Leveling the Playing Field…Literally
Lady Roadrunners Anxious to Move Into New Digs

The title “groundskeeper” isn’t usually mentioned in any coach’s recruiting pitch when trying to lure new talent to a program. One might think if anything, discussing field grooming might actually serve as a deterrent for any player searching for a place to play.

That hasn’t been the case with the Angelina College Lady Roadrunner softball team. This week, players and coaches alike ignored the rains and heat in order to spend time putting the finishing touches on the new softball field on which the team will begin play this season. With tractors driving onto the field to deliver fresh layers of dirt and field conditioner, some players grabbed rakes and shovels while others painstakingly removed rocks from the playing surface itself – a precaution against those potential bad hops.

“I told the girls instead of waiting for a ball to bounce up and hit them in the face before picking the rocks out, we’d go ahead and get it out of the way now,” AC head coach Chrystal Vega joked. “We’ll start practice here in just a few days, and I think the girls are ready to give up picking rocks and dirt and get down to playing ball.”

The field’s newness aside, the members of AC’s softball program are happy to have their own digs for the upcoming season. In 2009, the Lady Roadrunners’ inaugural season, the team shared the high school field at Morris Frank Park.

No more. Following months of anticipation, the new field awaits only the season’s first pitch to make “home” an official title.

“We were grateful that Lufkin High’s softball team shared its field with us last season,” Vega said, “but it’s really awesome for all of us to know we have our own field now. Of course, it won’t completely feel like ours until we actually start practicing on it, but our players are already doing everything they can to make this feel like home.”

The Lady Roadrunners will open their fall schedule in September. Their first home games will take place during a round-robin tournament scheduled for the weekend of Sept. 26th and 27th.

Angelina College Lady Roadrunner Amy Holt ignores the rain while spreading field conditioner over the infield on the Lady ‘Runners’ new field. AC will begin practicing on the new digs next week, with their first fall game set for the weekend of Sept. 26th-27th.

Members of the Angelina College Lady Roadrunner softball team put aside their gloves and take up rakes to make improvements on the new field.

Angelina College head softball coach Chrystal Vega (far right) dodges dirt from a tractor long enough to supervise the Lady Roadrunners raking and leveling the playing surface of the new field.