SFCC baseball recaps for May 1-5

May 1, Kansas City Kansas Community College at Kansas City, Kansas

The Roadrunners baseball team closed out its regular season schedule against the Kansas City Kansas (KCK) Community College Blue Devils for a single nine-inning game. SFCC dropped an 8-5 decision.

The Blue Devils scored first with a single run in the bottom of the first inning and added another run in the second inning. Roadrunners scored four runs in the top of the sixth to take the lead. The Blue Devils responded with five runs in the bottom of the inning. SFCC scored one run in the seventh. The Blue Devils scored a run in the eighth inning to finish the scoring.

KCK held the SFCC offense to just five hits in the game. Sophomore outfielder Tyler Crane had a double in the contest. Sophomore utility player Zack Ehlen, sophomore first baseman Jacob Mitchell, sophomore infielder Steven Bradbury, and sophomore infielder Kenny Prado all recorded one hit each. Crane scored a pair of runs. Mitchell stole a base.

Sophomore pitcher Christian Jones got the start on the mound for SFCC. He pitched two innings, allowing two earned runs on three hits. Sophomore pitcher Brendan Owsley (0-1) got the loss in relief.

May 4, St. Louis Community College (StLCC) Sub-Region 16 game one at Dey Field in Liberty Park Stadium

The Roadrunners hosted the St. Louis Community College Archers in a sub-regional, best two-out-of-three series. It was the first time in school history for SFCC to host a baseball sub-regional game. SFCC dropped the opening game 7-3.

SFCC scored first in the bottom of the second inning by manufacturing a pair of runs, assisted by a throwing error on StLCC. The Archers responded with a single run in the top of the third to cut the lead in half. SFCC added one run courtesy of a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the third inning to take a 3-1 advantage. The StLCC pitching staff held SFCC scoreless for the remainder of the game while tying the score at three in the top of the fourth and adding four runs in the ninth.

"We were not able to come out and hit the ball well today," said Head Coach Jud Kindle. "We have to be able to put pressure on defense, and we weren't able to do that. It was a well-played game by St. Louis; they just had timelier hitting than we did."

Sophomore pitcher Jake McMahill got the start on the mound and gave SFCC a chance to win the game pitching eight innings, giving up four runs, three earned runs on seven hits and striking out six. Freshman pitcher Logan Bexton (6-4) pitched the final inning, allowing three earned runs. He was tagged with the loss in relief.

"Jake didn't have his best stuff, and his velocity was down a little bit," said Kindle. "He did a good job of competing and keeping us in the game. We just weren't able to get it done offensively."

Ehlen and sophomore infielder Chase Swisher led the SFCC offense with two hits each. Ehlen and Swisher stole three bases each. Mitchell, catcher/first baseman Kyle Clark and Ehlen scored one run each. Clark and freshman outfielder Hayden Bradford each drove in one run.

May 5, StLCC sub-regional game two at Dey Field in Liberty Park Stadium

The SFCC baseball team found itself facing elimination on Saturday when it took the field as visitors against StLCC. Roadrunner sophomore Chase Plymell had an outstanding pitching performance, and the team came up with plenty of offense to emerge with a 10-0 victory in seven innings to force game three.

SFCC scored in the top of the fourth with three runs, highlighted by Mitchell's two-run home run and added four runs in the top of the fifth. SFCC added one run in the top the sixth and two runs in the seventh inning to close out the scoring.

Crane led the SFCC offensive attack with three hits, scored three runs and drove in three runs. Ehlen had a pair of hits and scored twice. Mitchell hit a home run, scored twice and drove in four runs. Bradbury drove in two runs. Freshman infielder Gavin Jones had two hits.

"We did a better job of doing the small things in game one today than we did on Friday," said Kindle. "We were able to get some bunts down in key situations."

Plymell (7-5) went the distance to pick up the complete game shutout victory. He gave up four hits and struck out four.

"Chase did a really good job of locating his fastball," said Kindle. "His off-speed pitches were working. He was competitive and didn't get into pitching trouble. Good things happen when you are able to do those things."

May 5, StLCC sub-regional game three at Dey Field in Liberty Park Stadium

Roadrunners (32-22) and Archers played a winner-take-all game three Saturday afternoon. SFCC won in the ninth inning in walk-off, come-from-behind fashion, 7-6 courtesy of a sacrifice fly from Ehlen that scored Swisher with the game-winning run after freshman outfielder P.J. Esposito, who entered the game as a pinch runner, scored the game-tying run on a balk.

"We were able, once again, to execute the small things well, and that has been the key to the whole series," said Kindle. "The series was a hard-fought battle. St. Louis played really well. We were able to make key defensive plays to stop their rallies and score a couple of runs late in the game to get the victory."

The Archers opened the scoring with two runs in the top of the first inning. State Fair responded with three runs in the bottom of the inning to take a 3-2 lead. State Fair added a run in second inning. The Archers tied the game at four with two runs in the top of the fifth and took the lead with a run in the seventh inning. SFCC manufactured a run to tie the game at five in the eighth inning. The Archers took a one-run lead courtesy of a solo home run in the top the ninth, which set up the dramatic finish for SFCC.

Ehlen had two hits in the game, scored one run and drove in one run. Swisher had two hits and scored two runs. Bradbury drove in two runs. Crane, Clark and Ford all drove in one run.

Freshman pitcher Conner Burnett got the start on the mound for the Roadrunners. He pitched 4.2 innings, giving up four runs and striking out two. Sophomore pitcher Josiah Imhoff and freshman pitcher Caleb Jonas (1-0) finished the game. Jonas was credited with the win in relief.

"It was a hard-fought battle all weekend," said Kindle. "We wouldn't want anything else going into a region tournament, having both teams playing at their best, and that's what we saw today."

David Rohrbach

SFCC Athletics