Nick Buckley

Battle Creek Enquirer

The late Hall of Famer Ted Williams once said, "baseball is the only field of endeavor where a man can succeed three times out of 10 and be considered a good performer."

With that in mind, what Bailey Peterson and the Kellogg Community College baseball team are doing this season is truly remarkable.

Peterson, a freshman shortstop from Grandville, is getting a hit in more than half of his at bats, as he currently sits atop the NJCAA Division II stat leaders for batting average at .526. He's also the national leader in on base percentage at .643, ranks third in runs scored and 13th in RBIs with 51.

On April 5, Peterson was named the NJCAA Division II Player of the Week after he hit .761 with five home runs, three doubles and 21 RBIs between March 27-April 2.

With Peterson leading the way, the Bruins rank No. 1 in the country in team batting average at .371.

The Bruins have 10 players with at least 50 at bats hitting over .300, led by Peterson, sophomore infielders/outfielders Cooper Marshall (.463) and Mitch Weber (.422), freshman outfielder Logan Briggs (.403), freshman catcher Korey Knowles (.375), freshman outfielder Raphe Gross (.369), sophomore first baseman Joey Nate (.363), sophomore outfielder infielder and Bronson High School graduate Chase Carpenter (.360), sophomore outfielder Tanner Gross (.347) and freshman infielder/outfielder and Marshall High School graduate Alex Walton (.303).

Honorable mention KCC took a five-game winning streak into Tuesday's home matchup with Jackson Community College. The Bruins are a league-best 16-0 in the Michigan Community College Athletic Association and are 27-11-1 overall.

KCC visits rival Kalamazoo Valley Community College on Friday and returns home to face the Cougars on Saturday. The Bruins play at home against Grand Rapids Community College on May 5 before wraping up the regular season on the road at Grand Rapids CC on May 6.

The MCCAA Tournament is May 11 at Siena Heights University, followed by the Region XII Tournament May 17-20 at Bailey Park.

KCC SOFTBALL NEARING POSTSEASON BERTH

The Kellogg Community College softball team is nearing a third consecutive postseason appearance, as the Lady Bruins currently sit fourth in the MCCAA West Division standings with six games remaining. The top five seeds in the division advance to the NJCAA Division II District I Tournament in Lansing, May 10-12.

KCC is now 22-18 overall and 16-10 in the MCCAA West Division, and holds a three-game lead over fifth-place Jackson Community College.

The Lady Bruins have been led this season by speedy shortstop/outfieder Alexis Cerven of Decatur. Nationally, she ranks 13th in batting average (.521), second in triples (nine) and fifth in stolen bases (43).

Pennfield High School graduates Jessica Roan and Alexa Stephenson have also played a big role in KCC's success. Roan, a freshman outfielder, leads the team in RBIs (49) and ranks second in batting average (.488). Stephenson, a freshman pitcher, is 10-9 on the season with 48 strikeouts over 115 innings and a 4.81 ERA.

KCC has doubleheaders at Lansing Community College on Tuesday and Kalamazoo Valley Community College on Saturday before wrapping up the regular season at home on May 2 vs. Grand Rapids Community College.

Nick Buckley can be reached at nbuckley@battlecreekenquirer.com or 269-966-0652. Follow him on Twitter:@NickJBuckley