Orignally Published by The Morning Sun
By JIM LAHDE | jlahde@medianewsgroup.com | The Morning Sun
PUBLISHED: | UPDATED:
You gotta walk before you run.
In just its fourth year as a collegiate program, the Mid Michigan College baseball team did exactly that in 2022. As it was the Lakers turned in the best season in program history this past spring as they went 31-8 overall and finished third in the conference.
Moreover, the Lakers also earned their first-ever postseason berth under head coach Scott Pickens.
Pickens took over the program near the end of the 2021 season, a season that ended with an overall record of 4-22. The 1998 Mt. Pleasant graduate and former CMU catcher and assistant coach earned MCCAA Western Conference ‘Coach of the Year’ honors after leading the Lakers to their best season ever.
“It’s a great honor,” said Pickens, who was also the Detroit Tigers’ bullpen catcher for eight seasons. “We had something brewing this year and I have to give the credit to the players. They played great from the first game.”
Right out of the chute the Lakers let it be known that they were a team to be reckoned with this season as they beat a Division 1 JUCO program in their opener. From there they upset the eighth-ranked team in the country in Lansing Community College and the fifth-ranked team in Kellogg Community College.
Pitchers Jimmy Pierce, of St. Louis, and Miles Jamieson also tossed the first two no-hitters in program history with Jamieson earning ‘National Pitcher of the Week’ honors.
In all nine Mid Michigan College players earned All-Conference honors, headed by Western Conference ‘Player of the Year’ Aiden Arbogast, who led the conference in home runs, RBIs and slugging percentage en route to ‘Freshman of the Year’ honors.
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