Five SFCC baseball players earn MCCAC All-Conference honors

Another round of postseason honors has been announced for the State Fair Community College baseball team. Sophomores Zach Dillman of Lee's Summit, Austin Warkins of Haysville, Kansas, and Antonio Escano of Santiago, Dominican Republic were named to the 2022 Missouri Community College Athletic Conference (MCCAC) All-Conference Baseball First-Team. Sophomore outfielder/infielder Jacob McWhirter of Guelp Ontario, Canada, and freshman pitcher Chase Carson of Topeka, Kansas, earned MCCAC All-Conference Second-Team honors. Coaches from the nine teams in the Missouri Community College Athletic Conference vote to determine the honorees.

Outfielder Dillman tied for the team lead in hits with 56 and led in doubles with 14, home runs with 16, RBI with 50, and walks with 27. Dillman led the team in total bases with 118 and extra-base hits with 30. He had a .400 batting average his sophomore year with a .497 on-base percentage and a .843 slugging percentage. He finished second 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."

Infielder Warkins played in all 46 games this season and led the team in runs scored with 58 and triples with two. He finished tied for the team lead in hits with 56 and second in doubles with 12. Warkins finished tied for third place in home runs with 11 and third in RBI with 47. His batting average was .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. It is difficult to find a guy who can not only score runs but also drive in runs."

Escano pitched in a variety of different roles for the Roadrunners this season. He tied the pitching staff lead in appearances with 15 and started seven games. Escano tied for the staff lead in wins with three and tied in complete games with three. He led in saves with four while pitching 50 innings. The inning total placed Escano second on the pitching staff, and he led in strike-outs with 78. 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."

Outfielder and infielder 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 in home runs with 11. McWhirter had a .329 batting average with a .388 on-base percentage and a .622 slugging percentage. He registered 20 extra-base hits and 89 total bases.

"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."

Carson made 12 appearances as a starting pitcher for SFCC and recorded three victories, which tied with Escano in staff wins. Carson also registered three complete games, which tied him for the lead with Escano. He led in innings pitched with 51 2/3. Carson struck out 61 batters, which placed him second. He finished his freshman campaign with a 3.66 ERA that placed him second.

"Chase was our most consistent starting pitcher," said Kindle. "His three-pitch mix and consistency made him one of the best all-around arms in our conference."

The MCCAC supports intercollegiate athletic competition for men and women among public and private two-year colleges in Missouri that compete in the National Junior College Athletic Association. In addition to SFCC, the other eight MCCA colleges are East Central, Jefferson College, Mineral Area College, Moberly Area Community College, Missouri State University-West Plains, St. Charles Community College, St. Louis Community College, and Three Rivers College.

David Rohrbach SFCC Athletics