Slugging Stars' streak reaches 27 wins

By Jayden Hewitt
Sports Editor

The LCC Stars baseball team once again brought home a victory, this time over Muskegon CC on Tuesday, April 18. The score was 28-0, and no, that’s not a football score.

The sweet-swinging Stars tallied 28 runs in just seven innings on a frigid, windy day on Lansing’s east side. The victory extended the Stars’ winning streak to a whopping 27 games.

Head Coach Steven Cutter talked about being back at Municipal Stadium after weather challenges recently.

“It’s nice,” Cutter said. “Anytime you see the field with three feet of water on it, and (to have) our warning track completely washed out (it’s bad). You know what it took to get it back to playable and have it look as nice as it does. You have to take a step back and just kind of say ‘wow.’

“It’s really nice to be at home and the team just continues to hit. We’re at number two in the country in total offense.”

Nick Baker prepares to deliver a strike during action at Municipal Field in Lansing on April 18. Baker was the winning pitcher in the game against Muskegn Community College.  Photo by Jake Leslie.

 

Pitcher Nick Baker picked up the win on the mound with three strong innings, allowing two hits and striking out three. Pitcher Joey Randazzo tallied two strong innings in relief for LCC. Pitcher Isiah Lindsey also provided a solid inning while pitcher Isaac Toole closed the door on the game with an inning as well.

The Stars tallied a plethora of runs, including five home runs, one each from infielder Dylan Nguyen, infielder Hunter Lay, infielder Vince Hardy, infielder Chris Hege and catcher/outfielder Jabin Bates.

Nguyen had two hits, including his first collegiate home run, which was a grand slam. He also had seven RBIs. Bates tallied six RBIs on three hits while Lay went five for five and had four RBIs.

Cutter spoke about getting playing time for more players in the big win, specifically Nguyen.

“That’s always helpful, that helps with stuff,” Cutter said in regards to getting to play more guys. “Dylan Nguyen is a kid that does not play a whole lot for us, not because he’s not talented, but just because, you know, we’re a very good team. And he comes in and hits a grand slam and has seven RBIs in two at-bats.”

Cutter also spoke about Muskegon and the challenge it presented in the game.

“It’s just one of those days,” Cutter said. “They’re in second place in their conference, so I was curious to see what they’d look like.”

The win comes after a doubleheader sweep for LCC over Glen Oaks Community College on Saturday, April 15. The Stars took the first game 11-0 and the second game 12-10 on a walk-off home run by infielder Shane Juday.

LCC’s record is now 30-5, and 13-0 in conference play this year. The Stars next contest will be an away tangle with a familiar conference foe, Kalamazoo Valley CC on Thursday, April 20.