Lady Roadrunners prepare for 10th season

Sedalia, Mo.-The State Fair Community College (SFCC) Lady Roadrunners softball team has been preparing for the coming season. Head coach Michele Rupard has been pleased with what she has seen in practice so far this spring.

"Practices have been going well," said Rupard. "We finally got outside yesterday. That was nice because we haven't seen a field since fall. It is important to get time outside to prepare for the season. We have been doing a lot of live action at practice. We are trying to make practice competitive and get some live repetitions so that we can be prepared in the next couple of weeks for the start of the season."

Coach Rupard knows the style of play that she would like to see from her team the season.

"We are a faster team from top to bottom this year than we have been in the past," said Rupard. "This year more than half of our lineup will be players who get around the bases efficiently. We will be a solid defensive team. We have two or three true power hitters, but other than that we're going to be base to base and gap to gap offensively. We are going to be stealing bases, bunting, hitting, and running. We need to be able to manufacture some runs."

There will be many different people who will provide leadership for this year's team.

"We had some kids who have already stepped up into leadership positions," said Rupard. "Elana Clark will be a leader for the pitchers this year. She saw some pretty good time in the circle last year and she will see some pretty good time in the circle for this year as well. She is a quiet leader who is always doing the right things. Jenna Herald will be a leader on the infield for us. She played a lot for us last year. Jenna can play any position on the field. Valerie Meyer got injured last year and has done everything she can to be prepared for the season and get back to where she needs to be."

Coach Rupard expects sophomores Jenna Herald and Valerie Meyer to be on the field a lot for SFCC.

"Freshmen Morgan Marshall and Grace Evans have some of the best hands that we've had here," said Rupard. "They will both see time in the infield. We still have a good competition going on at catcher between sophomore Katlyn Starke, sophomore transfer Chelsye Graham, and freshman Piper Costello. Freshman Madelyn Backes will be in the outfield for this year. She is fast and long and has one of the best arms that we have seen come through the program."

Clark will be one of the key pitchers for SFCC. Corinne Tuck is a freshman who pitched well in the fall. Grace Evans will also be in the circle for SFCC. Coach Rupard expects Valerie Meyer to pitch for SFCC as well, along with freshman Addison Wallace.

The Lady Roadrunners will feature a few other newcomers to this year's team. Freshman Jaden Mauzey, freshman Jillian Reller, and freshman Shyanne Weibrecht will compete for time in the outfield.

SFCC will face a tough schedule this season. The Lady Roadrunners are scheduled to open their season on Friday, Feb. 20 against Northern Oklahoma College-Enid at a tournament in Branson, Missouri. SFCC is scheduled to participate in another tournament the following weekend.

SFCC are scheduled to open the home portion of their schedule on Friday, March 6 with a doubleheader against Hawkeye Community College. SFCC will close the weekend with a doubleheader against Allen County Community College.

The Lady Roadrunners are scheduled to open Region 16 play at home against Metropolitan Community College on Thursday, March 12.

SFCC will make a trip to Myrtle Beach, S.C. to play six games over spring break. SFCC will also host the Region 16 Tournament May 7-10 on campus.

SFCC will open their new softball field on campus sometime this spring.

"Our new facility is a complete game changer for our program," said Rupard. "Recruiting and player development will change with our new facility. We will be able to host events during the summer to help our recruiting budget. We will be able to host games during the year for local high schools so that we can see some more local talent all in one place without having to go all over the place. The ability to be on the field for more hours usually means that you're going to be better. So, if we can be on our field year around and not have to worry about weather and things like that, that is going to be beneficial for us."

Coach Rupard has some goals she would like to see her team accomplish this season. She wants to see her team finish above .500 in the Region. She would like to see the pitching staff finish with a 4.0 staff earned run average and a team batting average of.300.

"Our keys to success this season are being resilience," Rupard. "We have to trust each other and continue to work towards one goal and not get distracted by outside noise."

David Rohrbach

SFCC Athletics