Roadrunners baseball recaps March 6-10

March 6, Kansas City Kansas Community College at Dey Field in Liberty Park Stadium

The Roadrunners hosted the Kansas City Kansas Community College Blue Devils on a cold and snowy Tuesday afternoon at Dey Field. SFCC defeated KCKCC 15-5 in a single game that ended after five innings.

Kansas City Kansas scored first with three runs in the top of the first inning and added two more in the top of the second. The Roadrunners responded with three runs in the bottom of the second and tacked on five runs in the third, three in the fourth and four in the fifth.

The Roadrunners banged out 13 hits and scored 15 runs as a team. Freshman infielder Gavin Joneshad a big day at the plate for SFCC. He registered a triple and a home run, scored three times and drove in six runs. Sophomore outfielder Tyler Crane had three hits, a double, an RBI, and scored three times. Sophomore utility player Zack Ehlen recorded two hits, a run scored and two stolen bases. Sophomore infielder Steven Bradbury had two hits, three RBIs and a run scored. Sophomore infielder Kenny Prado recorded two hits, a run scored and an RBI.

Freshman pitcher Logan Bexton (3-1) went the distance on the mound for SFCC. He gave up five runs on nine hits, while striking out three.

March 8, St. Louis Community College at Dey Field in Liberty Park Stadium

SFCC hosted the St. Louis Community College Archers in a key Region 16 doubleheader. SFCC split the games, winning the first game 10-0 in five innings. The Archers bounced back to take the second game 13-9.

In game one, the Roadrunners got the offense going in the second inning with two runs, tacked on four in the third and four in the fifth inning to secure the victory. Sophomore pitcher/first basemanJacob Mitchell recorded a team-high three hits, two doubles, two RBIs and scored three times. Jones had two hits and a home run, scored twice and drove in three runs. Bradbury drove in three runs. Freshman catcher/first baseman Kyle Clark scored two runs.

Freshman pitcher Conner Burnett (2-1) went the distance on the mound for SFCC. He scattered three hits and struck out two.

In the second game of the doubleheader, SFCC scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning. St. Louis took the lead with four runs in the top the second. SFCC scored a run in the bottom of the fourth. St. Louis added one in the fifth. SFCC answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning and two more in the bottom of the sixth. St. Louis exploded for eight runs in the top of the eighth inning. SFCC added one more run in the bottom of the inning, but that was as close as they would get.

Clark contributed a team-high four hits, three RBIs and a pair of doubles. Freshman outfielder P.J. Esposito registered three hits, a home run, scored twice, and drove in three runs. Bradbury drove in a pair of runs. Crane scored three runs. Ehlen scored twice.

Sophomore Josiah Imhoff pitched 3.1 innings, giving up four runs and striking out three. Sophomore pitcher Brett Wilbanks (0-2) took the loss in relief for SFCC.

March 10, St. Louis Community College at St. Louis

The Roadrunners traveled to St. Louis for another Region 16 doubleheader against the St. Louis Community College Archers. The Archers won a pitcher's duel in game one by a score of 1-0. The Roadrunners fought back to earn the split, winning game two 10-0.

Pitching dominated the opening game for both teams. The Archers scored the only run of the game in the bottom of the fifth. Clark had the only hit for SFCC in game one.

Sophomore pitcher Chase Plymell (3-2) went the distance on the mound for SFCC. He pitched seven innings, scattering eight hits, giving up one run, and striking out six.

In game two, the Roadrunners' offense took off in the top of the first inning scoring five runs. SFCC added two in the second, one in the third, and put the game away with two more runs in the fifth.

Esposito with a pair of hits led SFCC's (12-7, 6-2 in Region 16) offensive. He scored two runs and drove in a run. Jones had two hits, two runs scored and two RBIs. Sophomore infielder Chase Swisher had two hits, a run scored and an RBI.

SFCC sophomore pitcher Jake McMahill (3-0) was masterful on the mound. He went five innings, allowing only one hit and struck out four, tossing a complete game shutout.

"I thought we hit the ball extremely well," said Head Coach Jud Kindle. "We pitched the ball well, unfortunately, we split with St. Louis, but I thought we played well this weekend."

David Rohrbach

SFCC Athletics