SFCC softball ready to work hard in 2022

The State Fair Community College (SFCC) Lady Roadrunners Softball program, coached by Lyndsey Talbot, is built on a blue-collar mentality, which means a willingness to work hard on the field and in the classroom.

"We are going to have to do all of the little things right," said Talbot. "We are going to have to have some hard-nosed kids who are willing to just get after it."

The Lady Roadrunners will be led by their three returning All-Region players Alexis Gilliland, Ellie Eckert, and Kelsey Webb.

"Kelsey and Ellie will be key in helping lead our position players every day," said Talbot. "Alexis will fill roles like designated player, play some first base, and do some pinch hitting for us. She is a little bit day-to-day because of her injuries."

SFCC will rely on a number of student-athletes in the pitching circle this season.

"We are looking for big things from freshman pitcher Kennidi Harris this season," said Talbot." We have a large pitching staff that we will rely on heavily. We are hoping for production from sophomore Sadie Kumm. Alexis Hughes is another freshman pitcher that we are expecting big things from. Tabitha Imhoff is another solid returning starter from last year. We know what we're going to get when Tabitha is in the game, we expect a lot out of her. Kaycee Thompson is another pitcher who can come out of the bullpen for us. Emma Schouten will also see time in the circle."

SFCC is scheduled to open the home portion of their schedule on March 10 with a doubleheader against Crowder College.

The Lady Roadrunners will also need some help from newcomers in the field. Coach Talbot expects contributions from Rylee Hagens and Lauren Strange.

"Alexis Hughes will help us at the plate," said Talbot. "She is one of our better hitters, as well as being a pitcher. Makinzi Harris is a catcher who has a cannon of an arm behind the plate, who can also hit. We also expect offensive production from Paige Clines."

Region 16 has four new head coaches, as well as a lot of new players. Crowder and Three Rivers are currently ranked in the national poll.

The Lady Roadrunners opened the 2022 season losing a pair of games to Iowa Western Community College 10-2 in six innings and 18-5 in five innings at Excelsior Springs High School on Feb. 10.

The Lady Roadrunners coaching staff have some goals they would like to see their team accomplished this season.

"We would like to decrease our strikeouts as a team this season," said Assistant Coach Michele Rupard. "We want to increase our walks offensively. We want to have better run production. We need to do a better job of not leaving runners stranded. We want to continue to work hard in the classroom. We had a 3.48 team grade point average this fall."

Coach Talbot sees one main key to accomplishing those goals this season.

"The key is resiliency," said Talbot. "There will be setbacks. We have to be able to commit to hard work and make the necessary adjustments."

David Rohrbach

SFCC Athletics