LCC Stars wrap up season with a home tournament

By Carson Lemon
Staff Reporter

It has been a year of hard work for the LCC Stars baseball team. With training seven days a week beginning in August, there’s no doubt that the team has forged a culture of resilience and dedication. The team faced a series of losses in early March, but have since maintained a consistent pattern of wins with only a few losses dotted in between. At the end of their season, the Stars reported 35 wins with 24 losses.  

On May 7, LCC hosted Henry Ford College in a best-of-three NJCAA Regional series at Kircher Municipal Park. The Stars won their first game 18-10, but lost their second and third games 12-10 and 11-10, bringing their season to a close.

LCC Stars Baseball Head Coach Steven Cutter praised the team for persevering through a rough beginning of their season. “We started the season 2-9, and many people probably counted us out early,” Cutter said. “Since then, this team cracked the national rankings and earned the right to host another regional playoff series.”

Seemingly a season of never-ending trials, due to the torrential downpour the Lansing area received in April, the team’s field was flooded twice. Only another obstacle for the team to overcome, the Stars found themselves stuck inside while the weather warmed up for the first time in months.

Despite the setbacks, Cutter credits the team for being able to turn their performance around. “I give our players credit because they never stopped working. They stayed connected, trusted the process, and continued stacking days together even when results were not yet showing up.” Recognizing that a coach’s stamina can be just as important as the team’s, Cutter says he recovers from a loss by keeping perspective. “You cannot allow one loss to beat you twice. We talk a lot about staying present, learning from failure, and focusing on what we can influence. Baseball is a game that humbles everybody.”

The 2026 season has been anything but slow for the team, with the team at one point playing 24 games on the road in a row. “This season has honestly felt like a roller coaster at times, but also one of the more rewarding seasons I have been a part of,” Cutter said. “There were many moments when we could have folded, but this group continued to grow.” Cutter added that the team played its best at the right time of the season—toward the end as they entered the [something tournament.]

Reflecting on the seasons’ end, Cutter focused on his team’s perseverance. “It would have been easy to make excuses this year with everything we dealt with, but these players kept fighting,” he said. “I also want to thank our college, community, and supporters because hosting another regional at Muni is special. The support around this program means a lot to our players and staff.”

The team wrapped up its season in their NJCAA Regional series playing a best-of-three games against Henry Ford College. The Stars won the first game 18-10, but lost the following two games 12-10 and 11-10.