Feb. 8 Southwest Tennessee Community College at Millington, Tennessee
The State Fair Community College (SFCC) Roadrunners got the 2019 campaign off to a successful start with an 8-7 victory over Southwest Tennessee Community College on Friday, Feb. 8 in Millington, Tennessee.
SFCC scored a pair of runs in the top of the first inning and added two more in the top of the third, and one in the fourth inning. Southwest Tennessee tied the game with five runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. The Roadrunners bounced back with two in the top of the seventh to retake the lead. Each team scored a run in the eighth. Southwest Tennessee added a run in the bottom the ninth. However, SFCC shut down the late rally and emerged victorious.
Sophomore catcher Blake Ford had a pair of hits to go along with an RBI and a run scored. Ford also stole three bases in the game. As a team, the Roadrunners stole 11. Freshman infielder Malik Stevenson also had a pair of hits, an RBI, a run scored, and three stolen bases. Sophomore infielder Kyle Clark and freshman outfielder Brice Pannier each had a double in the game. Freshman outfielder Ian Taylor hit his first home run as a Roadrunner and drove in two runs. Freshman infielder Brett Holden also drove in a pair for SFCC in the game.
Sophomore pitcher Logan Bexten got the start for the Roadrunners giving up five runs with only one earned run in five and two-thirds innings. Bexton struck out five in his debut and sophomore pitcher Bill Cain (1-0) pitched two innings in relief, struck out five and allowed one run to pick up the win in relief. Sophomore pitcher Chris Koehler pitched 1.1 innings and struck out two batters and earned his first save as a Roadrunner.
Feb. 8 Dyersburg State Community College at Millington, Tennessee
SFCC dropped a hard-fought 13-11 decision to Dyersburg State Community College in game two of the opening day of the 2019 season.
Dyersburg got on scoreboard first with two runs in the top of the second inning. SFCC responded with five runs in the bottom of the inning to take the lead. Dyersburg added five more runs in the top of the third inning, before SFCC tied the game at seven with a pair of runs in the bottom of that same inning. SFCC took a brief one run advantage in the bottom of the sixth, but Dyersburg answered with a run in the top the seventh to square the score at eight. The game would remained tied until the top of the 10th inning when Dyersburg scored five runs. The Roadrunners comeback attempt fell short when they only added three runs in the bottom of the inning.
Freshman infielder/outfielder Anthony Gunn led the charge offensively for the Roadrunners with a pair of hits and four runs batted in. Freshman infielder Drew Perez recorded two RBI. He also scored three runs. Sophomore infielder Gavin Jones hit a home run and drove in two runs. Freshman outfielder Mason Sanders recorded a double. Sophomore outfielder Brady Holden scored a pair of runs. Sophomore outfielder Hayden Bradford stole a team-high two bases in the game.
Freshman pitcher Austin Brooks got the start on the mound for SFCC. He pitched three innings, allowing seven runs, only two of which were earned and struck out two batters. Sophomore pitcher Kaleb Kauffman (0-1) was the losing pitcher for SFCC. He pitched the final two innings for the Roadrunners allowing five runs, four earned.
Feb.9 Dyersburg State Community College at Millington, Tennessee
The SFCC Roadrunners bounced back on Saturday with a 7-6 victory over Dyersburg State Community College on February 9 at the USA Stadium Complex. The game was a seven inning contest.
SFCC got on the scoreboard with a run in the top of the first inning. They tacked on four more runs in the top of the second. Dyersburg responded with three runs in the bottom of the second inning and added a single run in the bottom of the fourth inning. SFCC struck back with two runs in the top of the fifth to take a 7-4 lead. Dyersburg added a single run in the bottom of the fifth and one more in the bottom the seventh. However, SFCC hung on for the victory.
Stevenson had a pair of hits, including a triple, and a run batted in. He also scored twice. Brady Holden had a hit and two runs scored. Taylor contributed a hit and a run scored. Gunn had a hit and an RBI. Jones recorded an RBI. Freshman catcher Trey Nichols hit a home run and drove in a pair of runs.
Freshman pitcher Matt Perego got the start on the mound for SFCC. He went two innings, allowing three runs. Cain (2-0) pitched two innings, allowing one run and picked up the victory in relief. Koehler picked up his second save of the weekend pitching 2.2 innings, allowing one run and striking out three.
Feb. 9 Southwest Tennessee Community College at Millington, Tennessee
SFCC (2-2) dropped a 5-4 decision to Southwest Tennessee Community College on Saturday, Feb. 9 at the USA Stadium Complex in Millington Tennessee in a seven-inning contest.
Southwest Tennessee got on scoreboard first with four runs in the bottom the second. State Fair got on the scoreboard with a single run in the top of the third inning. Southwest Tennessee answered with a single run in the bottom of the inning to take a 5-1 advantage.
SFCC got their offense rolling in the top of the seventh-inning scoring three runs; however, the comeback attempt fell short.
The SFCC offense recorded seven hits in the game, with Gunn and Jones recording two hits each. Gunn had a double. Brady Holden, Stevenson, and Pannier had one hit each. Brady Holden stole two bases in the game.
Sophomore pitcher Jack Schmedding (0-1) went the distance on the mound for SFCC. He allowed five runs and struck out eight.
"We struggled a little bit defensively this weekend," said Roadrunners Baseball Head Coach Jud Kindle. "We will get better as the year goes on. Overall, I was very happy with the weekend. We played four competitive games. I like the fight that we showed and I was pretty satisfied with how we played all the way around."
David Rohrbach
SFCC Athletics