Feb. 23 Kansas City Kansas Community College at Kansas City, Kansas
The Roadrunners took the field in a regular season game for the first time since last March defeating Kansas City Kansas Community College 17-11 on Tuesday, Feb. 23 in Kansas City, Kansas.
SFCC collected 16 hits in the season-opening victory. Redshirt sophomore infielder Clayton Meyer of Sedalia led the offensive onslaught collecting three home runs and a double to go along with six RBIs. Meyer had five hits on the day. Sophomore catcher Dylan Thompson of Camdenton hit a home run, along with redshirt freshman outfielder Thomas Brand of Springfield. Freshman infielder Brandon Stahlman of Washington, Missouri, had a double and three RBIs in the game. Freshman catcher/right-handed pitcher Zachary Dillman of Lee's Summit registered a triple and three RBIs in the contest.
Sophomore pitcher Andrew Clark of Belton got the opening day start on the mound for the Roadrunners. He pitched 2 2/3 innings. He allowed two hits and four earned runs. Freshman pitcher Roy Holcomb of St. Joseph picked up the win in relief. He allowed one earned run on three hits in 1 2/3 innings.
Feb. 26 Lincoln Land Community College at Jacksonville, Illinois
SFCC swept a doubleheader from Lincoln Land Community College in a pair of seven inning contests by scores of 8-5 and 7-6. The games were played at a neutral site.
In game one, Thompson had a home run and two RBIs. Sophomore infielder Brady Strickert of Blue Springs registered a double and two RBIs. Stahlman collected another double. Tommy Ruether of Washington, Missouri, drove in a pair of runs.
Sophomore pitcher Jared Stephens of Neosho got the start on the mound for the Roadrunners. He gave up four runs on seven hits and struck out two in three innings pitched. Holcomb pitched three innings in relief. He allowed one run on two hits and struck out five to earn his second win of the season. Redshirt sophomore Tyler Abney of Sedalia earned the save. He allowed no runs on no hits.
In game two, the Roadrunners pushed across a run in the top of the seventh inning to take the lead. Freshman pitcher Tucker Nunnenkamp of Lee's Summit slammed the door in the bottom of the seventh to earn the save. The SFCC offense had 10 hits as a team. Dillman led SFCC with two hits, including a home run. He scored a pair of runs and drove in three.
Sophomore pitcher Connor Barnes of Boonville got the start on the mound for the Roadrunners. He pitched 3 1/3 innings, allowing three runs, two of which were earned and struck out four. Freshman pitcher Jalen Rogers of Lee's Summit earned the win in relief, recording two big strikeouts in two-thirds of an inning.
Feb. 28 John Wood Community College at Jacksonville, Illinois
SFCC (5-0) swept John Wood Community College 18-6 and 13-6 at a neutral site in Jacksonville, Illinois.
In game one, freshman infielder Austin Warkins of Haysville, Kansas, had three hits, including a triple. Thompson had two home runs, one of which was a grand slam and six RBIs. Sophomore outfielder Jordan McClellan of Liberty also hit a grand slam in the game. As a team, the Roadrunners had 18 runs on 14 hits.
Clark got the start on the mound for the Roadrunners. He pitched three innings, allowed four runs, three earned on five hits, and struck out five. Sophomore pitcher Antonio Escano of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, pitched the final two innings. He gave up two hits and two runs to pick up the victory.
In game two, Ruether had three hits and three runs scored. Freshman outfielder Drake Miller of Camdenton also had three hits along with Strickert who also hit a home run and drove in four in the game. Brand hit a home run and drove in three runs.
Sophomore pitcher Rylie Rokusek of Holden got the start on the mound for the Roadrunners. He pitched 1 2/3 innings and allowed five runs, four of which were earned on three hits. Sophomore pitcher Will Knight of Sedalia picked up the win in relief. He pitched one inning and gave up one hit.
David Rohrbach
SFCC Athletics