3/29/2008 - AC Sweeps Lon Morris
JACKSONVILLE – Early Saturday morning, there was some uncertainty
regarding the local weather and whether it would allow the Angelina
College vs. Lon Morris game to take place.
The clouds cleared, the rain, rain went away, and the Roadrunners are
glad they did.
Continuing their torrid hitting streak that has seen the Roadrunners
reach double figures in hits, AC won their fifth and sixth straight
games with an 8-0, 13-5 sweep of the Bearcats.
Lefty Jason Gurka pitched his second straight shutout to win the
opener, and Chris Andreas drove in eight runs on the day to help move
the Roadrunners to 7-5 in Region XIV play. Andreas picked up five RBIs
in Game 1 with a two-run triple and a three-run double, then added a
three-run homer in the nightcap. Matt Thielepape and Jake Rowell added
solo shots in the finale, with each player finishing the game with two
RBIs. Keith Prestridge, who went 3-for-4 in Game 2, also drove in two.
Bryan Mallett and Chris Laird – who had three trips in four official
at-bats – drove in a run apiece.
Those hot bats made it five straight games in which the Roadrunners
have reached double figures in hits.
Gurka’s big day on the mound included allowing just three Bearcat hits
and no runs over six full innings. The Brenham left-hander struck out
10 in running his scoreless innings streak to 13. Elroy Urbina pitched
a scoreless seventh inning for AC’s 8-0 win.
“Lon Morris is a good ball club, but they’re sort of where we were
earlier when we struggled to find ourselves,” AC head coach Jeff Livin
said. “I thought Jason’s effort was exactly what we needed to set the
tone for the day, and we followed that up with some very timely
hitting.
“This is exactly the type of baseball we need to continue to play. We
do that, we’ll definitely win some ball games.”
Trey Rackel was nearly as effective in the second game, allowing one
run and seven hits over five innings to earn the “W”. Rackel, pushed
back from last week’s start due to shoulder aches, struck out three
and walked just one in picking up the 13-5 win.
Clutch hitting led to big innings all day long for the ‘Runners: The
five-run fifth in Game 1 came via a solo homer from Paul Prestera and
doubles from Prestridge, Andreas and Latulippe. A three-run seventh in
Game 2 came about after consecutive singles from Prestridge and Rowell
followed by the Andreas over-the-wall-and-to-the-woods shot to clear
the bases. AC tacked on four runs in the ninth without benefit of a
single hit: Lon Morris reliever Eduardo Padilla struggled with his
control, walking three, hitting two and tossing in a couple of
run-scoring wild pitches.
The two wins move AC to 15-12-2, 7-5 on the season. Lon Morris drops
to 1-11 in conference play.
Next up for the Roadrunners is Bossier Parish in a Wednesday afternoon
home doubleheader. Game time is set for noon.
