Baseballers earn 13th straight win

By Jayden Hewitt
Sports Editor

The seventh ranked LCC baseball team extended its winning streak to 13 games on Thursday, March 30, defeating Ancilla College 13-3.

Pitcher Elijah Stark started the game. Reliever Jake Held picked up the win, his second of the year.

“Our pitching staff collected eight strikeouts and only gave up two earned runs,” Cutter added. “We used four pitchers Elijah Stark, Joey Randazzo, Jake Held, and Xander Hall. Each pitched excellently and kept the Ancilla scoring threats at bay.”

The Stars pitching staff as a whole has allowed just nine runs in its past five games, something that pleases LCC Head Coach Steven Cutter.

“Our pitching staff is solid this season, and they have all done a great job of keeping opposing hitters off balance,” Cutter said. “This is something that you will typically see in all excellent baseball teams. Much of the credit goes to our pitching coach, Jarret Olson, for preparing them for this success.”

Offensively, third baseman Hunter Lay had one hit and three RBIs in the game for LCC. Both right fielder Jabin Bates and shortstop Chris Hege had two hits for the Stars. Bates had two RBIs and Hege had one.

“Mental performance is a huge slice of our program, and the offense is something we work on often,” Cutter said. “We are number three in the country in offense, and we will continue to trust the process we have created for our hitters.”

Sophomore infielder Shane Juday has had a massive start to the season and was awarded the MCCAA Western Conference “Player of the Week” honor on March 28. Juday is hitting .394 on the year with five home runs, 33 RBIs and six steals.

In four games last week, Juday hit .765, going 13 for 17 with five doubles, one triple, three home runs and 19 RBI. He also scored 12 runs, walked twice and stole three bases for the Stars. 

Cutter had some kind words for the impressive feat Juday accomplished, a rare one for the LCC program.

“What an incredible honor for Shane to be highlighted … as the player of the week,” Cutter said. “Shane is the ultimate teammate and has experienced the lowest of the lows and the highest of the highs playing the game of baseball. He remains consistent with his approach and work ethic.”

The win over Ancilla came after three huge victories for LCC: on March. 24, 17-2 over Glen Oaks CC, 16-0 at Henry Ford on March 27; and 16-0 over Kalamazoo Valley CC on March 28.

The wins bring LCC’s overall record to 16-5, and to 4-0 in MCCAA Western Conference play.

The Stars next game is a conference clash on Saturday, April 1. The game is at home vs. Kellogg Community College and will be played at Kircher Municipal Stadium on Lansing’s west side starting at 1 p.m.