Baseball Finishes Successful Conference Season
ACC’s baseball team went into last weekend’s series against Mid Michigan College with an outside chance to make the NJCAA Region 12 Tournament for the first time in school history, but the Lumberjacks came up just short, losing three of four to the Lakers, taking the opener 1-0 but losing the remaining games, 5-3, 10-8 and 13-6.
ACC needed to take three of four in order to have a chance of finishing second in the MCCAA Northern Conference which would’ve gotten them a ticket to the playoffs. Instead, the Jacks finish the conference schedule with an 11-14 record, currently tied for fourth place.
Mid Michigan is currently 14-7 and Bay College is 12-9 with the two squads facing off next weekend to determine which of them will make the playoffs together with conference champs Grand Rapids Community Christian who finished 19-6.
Sophomore Max Coughlin, on sophomore day, had the best start of his career, throwing a sparkling five-hit complete game shutout. Coughlin did not walk a batter and struck out a season-high 10.
The Jacks scored their only run in the fourth on singles by Jake Zann and Evan Fairbanks and an RBI double by Nate Koster.
In game 2, trailing by two, ACC left a runner on second in the fifth, left bases loaded in both the sixth and seventh without plating a run in any of the innings.
Brett Moroschan doubled twice and Brendan DiBartolomeo also doubled as the Lumberjacks managed only four hits but drew nine walks and were hit by pitch twice.
The opening game on Sunday was a thriller as ACC led 3-0 after four innings, but Mid rallied for two in the fifth and then scored four in the top of the sixth to open a 6-3 lead.
The Lumberjacks responded, however, with two in the sixth and one in the seventh to tie the game.
In the sixth, Zann hit a one-out home run, then back-to-back doubles by Fairbanks and Koster cut the lead to one. Moroschan walked to put two on with one out, but while a fielders’ choice moved Koster to third, a strikeout ended the rally.
However, in the seventh, J.J. Salas had a leadoff walk followed by a Lane Gross sacrifice bunt, moving the tying run to third. Maxwell McCarty then singled home the tying run and moved to second on an error.
Zann was intentionally walked with one down. Another fielders’ choice gave ACC their second out, but moved the potential winning run to third but Koster’s line drive was snared by the Lakers’ second baseman, ending the rally and sending the game to extra innings.
After the first two batters were retired, Mid Michigan then rallied with a hit by pitch, error, and three straight hits to score four runs and seemingly put the game out of reach, 10-8.
But the Jacks weren’t done. Moroschan and Kaden Benaske and DiBartolomeo led off with three straight singles to load the bases and bring the tying run to the plate. The Lumberjacks scored one on a wild pitch and then a second run on a double-play ground ball.
With no one on and two outs, Lane Gross then walked and Max McCarty singled to continue the rally and bring the potential winning run to the plate in the person of Zann, who had already homered twice in the game, but he grounded to short to end the game.
Nine errors were the death knell for ACC in the finale as their two stalwarts all season long – defense and hitting – let them down as the Lumberjacks also managed only two hits.
Fairbanks hit .500 for the series with five walks, four runs scored and a .667 on base percentage for the weekend. Moroschan had four hits including two doubles.
Zann batted .300 with the two home runs, four runs scored, five RBI, five walks and was hit by pitch twice for a .588 on base percentage. Zann finished the conference schedule leading the entire 18-team MCCAA with 9 home runs and an .882 slugging percentage.
Zann’s 28 RBI (in 25 conference games) is first in the North and second in the entire MCCAA. His .408 conference batting average is third in the North, as is his .505 on base percentage.
ACC (15-28 overall) finishes the season with doubleheaders against juggernaut Lansing Community College, 17-4 in the MCCAA West, 30-10 overall and the #13 ranked team in the country in NJCAA Division 2, hosting the Stars on Tuesday in Ossineke and hitting the road on Friday in the season finale.