Baseball team wins big in home opener

By Michael Leek
Sports Editor

The LCC baseball team dominated in its home opener and its first conference game against Lake Michigan College on Tuesday, March 19, winning 13-2 in eight innings.

The game was played at Municipal Park on Lansing’s east side. The win improved LCC’s overall record to 12-7 for the season.

The Stars took an early 5-1 lead by the second inning. In the fourth inning, sophomore Evan Mendoza opened up the inning with a home run on the first pitch, extending the lead to 6-1.

In the eighth inning, LCC finished the game by scoring six runs and taking a double-digit lead to invoke the “mercy rule.”

LCC freshman Sean Bartlett throws a pitch at Municipal Field on March 19.  Photo by Kaitlyn Delaney

Redshirt freshman Sean Bartlett pitched his first game of the season for the Stars and held Lake Michigan to one run in five innings. He accumulated seven strikeouts and allowed one home run in the first inning.

Sophomore Jeff Agar finished the game pitching for the Stars, allowing only two hits and striking out three batters.

Leading the batting for the Stars, Mendoza and freshman Conner Prahl both recorded two hits and three RBIs. Sophomore Preston Leon also hit a home run and brought in three RBIs for LCC.

LCC Head Coach Steven Cutter said playing the team's first game at home this season was fun.

“It is always nice to play at Muni, especially after having so many games on the road,” Cutter said. “The large home crowds give us an excellent advantage when the weather is good and, over the last few seasons, our home attendance has been second to none.”

When gaining a big lead early in games, Cutter said nothing changes.

“We teach that we play to our standards and not a scoreboard, so nothing changes when we have a lead or are down,” Cutter said.

LCC sports a large roster this season. Cutter said having this much talent on the team is great.

“The motto ‘iron sharpens iron’ is used around our practices and classroom times often,” Cutter said. “The amount of talent we have allows players to grow under pressure and be around others trying to do the same thing.”

LCC’s next game will be on the road against Glen Oaks Community College on Thursday, March 21. As the season continues the Stars are still looking to build and solidify the culture of the team.

“This team is still trying to find its own identity and write its own story, and that process takes some time with so many new players,” Cutter said. “The steps taken so far have been positive, and that is what you see in their energy and enthusiasm for each other's successes during the games.”