Five SFCC baseball players earn All-Region honors

The first round of postseason honors has been announced for the State Fair Community College baseball team. Sophomore outfielder Zach Dillman of Lee's Summit has been named to the 2022 All-Region 16 Baseball First-Team, along with sophomore catcher Hamilton Anderson of Columbia, Illinois. Sophomore infielder Austin Warkins of Haysville, Kansas, sophomore outfielder/infielder Jacob McWhirter of Guelp Ontario, Canada, and sophomore pitcher Antonio Escano of Santiago, Dominican Republic, were all named to the Second-Team. McWhirter earned the honor as a designated hitter. The awards are voted on by the coaches in Region 16. 

Dillman tied for the team lead in hits with 56, led in doubles with 14, led in home runs with 16, RBI with 50, and walks with 27. Dillman also led the team in total bases with 118 and extra-base hits with 30. He had a .400 batting average during his sophomore campaign, with a .497 on base percentage and a .843 slugging percentage. He finished second on the team in runs scored with 38, while playing in 44 games. 

"Zach was our most consistent hitter throughout the year," said Roadrunners Head Coach Jud Kindle. "He had a great approach at the plate. He had power in his bat, while at the same time hitting for average, in today's game that's something you don't see a lot of. He had an all-around great offensive year for us." 

Anderson played in 40 games for SFCC this season and finished tied for third on the team in home runs with 11. He finished fourth on the team with 35 RBI. Anderson had a batting average of .315 to go along with an on base percentage of .382 and a slugging percentage of .685. Anderson totaled 18 extra-base hits during his sophomore year and registered 34 total hits. 

"Hamilton solidified himself as our starting catcher early in the season," said Kindle. "He did a good job for us offensively, but he also did a good job for us defensively receiving and calling the game for us." 

Warkins played in all 46 games this season and led the team in runs scored with 58 and triples with two. Warkins finished tied for the team lead in hits with 56. He finished second on the team in doubles with 12 and tied for third place on the team in home runs with 11. Warkins finished third on the team in RBI with 47 and had a batting average of .354, with an on base percentage of .443, and slugging percentage of .665. 

"Austin scored a lot of runs for us," said Kindle. "He was also able to produce runs for us. It is difficult to find a guy who can not only score a bunch of runs but also drive in runs himself." 

McWhirter played in 43 games this season. He recorded 47 hits and finished second on the team with 49 RBI. He finished tied for third on the team in home runs with 11 and had a .329 batting average with a .388 on base percentage and a .622 slugging percentage. McWhirter registered 20 extra-base hits and 89 total bases on the season. 

"I thought Jacob did a great job of being consistent for us this year," said Kindle. "He was definitely a big left-handed bat in the middle of our order." 

Escano pitched in a variety of different roles for the Roadrunners this season and tied for the staff lead in appearances with 15. He also started seven games and tied for the staff lead in victories with three and tied for the staff lead in complete games with three. Escano led the team in saves with four, while pitching 50 innings. The inning total placed him second on the pitching staff. He struck out 78 batters, which led the staff. Escano had a 3.78 earned run average. 

"If we had a chance to win a ballgame, Antonio was usually a part of it," said Kindle. "He was a jack-of-all-trades for us and is very deserving of this honor." 

David Rohrbach
SFCC Athletics