Softballers finish with 27-22 record

By Julie Newell
Editor in Chief

The LCC softball team ended its season after losing two out of the four games played during the NJCAA Great Lakes District A Championship Games on May 12 through 14.

The Stars won their first game against Edison Community College 11-3 at Lakeshore High School.

The next three games were played in Stevensville. LCC lost 4-3 against Jackson College, won 6-2 against Muskegon Community College and lost 8-0 in its final game against Jackson College.

This put the Stars’ final overall record at 27-22, and at 21-7 in the MCCAA Western Conference.

LCC Head Coach Marc Kibby said the team played well in the first game against Edison CC.

“That game we pitched well, we hit well, we fielded well,” Kibby said. “As I thought, we were peaking at the right time, and that game we continued to play good ball.”

Sophomore Kara Mahoney led LCC at the plate, hitting two home runs. Freshman Peyton Perrin, freshman Jillian Harris and sophomore Shelby Warner each had one home run.

Sophomore Paige Maltby led LCC on the mound, facing 17 batters and striking out four.

According to Kibby, the Stars were tied in the second game until Jackson College scored a home run that won the game.

“Probably one of the best all-around games (for) both teams; we both played well that day,” Kibby said.

Despite the loss, sophomore Kyla Bird and Warner each had one RBI for LCC.

Freshman Lydia Davenport led the Stars on the mound, facing 29 batters and striking out six.

Kibby said the Stars picked it back up in the third game. Mahoney and sophomore Jada Walton each had two RBIs in the win. Mahoney and sophomore Jaden Deibel each hit a sacrifice fly to help the Stars.

“Morgen Ahlfeld pitched the best game of the year for her, threw real well,” Kibby said. “We hit the ball well, we played defense well.” 

Ahlfeld faced 29 batters, striking out four and throwing 56 of 88 pitches for strikes.

The fourth game took a turn for the worst in the first inning, according to Kibby.

“They scored eight runs in the first,” Kibby said. “Everything went wrong that first inning and that doomed us for the day.”

Sophomore Alexa Jakus led the Stars at the plate with two hits in the final game.

Sophomore Samantha Vermeesch led LCC on the mound facing 28 batters and striking out five.

“The games there in the district tournament, it was kind of like a summary of our season,” Kibby said. “We could play really well. We had our ups and downs, and we had our bad games.”

The top three hitters for LCC for the season were Harris with a batting average of ,438 with nine home runs; Perrin with an average of ,295 and seven home runs; and Mahoney with an average of .355 and 12 home runs.

Davenport led LCC in pitching with a record of 8-1 and an ERA of 2.55 for the season.

LCC will be hosting a Sports Award Ceremony on Monday, May 23 at 6 p.m. at the Harrison Roadhouse in East Lansing.