SFCC softball recaps for April 17-20

April 17, Three Rivers Community College at Mandy Thomas Field in Centennial Park

The Lady Roadrunners softball team played host to the Three Rivers Community College Lady Raiders in an important Region 16 doubleheader. Three Rivers won both games 4-1 and 7-4.

In game one, Three Rivers broke a scoreless tie in the top of the fifth inning with a single run and added a run in the sixth inning and two in the seventh inning. State Fair scored its only run in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Freshman utility player Emily Wilson led State Fair offensively with two hits and a run scored. Freshman catcher/infielder Lauren Watkins had two hits and a run batted in. Freshman infielderAbby Rector contributed two hits. Freshman pitcher/ first baseman Madison Love and freshman outfielder Jacki Watson recorded two hits each.

Sophomore outfielder/pitcher MacKenze Gudde got the start in the circle for SFCC. She tossed a complete game, allowing four runs, three of which were earned on 11 hits. She was tagged with the pitching loss.

In game two, both teams scored a run in the second inning. Three Rivers added a run in the third inning to take the lead and another run in the top of the fourth. SFCC took the lead back with three runs in the bottom of the fourth. Three Rivers scored a pair of runs in the fifth to retake the lead and added two runs in the top of the seventh inning to finish the scoring.

Freshman middle infielder Kylie Johnson led State Fair's offense with two hits, including a double and a run scored. Freshman catcher/third baseman Gabi McGinty recorded a triple and a run batted in. Wilson and Watkins scored a run each. Watkins also drove in a run. Gudde recorded a sacrifice fly.

Love went the distance in the circle for SFCC. She gave up seven runs, five earned on 11 hits and struck out seven. She took the loss.

"We left too many runners on base in game one," said Head Coach Lyndsey Talbot. "It's hard to win games when we leave 12 runners on base. After the game, we talked about having to find another gear. If you look at the games against Crowder and the games today, we gave up multiple runs late in the game. We have to be able to put a complete game together."

April 18, Metropolitan Community College-Maple Woods at Mandy Thomas Field in Centennial Park

The Lady Roadrunners hosted the Maple Woods Monarchs in a key Region 16 doubleheader. SFCC won game one 12-1 in five innings. Maple Woods bounced back to win game two 10-3.

SFCC got its offense going early with a nine-run outburst in the bottom of the first inning, capping off the inning with a three-run home run from Watson. SFCC added three runs in the bottom of the second inning to take a 12-0 lead. MCC tallied a single run in the top of the fourth inning. The game ended after five innings because of the run rule

"After the first inning, the first thing I told the team was don't let up," said Talbot. "I reminded them about the Crowder game. We were able to continue to get baserunners on and score. Madison was able to shut them down. It was a good first game."

Watson led SFCC offensively with three hits and three runs batted in. Sophomore infielder Mikayla Gustin had a pair of hits, including a home run, five RBIs and two runs scored. Gudde had two hits and two runs scored. Rector had two hits and scored twice. Watkins drove in a pair of runs.

Love did an outstanding job in the circle for SFCC. She pitched a complete game, allowing two hits, one unearned run and struck out four.

In game two, MCC scored a run in the top of the first inning. SFCC took the lead with three runs in the bottom of the second inning. MCC struck back with two in the third inning, added one in the fifth and five runs in the sixth inning to finish the scoring.

Freshman catcher/infielder Tessia Balke and Gustin had three hits each. Balke also scored a run and drove in a run. Gudde contributed two hits and an RBI. Watkins and Wilson scored a run each.

Gudde got the start in the circle for SFCC. She pitched a complete game, giving up 10 runs, only three of which were earned runs. She took the loss.

April 19, Jefferson College at Hillsboro, Missouri

The Lady Roadrunners traveled to Hillsboro for a key Region 16 doubleheader. The Lady Vikings won both games 3-0 and 5-3.

Jefferson scored all three of its runs in the bottom of the second inning. The Lady Vikings pitching and defense made the lead stand up.

SFCC could only manage four hits in game one. Gudde, Watson, McGinty and Watkins had one hit each.

Love got the start in the circle for SFCC. She tossed a complete game, allowing three runs on seven hits and struck out six. She took the loss.

In game two, Jefferson scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning. SFCC responded with two runs in the top of the third. Both teams scored a single run in the fourth inning. Jefferson scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth and kept SFCC off of the scoreboard in seventh for the win.

Gudde had a pair of hits, a run scored and an RBI in game two for SFCC. Watson had two hits and a run scored. Wilson registered two hits. Rector and McGinty drove in a run each.

Gudde was SFCC's starting pitcher. She pitched two innings, allowing three hits, two runs and one earned run. She took the loss. Love pitched the final four innings in relief allowing five hits, three runs, one earned run and struck out three.

April 20, East Central College at Union, Missouri

The Lady Roadrunners softball team (17-31, 8-16) traveled to Union for a Region 16 doubleheader to close out the regular season. SFCC split the doubleheader, losing the first game 8-1 before bouncing back to win the finale 5-2.

In game one, East Central scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning. SFCC answered with a single run in the top of the third. East Central tacked on three runs in the bottom of the inning and three in the sixth inning to close out the scoring.

The Lady Roadrunners had five hits as a team in game one. Watson had the only run batted in. Watkins scored the only run in the game for SFCC.

Love went the distance in the circle. She gave up eight runs, only five earned runs on 11 hits. She struck out 10 in the game with no walks.

In game two, SFCC scored first with two runs in the top of the first inning and added one run in the third and fourth innings. East Central got its offense going with a single run in the bottom of the fourth inning and added a run in the fifth inning. SFCC tacked on an insurance run in the top the seventh inning.

Watson had a great day at the plate in game two. She led SFCC offensively with four hits and three runs scored, drove in two runs, and hit a home run and a double. McGinty had three hits, two of which were doubles. Love had a pair of hits, a run scored and an RBI.

Gudde got the start in the circle for SFCC. She pitched five innings allowing two runs, one earned. She gave up four hits and was the winning pitcher. Love pitched the final two innings allowing no hits and striking out two.

David Rohrbach

SFCC Athletics