4/23/2008 - AC Edges Closer to No. 2 Seed in Tournament
With just four games remaining in the regular season, and Angelina
College locked into a second-place tie with upcoming opponent Bossier
Parish, the Roadrunners on Wednesday couldn’t afford to look past a
Lon Morris team that had only managed two conference wins.
AC didn’t, easily handling the Bearcats 5-1 and 11-4 in a sweep that
celebrated Sophomore Day at Roadrunner Field.
Frank Corolla tossed a complete-game three-hitter to win the opener,
and Corey Benevides nearly matched that with seven strong innings in
the nightcap. Corolla struck out six and managed to enter his name
into the AC record books, notching his 28th appearance as a pitcher to
tie Bear Bay on the Roadrunner list.
Corolla’s defensive support included a spectacular catch in right
field from Michael Padgett; his run support came from Matt Thielepape,
who doubled and scored in the fourth inning and drove in another run
with a fourth-inning single; and Mar Serna, who drove home his ninth
run in three games with a two-RBI single in the same inning. The
Roadrunners managed that four-run fifth off Bearcat ace Michael Russo
with just two hits, using three walks and an error to put the game
away.
The Roadrunner bats exploded in Game 2, with AC banging out 17 hits
against Lon Morris pitching. Nathan Hernandez, who drove in three runs
on the day, blasted a two-run homer in the second, and Chris Andreas
drove in a pair of runs on a three-hit day that included a triple. Tim
Emmons, Thielepape and Michael Padgett also collected RBIs for AC.
Benevides’ day included giving up just one run over six innings; the
Brenham freshman struck out two and allowed just three hits in picking
up the win. Lufkin’s Kyle McDaniel and Elroy Urbina added innings in
relief of Benevides.
The ‘Runners will close out the regular season Saturday in Shreveport.
A split with the Cavs guarantees AC a No. 2 seed in the Region XIV
tournament scheduled to begin the week of May 10th.
Game time on Saturday is noon, with Game 2 following a half hour
behind.
