Nationally ranked Kellogg CC stays hot, moves on to final four of Region XII tourney

BATTLE CREEK — The No. 16-ranked Kellogg Community College baseball team continued to impress with some postseason success on its home field.

KCC opened the National Junior College Athletic Association Region XII tourney with a sweep over Mid-Michigan on Thursday-Friday at MCCU Field at C.O. Brown Stadium in Battle Creek.

After a rain delay on Thursday, KCC beat Mid-Michigan in Game 1, 8-0. The Bruins' Gavin Beuter earned the win, striking out 10 in seven innings. Diego Pena had four RBI to pace the KCC offense.

In the second game of the best-of-three series on Friday, KCC defeated Mid-Michigan, 9-3, as the Bruins' overall record now stands at 40-10. David Zilch earned the win, going five innings and scattering five hits. Pennfield grad Cody Hultink had four RBIs in the KCC win, with Cole Mason going 2-for-4 with three runs scored.

KCC now moves on to the tournament semifinals in Jackson to face Kalamazoo Valley, starting Thursday.

"Our staff is proud of this team, winning its 40th game in our final home game at MCCU Field. We are excited about moving on to the final four at Jackson College," KCC coach Eric Laskovy said.

KCC came into the postseason on a roll as the Bruins clinched their seventh-consecutive Michigan Community College Athletic Association Western Conference championship to end the regular season.

The Bruins clinched the championship last week with a pair of wins over conference-rival Lansing Community College in Lansing, defeating the Stars 8-2 and 6-4. KCC later completed a series sweep over Lansing with a doubleheader win at home in Battle Creek, with scores of 10-8 and 11-2, respectively.

KCC came into last week’s competition ranked 20th in the nation in the previous week's rankings, where LCC was in the receiving votes category. It was a make-or-break series for the conference title.

“So proud of our team. It was great to get four wins against Lansing, along with clinching our seventh-straight conference title,” Laskovy said. “Our work is not done yet.”

Contact Bill Broderick at bbroderi@battlecreekenquirer.com. Follow him on X/Twitter @billbroderick.

This article originally appeared on Battle Creek Enquirer: No. 16 Kellogg CC moves on to final four of Region XII tourney