By GARY STALLARD
AC Athletics
Earning a doubleheader split normally isn’t that big of a deal.
But when it happens against the 15th-ranked team in the nation, and at their house, it’s a much bigger story.
Angelina College’s Lady Roadrunners on Monday rebounded from a first-game loss against No. 15 Bossier Parish College by taking the nightcap in an 8-6 win.
Taking at least one game did more than improve AC’s position in the conference standings. It also provided a confidence boost to a freshman-laden team that had put together a nine-game winning streak just weeks ago, only to lose three straight. Monday’s win also showed the team is ready to face head-on the conference leaders. Bossier Parish is tied for first place in the Region XIV East Zone at 8-2 in league play.
Sharing the top spot with the Lady Cavaliers? AC’s opponent on Wednesday, the No. 3 Tyler College Lady Apaches.
The matchup will feature the proverbial “unstoppable force against the immovable object” scenario. The Lady Roadrunners are second in the league in home runs with 42 and among league leaders in slugging percentage at a whopping .565.
Trying to tame the AC bats will be Lady Apache All-Everything pitcher Abbie Dart, who leads the league in wins (19), total strikeouts (120) and ERA (1.00). Dart in 2018 has lost just two games in the circle, with one of those occurring against Bossier Parish College.
AC’s pitching staff can hold its own, with Shelby Mixon (10-5) striking out 49 batters in 88 innings and Leigh Luker leading the team in ERA at 3.63. Mixon is second in the conference in wins behind Dart, while Luker is in fifth place.
Offensively, AC’s Emilee Cernosek and Tyler’s Courtnie Heller lead their respective teams with eight homers each. Cernosek, Sydney Brown and Rachel Agnello lead the Lady Roadrunners in RBI with 25 each.
Tyler averages eight runs per game; the Lady Roadrunners average seven.
Wednesday’s doubleheader at Angelina College is scheduled for a 3 p.m. start. Viewers can catch the live stream by logging onto angelinaathletics.com.
The e-mail address for AC’s Sports Information Director is gstallard@angelina.edu.
