After a clutch, last-at-bat, 2-0 win over Paris earlier in the day, it only seemed right that the Angelina College Lady Roadrunners deserved to advance to Sunday's championship round of the Region XIV tournament.
That wasn't to be, with the Lady ‘Runners' season coming to an end in a 7-2 loss to San Jacinto later in the day.
Sam McCord drilled a two-out, two-run double off the wall in left center to break a scoreless tie and send the Lady Roadrunners to a 2-0 win over Paris and keep AC's season alive – at least for one more game.
"I've been in this situation so many times this season, with runners on and two outs, that I wasn't even nervous," McCord said. "Once I got down two strikes, I just felt it was my time."
For five of the first six innings, the Lady ‘Runners had been on the verge of breaking the scoreless deadlock, putting runners in scoring position in each of those five frames. But Paris pitcher Kasey Carlock and the Lady Dragon defense continued to make pitch after pitch, and play after play, to keep AC from crossing the plate.
That changed in the top of the seventh, with Jenna Richardson and Amanda Vincent reaching on consecutive singles to open the inning. Amy Holt bunted the runners over for a first-out sacrifice, and after a fly ball out, McCord drove a 2-2 pitch to the wall in left center to plate the winning runs. Kelseigh Braaton pitched a 1-2-3 bottom half for the win, sending AC to the 5:30 matchup with San Jacinto, which beat Galveston 2-1 earlier.
In that nightcap, Lady Coyote Bethany Armstrong drove in three runs with three doubles and a single, Megan Knippa added an RBI triple, and starting pitcher Ashley Newberry went the distance in San Jac's 7-2 win.
AC's Kayla Johns drove in an AC run with a sixth-inning double, and Sarah Espinosa added an RBI single in the same frame. But the Lady Roadrunners couldn't find the late-inning magic that carried them to so many wins in the regular season, and the Lady Coyotes advanced to Sunday's championship round.
In the day's earlier action, Blinn rallied from a 5-1 deficit to top Navarro 6-5 and remain undefeated in three games. Blinn will await the winner of Sunday's San Jacinto and Navarro game scheduled to start at 10 a.m. The second game will take place at 1 p.m.; a third game, if necessary, will begin at 4 p.m.
AC's loss marked the final games for sophomores Amy Holt, Sam McCord, Kayla Johns, Jenna Richardson, Stacie Tassin, Sarah Espinosa and trainer Meagan Whitmire.
