3/12/2008 - Roadrunners Split in Paris
PARIS – The Angelina College Roadrunners bounced back from a
frustrating 7-4 loss in the opener with a 7-2 win over Paris in the
nightcap.
After AC pitcher Frank Corolla suffered a hard-luck loss in Game 1,
Trey Rackel spun a real gem in the second game to give the ‘Runners a
split on the opening day of conference play.
Rackel tossed seven innings of shutout baseball, striking out nine and
allowing just three hits. He got his run support from Austin Lasprilla,
Matt Thielepape and Chris Andreas, each of whom drove in two runs.
Rackel, still working his way back from a knee injury that limited his
activity throughout the fall and much of the non-conference portion of
the schedule, kept the Dragon hitters off balance and without a chance
of rallying as they’d done in the opener.
“Trey really picked us up in that second game,” AC coach Jeff Livin
said. “He pitched just the way he’s capable of pitching, throwing hard
and keeping the ball down all game long.
“I’ve made this trip before when we came home empty-handed. To bounce
back after that first heartbreaker says a lot for this team and for
Trey.”
Corolla had been just as masterful in his outing, carrying a 4-0 lead
into the sixth inning. But the Dragons began pecking him to death with
little dribbling singles that managed to elude Roadrunner infielders,
and Paris’ Will Calhoun added a two-run homer in a seven-run rally
that left AC on the short end of a 7-4 score. Through all that,
Corolla allowed just nine hits, eight of them singles.
“I feel bad for Frank (Corolla),” Livin said. “He made some good
pitches that should have gotten him out of that inning, a lot of them
potential double-play balls. But we just couldn’t get to them. He
deserved a lot better.”
Thielepape drove in two runs in that game with a two-run homer; he
added a double to help keep his batting average over .400 for the
season. Keith Prestridge and Chris Andreas also drove in runs for the
‘Runners in the opener.
But two-run singles from Paris’ Justin Miller and Andrew Robinson came
around Calhoun’s two-run blast to give the Dragons the win.
The Roadrunners bounced back immediately behind Rackel, with Lasprilla
and Thielepape blasting back-to-back doubles to open the nightcap. AC
added three more in the seventh on singles from Chris Laird and
Lasprilla, a sac fly from Thielepape and a two-run double from
Andreas.
Rackel made that lead hold up by shutting out the Dragons in his seven
innings. Tanner Hamilton relieved Rackel in the eighth and gave up two
Paris runs in the ninth.
The split moves AC’s season record to 11-8-2, 1-1; the Roadrunners
will travel to Texarkana on Saturday, with game time set for noon.
