Six Roadrunners Earn All-Conference Recognition

State Fair Community College (SFCC) baseball student-athletes continue to reap the rewards from the most successful season since the program's return. The Roadrunners finished the season 35-21, advancing all the way to the Championship Round of the Region 16 Division I Baseball Tournament. Six players from the State Fair Community College Roadrunners baseball squad were recently named to the Missouri Community College Athletic Conference All-Conference Baseball Team, as voted upon by the coaches within the Conference.

Sophomores Gavin Jones (infielder) and Bill Cain (pitcher) earned First-Team All-Conference, while sophomore pitchers Jack Schmedding and Logan Bexten joined sophomore catcher Blake Ford and freshman pitcher/infielder Jake Luft on the Second-Team.

Jones led the team in slugging percentage with .602, including 12 homeruns and finished second on the team in batting average at .325. Jones had 54 hits, 50 RBI, and scored 43 runs - all team highs. He finished the season tied for second on the team with 10 stolen bases and led SFCC with 100 total bases and 21 extra-base hits.

Cain had 15 appearances on the mound for the Roadrunners. He had six wins (tied for first on the team) and tossed three complete games (second on the squad). Cain finished the year with a 2.95 earned run average. He struck out a team-high 69 batters in 61 innings; third on the staff in innings pitched. He was also named Region 16 Pitcher of the Week for the week of April 15-21.

Lufft compiled a .304 batting average. He drove in 43 runs (second on the team). He scored 35 runs (fourth on the team). Lufft finished second on the team in home runs (eight) and slugging percentage (.572). Luft made seven appearances on the mound for the Roadrunners. Luft compiled two starts and three wins and struck out 12 in less than 12 innings of work.

Schmedding started 11 games as pitcher and won six (tied for first on the team) and led the pitching staff with four complete games. Schmedding 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.

Bexten made 12 appearances, all of which were starts for SFCC. He recorded five victories with one complete game. Bexten led the staff in innings pitched with 64, had 46 strikeouts, and a 3.38 earned run average.

Ford played in 37 games and had a .302 batting average. He finished the season tied for sixth on the team in hits with 32. He had three home runs and scored 23 runs. Ford drove in 21 runs. He caught nine runners stealing from behind the plate.

"All of our players who earned All-Conference honors were a big part of what we were able to accomplish," said Roadrunners Baseball Head Coach Jud Kindle. "All four of our pitchers threw a lot of important innings for us. Gavin, Jake, and Blake were big parts of our offense. All of the sophomores will have opportunities to continue their academic and athletic careers at four-year institutions. I'm proud of all they were able to accomplish this season."

David Rohrbach SFCC Athletics