Baseball team misses post-season play

By Michael Leek
Sports Editor

The LCC baseball team capped off its 2024 season with disappointing results regarding the post-season.

The Stars, despite having a 35-17 overall record, and a 16-7 record in MJCAA Western Conference, did not qualify for districts. The Stars’ season ended Sunday, May 5 against Delta College with a pair of lopsided wins at home, 12-3 and 22-0.

LCC Head Coach Steve Cutter said overall the season was solid, but the Stars did not accomplish the goals they set out to do.

“We have pretty high standards here and we’re extremely disappointed to finish so soon,” Cutter said.

LCC sophomore infielder Clay Emeigh throws a fielded ball to first base.  Photo by Kaitlyn Delaney

Earlier in the season, Cutter said the team was trying to find its identity. The Stars were starting six freshmen and three sophomores at times. With the team being so young, Cutter stressed how experience would play a big part.

“It really applies to everything in life,” Cutter said. “Experience matters, and having experience in anything that you do is really important. We’re bringing back pretty much our entire team, so they’ll have the experience they have from this season, and there’s a large difference even at the junior college level from freshman to sophomore.”

There were multiple standout players who played exceptionally well and stepped into leadership roles for the Stars in 2024.

“Gavin Walters, sophomore pitcher for us, really stepped into the number one role this season and did a great job,” Cutter said.

Walters had a pitching record of 7-2 and pitched 43 innings. He gave up 36 hits and 23 runs while recording 47 strikeouts.

LCC sophomore Vince Hardy guards the first base line against Kellogg CC.  Photo by Kaitlyn Delaney

Freshman pitcher Easton Remick was another standout on the mound, pitching 49.2 innings, giving up 40 hits and 29 runs while striking out 61 batters.

Offensively, freshman outfielder Jack Bakus finished with an amazing season. Cutter said with his stats, he’s in the running for an All-America honors.

Bakus was second on the team with a batting average of .462 and also led in hits with 66 and home runs with 12.

Sophomore Preston Leon also had a great season while finishing his time playing at LCC. He finished his career with 100 stolen bases, including 59 of them this season. Leon was also second in hits with 65 and led the team in doubles at 20.

Cutter said he is optimistic about next season with a roster of about 55-60 players returning from this year. The focus for the offseason will be getting better defensively and on the mound.

“We struggled overall on the pitching end,” Cutter said. “We had an offense that averaged 10 runs per game through the 52 games we played, so we scored a lot of runs. We have to get better defensively and the last thing, which will take care of itself, is we need more experience.”