3/21/2008 - Roadrunners Earn Sweep of Panola
Take a couple of solid pitching performances from your starters, toss
in some fantastic defensive plays and stir with some big hits, and
you’ve got a recipe for a couple of doubleheader wins at home.
The Angelina College Roadrunners got all that and more, sweeping the
Panola College Ponies in a Good Friday that proved great for the home
boys.
‘Runner starting pitchers Jason Gurka and Corey Benevides each tossed
a beauty in their stints on the mound, with Gurka shutting out Panola
over seven innings for a complete-game, 3-0 win. Benevides followed
with seven strong innings of his own, leaving with a five-run lead in
the seventh as the Roadrunners held on for the 9-8 win and the twin
bill sweep.
In the nightcap, Matt Thielepape drove in four runs with three hits
that included a three-run homer in the nightcap to pace the AC
offense. Ryan Kelley picked up another two RBIs to go along with
several spectacular defensive plays in left field. Kelley managed to
take out a section of fence, a tarp and a chunk of Roadrunner Field
turf with his running, diving antics that helped Benevides remain in
control throughout.
“Quite frankly, Ryan’s defense early in the season was a liability,”
AC coach Jeff Livin said afterward. “But we addressed it, and he took
it the way we hoped he might. He’s been working his tail off to
improve his glove work, and he was a huge plus for us today.”
AC (13-12-2, 3-5) built a 9-4 lead with a five-run fourth inning, with
Thielepape going over the opposite-field wall for the three-run
dinger. Kelley drove in his two runs with a single up the middle in
the same inning. In the sixth, Nathan Hernandez collected his second
hit of the game and an RBI, and the ‘Runners scored a gift run on a
Pony error for their ninth run.
Meanwhile, Benevides – who allowed just two earned runs in scattering
eight hits – kept the Ponies off balance for his seven innings of
work. Benevides struck out his season high, eight, in picking up the
win. Panola took advantage of his eighth-inning exit with a grand slam
from Kofi Osei-Aning off Tanner Hamilton, but Hamilton clamped down
and closed out the game to give AC its third win in eight conference
games.
In the opener, AC scored all three runs on consecutive singles from
Keith Prestridge, Tim Emmons and Chris Andreas, with Andreas driving
in his two teammates with a liner up the middle. Andreas then came
around to score on a Panola error, and the ‘Runners led 3-0 after one
full inning.
That was all Gurka needed. From the third to the seventh innings, the
lefty sophomore from Brenham retired 15 of 17 Pony hitters – including
a stretch of 13 straight – while striking out eight for the
complete-game win.
“That was the real Jason Gurka on the mound today,” Livin said. “He’s
struggled lately with some arm soreness and a layoff, but he showed
what he can do when he’s got his game going right.”
AC’s defense, which saw its share of struggles earlier in the season,
turned four double plays on the day, including a superb play by
Hernandez at second base in Game 2 to kill a Pony seventh-inning
rally. Hernandez went high to spear a liner off the bat of Mason
Denson and doubled up the runner at second, adding to an all-around
stellar defensive effort by the Roadrunners.
The two wins improve AC’s conference record to 3-5, a factor Livin
isn’t ready to acknowledge as a turning point.
“It’s too early in the conference schedule to get too excited over a
sweep, or too down when we’re swept,” Livin said. “What we want to see
is constant improvement and maximum effort up and down the lineup. I
think we showed what kind of baseball we can play when that happens.”
The Roadrunners will host Northeast Texas in a Wednesday doubleheader
at Roadrunner Field. Starting time is noon for Game 1.
