SFCC Lady Roadrunners Drop Games to Iowa Western on Opening Day

The Lady Roadrunners (1-3) opened their second season in program history at Mandy Thomas Field inside Centennial Park, losing a pair of games to Iowa Western Community College from Council Bluffs 9-3 and 15-9 on Wednesday, Feb. 14.

In game one, Iowa Western scored two runs in the first inning and added four runs in the top of the fifth inning. The Lady Roadrunners got on the scoreboard with a run in the bottom of the fifth. Iowa Western tacked on three runs in the top of the sixth inning. SFCC answered with a run in the bottom of that inning. State fair answered with one more run in the bottom of the seventh to complete the scoring.

Freshman pitcher/first baseman Madison Love (0-1) went the distance in her first collegiate pitching appearance. She gave up nine runs, five earned runs and struck out four.

Freshman infielder Abby Rector recorded a hit and an RBI. Sophomore pitcher/outfielder MacKenze Gudde scored a run and drove in a run. Freshman pitcher/first baseman Madison Lovehad a hit and an RBI. Freshman utility player Kylie Johnson hit a double in the game.

"I thought our freshmen responded well in their first game against a well-respected program like Iowa Western," said Head Coach Lyndsey Talbot.

In game two, the Reivers once again opened the scoring with four runs in the top of the first. SFCC scored a single run in the bottom of the inning to trim the deficit to 4-1. Iowa Western added a run in the second inning. The Lady Roadrunners scored two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Iowa Western responded with five runs in the top of the fifth. The Lady Roadrunners' offense exploded for six runs in the bottom of the fifth to cut the Iowa Western advantage to one run.

"We were able to make adjustments, and they finally started to believe in themselves," said Talbot. "I think we still had some first game jitters. They finally started hitting their pitches and making solid contact."

The Reivers scored five runs in the final two innings to put the game away.

Freshman catcher/third baseman Gabi McGinty led SFCC offensively in game two with two hits, two runs scored, three RBI, and a home run. Freshman middle infielder Brytni Hummel recorded two hits, a run scored and an RBI. Love scored two runs.

Freshman pitcher/infielder Macy Buzzanga (0-1) got the start in the circle for SFCC in game two. She pitched five innings. Gudde pitched the final two innings in relief.

David Rohrbach, SFCC Athletics