March 15 Metropolitan Community College at Kansas City, Missouri
The State Fair Community College (SFCC) Roadrunners opened their Region 16 schedule with a doubleheader, winning the opener 11-5, before dropping game two 4-3 on Tuesday, March 15 at the Urban Youth Academy in Kansas City.
In game one, the SFCC offense put together 15 hits led by redshirt sophomore outfielder Tommy Ruether of Washington, Missouri who had three hits, including a double and a triple. Ruether drove in two runs and scored once. Freshman catcher/pitcher Zachary Dillman of Lee's Summit had two hits, including a triple and one RBI. Freshman infielder Austin Warkins of Haysville, Kansas had two hits, including a run batted in. Sophomore catcher Dylan Thompson of Camdenton had two hits and scored once. Freshman infielder/outfielder Jacob McWhirter of Guelph, Ontario drove in a pair of runs. Freshman outfielder Drake Miller of Camdenton drove in three runs. Freshman infielder Brandon Green of Okotoks, Alberta had a homerun with two hits total on the game.
Sophomore pitcher Connor Barnes of Boonville got the start on the mound for SFCC. Barnes pitched three innings, gave up four runs on eight hits and struck out five to earn a no-decision. Freshman pitcher Roy Holcomb of St. Joseph pitched the final four innings. He allowed one run on four hits and struck out seven.
In game two, Thompson led the SFCC offense with three hits, including a double and a home run and two RBI. Dillman had a pair of hits, including a double, a run scored and a run batted in. Ruether had a pair of hits and a run scored.
Sophomore Rylie Rokusek of Holden got the start on the mound for the Roadrunners. He pitched five innings, allowed four runs, and struck out five. Rokusek was given the loss.
March 19 St. Charles Community College at Versailles, Missouri
SFCC split a doubleheader against St. Charles Community College on March 19 losing game one 11-2. The second game was suspended in the top of the fifth inning with SFCC leading 13-12. The game was completed on Sunday, March 21. SFCC won the suspended game 22-12. The games were part of the Region 16 and Missouri Community College Athletic Conference schedule for both teams.
In game one, the SFCC offense was held to just three hits. McWhirter hit a home run and drove in another. Warkins had one hit in the game, along with redshirt sophomore infielder Clayton Meyer of Sedalia. Miller drove in a run for SFCC. Thompson scored the other run of the contest.
Sophomore pitcher Andrew Clark of Belton got the start on the mound for the Roadrunners. Clark pitched four innings, allowed seven runs, five of which were earned and struck out nine to earn the pitching loss for SFCC.
In game two, the SFCC offense exploded for 22 runs on 14 hits. Ruether led the offense with four hits, including two doubles and a home run. Ruether drove in six runs and scored four times. Meyer had three hits, including a double, scored twice and drove in three runs. Warkins had three hits, including a double and a home run, to go along with four runs driven in and three runs scored. Thompson hit a home run and drove in three runs. Seven of the nine Roadrunners' starting lineup scored at least one run in the contest.
Sophomore pitcher Jared Stephens of Neosho got the start on the mound for SFCC. Stephens pitched 1 1/3 innings allowing seven runs, only four of which were earned on three hits and was given a no-decision. Holcomb picked up the win in relief, pitching four innings. Holcomb allowed no runs, on two hits and struck out nine.
March 21 St. Charles Community College at St. Charles, Missouri
SFCC (8-9, 3-3 in Region 16, 2-2 in the MCCAC) split another doubleheader with St. Charles Community College on Sunday winning game one 10-6, before falling in game two 9-4. The doubleheader was part of the Region 16 and Missouri Community College Athletic Conference schedule for both teams.
In game one, Dillman had two hits, including a home run and drove in a pair of runs. Meyer also had a pair of hits, including a double. Ruether drove in three runs. McWhirter hit a home run, drove in two runs, and scored twice.
Barnes got the start and the victory on the mound for SFCC. Barnes pitched five innings, allowing three runs on four hits and struck out seven. Redshirt sophomore Tyler Abney of Sedalia pitched the final inning to earn the save.
In game two, Warkins had a double and a home run. Warkins drove in a run and scored a run. Dillman contributed a hit and a run scored. Sophomore infielder Brady Strickert of Blue Springs also had a hit and a run scored.
Rokusek got the start on the mound for SFCC. Rokusek tossed 3 2/3, allowing four runs, three earned on five hits and striking out seven to earn a no-decision. Sophomore pitcher Antonio Escano of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic pitched 1 2/3 innings in relief. Escano allowed four runs, three of which were earned and struck out three to pick up the loss in relief.
David Rohrbach
SFCC Athletics