received an
invitation to a post-game dinner among friends. Martinez declined,
explaining he had other plans for the night.
Those plans consisted of hitting the batting cage at Roadrunner Field
with several of his ‘Runner hitters.
Furthermore, the night was the players’ ideas.
So up until the late hours, Martinez and his guys worked on the
mechanics of hitting. Centering the ball. Transferring weight. Keeping
the hands just right.
That level of dedication and focus has helped boost the Roadrunners
from a 1-5 start in conference play – and hovering near the bottom of
the standings – to an eight-game winning streak and sole possession of
the No. 2 spot in the Region XIV East Zone. In fact, when AC takes the
field today for the home doubleheader against Paris – a series
rescheduled from Saturday – the names and uniforms will be the same as
in the beginning of the season, but the team as a whole will little
resemble the group that got off to such a sluggish start.
The offense has touched off a hitting explosion, battering opposing
pitchers for 60 runs in the past six games, due in large part to a
seven-game streak of 10 or more hits per game – and the majority of
those hits have gone for extra bases. Keith Prestridge and Matt
Thielepape, who entered league play with averages at or above .500,
have continued their torrid performances. Ryan Kelley and Chris
Andreas have seen their averages climb steadily, with each surpassing
the .400 mark as of last week. Jake Rowell, used primarily as a
designated hitter, has homered in two straight games and is making his
way to the top of the AC leaders in RBIs. Austin Lasprilla, hitting in
the leadoff spot, has become the leader of an aggressive base-running
attack that allows the ‘Runners to steal and take extra bases and/or
execute the hit-and-run to near perfection.
In addition, the pitching staff that was such a question mark early
has begun to establish itself as a contender. Starters Frank Corolla,
Corey Benevides, Trey Rackel and Jason Gurka have virtually guaranteed
at least six quality innings per start; and the bullpen-by-committee
consisting of Daniel Franchois, Tanner Hamilton and Nick Huff has held
leads.
Even more noticeable has been the Roadrunners’ improvement on the
defensive side. With range and play-making-abilities considered early
liabilities, the ‘Runners bore down and focused on those areas over
the past few weeks. The results have been a couple of error-free games
in support of the solid pitching performances.
Still, the biggest surprise has to be the contributions from the bench
players. With depth a concern earlier,
So when the Paris Dragons hit Roadrunner Field for the noon
doubleheader, they very well might not recognize the team with which
they earned a split in Paris back on March 12th.
The names and numbers are the same.
But it’s a different team entirely.
Game time for the opener is noon, with Game 2 scheduled to begin a
half hour afterward. Listeners can catch J.P. Heath’s play-by-play on
ESPN 1260 AM, or log onto www.espn1260.net for the web cast.
