FCA's Herd wins Class C honor

• By ROBIN FAMBROUGH
• Advocate sportswriter
• Published: May 20, 2008 - UPDATED: 6:48 a.m.

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Family Christian Academy coach Robin Herd does not see coaching baseball as a way to claim individual awards.

After leading the Flames to their first appearance in the Louisiana High School Athletic Association’s Classes 1A-B-C State Tournament, Herd has won a major award, nonetheless.

The Louisiana Sports Writers Association selected Herd as the Class C Coach of the Year for baseball. A coach at FCA since 2003, Herd led the Flames to a 15-9 record that included a loss to eventual state champion Claiborne Christian of West Monroe in the semifinals.

“My high school coach taught me a long time ago that players get credit for the wins and the coach is responsible for the losses,” Herd said. “I’ve used that philosophy ever since I started coaching, so as far as I’m concerned this is definitely a team win.

“We’ve worked at this since 2003 and we have some great kids in the program, so it’s a credit to them and my assistant coaches, Chad Mansur and Lane Evans. I’m excited because it’s such a great honor for everybody. It shows people recognize what we’re doing.”

Two Family Christian players, pitcher Spencer Lightfoot and shortstop Michael Glasper, are also part of the Class C baseball team. Hayley Sanchez of Starkey Academy and Leeanna Clabaugh of Family Christian are part of the Class C softball team.

David Mitchell of state runner-up Harrisonburg is the LSWA’s Coach of the Year for softball. Hannah Howell of Calvin and Adam Cerniglario of Claiborne Christian were voted the Outstanding Players on the LSWA teams selected by a panel of sportswriters from across the state. The two players led their schools to state titles in softball and baseball, respectively.

Howell of Calvin is the softball Outstanding Player ffor the second straight year and is a five-time all-state pick. She finished 19-2. Cerniglario had a 6-3 pitching record and a .420 batting average.

Lightfoot is a junior who had an 8-4 record as a pitcher for FCA with 62 strikeouts in 51 innings. Glasper, a freshman, hit .518 with 46 runs scored and 34 runs batted.

Sanchez, a senior, hit .455, leading her team to the playoffs the school’s final season. Clabaugh was the voted the District 9-C MVP after hitting .380 and compiling a 14-10 pitching record as an eighth-grader.

Several familiar faces join Howell on the softball team, including seven-time all-stater Andrea Miller of Starks, a senior who has made the all-state team every year since she was a sixth-grader.

Northside Christian senior Sarah Ancelet is on the team for a third straight year while Calvin’s Kristyne Anderson and Brooke Kelley are both making return appearances, as is Family Christian’s Clabaugh.

Rounding out the softball team are: Harrisonburg’s Katie Johnson, Shawn Carter and Heather McGuffee, Hackberry’s Amber Byler and Brooke Wing, Singer’s Brittany Michael, Claiborne Christian’s Kara Anderson, Starks’ Baleigh Bussell and Calvin’s Logan Durbin.