State Fair Community College (SFCC) sophomore pitchers Bill Cain, Jack Schmedding and Conner Burnett were all a big part of the Roadrunners recent run to the Region 16 Baseball Tournament Championship Game. All three recently announced their plans to continue their academic and athletic careers in the fall.

Cain will attend Emporia State University in Emporia, Kansas. Schmedding will attend Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph. Burnett has chosen to attend Indiana University Southeast in New Albany, Indiana.

Cain was named First-Team All-Region 16. Cain appeared in 15 games for the Roadrunners as both a starter and relief pitcher. He tied for the team lead with six wins. He tossed three complete games, which was good enough to finish second on the staff. Cain finished the year with a 2.95 earned run average. He struck out 69 batters (first), while pitching 61 innings (third). He was also named Region 16 Pitcher of the Week for the week of April 15-21.

"I think that Emporia State is bringing him in to be a starting pitcher," said Roadrunners Baseball Head Coach Jud Kindle. "He is a pitcher who is able to put the ball in the strike zone and get hitters out. He pitched a lot of innings for us."

Schmedding earned Second-Team All -Region 16 on the mound for SFCC. Schmedding tied for the team lead in victories with six in 11 starts. He led the pitching staff with four complete games and finished second on the team in innings pitched with 61 and one-third. He struck out 60 batters and compiled a 4.26 earned run average.

"He has a chance to fit into a lot of different roles at Missouri Western," said Kindle. "I think he could be a starter, but he is also a good reliever. So, we'll just have to wait and see what role they give him when he gets there."

Burnett made seven appearances for SFCC as a sophomore. He recorded two victories while pitching 26 and one-third innings and struck out 19 batters on the year.

"I think they're bringing him in to be a starting pitcher," said Kindle. "He has played big roles on our team for the last two years as a starting pitcher. He was a midweek starter for us as a freshman, this year he really stepped up his game."

"I want to wish all of our guys who are continuing their academic and athletic careers the best of luck and thank them for their contributions to our program," said Kindle.

David Rohrbach

SFCC Athletics