Baseballers sweep; head to post-season

 By Jayden Hewitt
Sports Editor

The LCC baseball team has had a very successful regular season. On Monday, May 8, the slugging Stars won in blowout fashion, 22-12, vs. Grand Rapids CC in Lansing.

The Stars previously dropped a doubleheader against Kellogg just two days before.

LCC Head Coach Steven Cutter spoke about his team’s marvelous offense, an offense that’s been electric all year long.

“May is always a special month for college baseball, and you want to play some of your best baseball this time of year,” Cutter said. “Our team feels very confident when we get into slugfests like today. We have one of the country's top offenses, which was on full display at Muni (Municipal Field).”

Infielder Hunter Lay led the way with two home runs, six RBIs and three walks. Outfielder Preston Leon also slugged a home run and added two RBIs and three walks. Catcher Noah Bright, and infielders Bobby Butler and Shane Juday all tallied two RBIs for LCC.

The Stars also wreaked havoc on the base paths. Leon and Butler tallied three stolen bases each. Juday nabbed two and infielder Dylan Nguyen grabbed one.

Juday spoke about his team’s ability during the year to fight through a long season, leading to such a tight-knit team and explosive offense.

“I would say that it has been our ability to persevere,” Juday said. “We’ve faced a lot of adversity this year in many ways and have shown that we can bounce back from anything. A lot of it has to do with the process we believe in here at LCC.”

Five pitchers toed the mound in LCC’s victory. Isiah Lindsey began the game on the bump. Isaac Toole and Sam Nagelvoort provided relief before Braden LaRusso picked up the win. Pitched Elijah Stark slammed the door shut with a two-inning save.

The sweet-swinging Stars end the season at 42-9 and 21-4 in the MCCAA Western Conference. Kellogg CC took the first place crown in the Western Conference by one game.

The Stars will now look forward to the postseason, with their next games coming up in Parma, Ohio, where they will play a doubleheader at Cuyahoga CC on Thursday, May 11. A third game will be played if necessary on Friday, May 12.

Cutter and Juday both spoke about going into the postseason, and playing on the road.

“We are all excited for the opportunity,” Juday said. “We know that though we play a lot of games in a season, the season goes by fast. After this year, a lot of us won’t play with each other again, so getting the opportunity to continue to play together is exciting.”

Added Cutter: “We will leave for Parma, Ohio, to take on Cuyahoga on Wednesday, with a doubleheader slated to start on Thursday at 4 p.m. Our coaching staff began preparing for Tri-C's (Cuyahoga) for the last week and (we) look forward to being on the road to start the postseason. Having only 15 home games this season out of our 51 games has naturally prepared our team.”