KCC baseball wins regional title, heads to NJCAA World Series this weekend

KCC's 2015 baseball team poses for a celebratory team photo on the field of C.O. Brown Stadium following their regional tournament win

The Kellogg Community College baseball team will play for a national championship title this weekend after winning their regional title on Saturday at Bailey Park in Battle Creek.

KCC’s Bruins became the undisputed National Junior College Athletic Association Division II North Baseball Tournament champions Saturday after winning the tournament final 2 to 1 over Sinclair Community College. KCC was undefeated in the tournament, winning a game a day Wednesday through Saturday.

The team will play for its first national championship since 2011 as part of the NJCAA Division II World Series, to be held May 23 through 30 at David Allen Memorial Ballpark in Enid, Okla. The Bruins’ first game of the championship series will start at 7 p.m. Saturday, May 23, against a team to be announced.

Click here for a World Series schedule bracket.

In addition to taking the regional title Saturday, three KCC student-athletes were recognized as members of the All-Tournament Team, including:

  • Sophomore infielder Travis Bolin, of Watervliet/Watervliet High School
  • Sophomore pitcher/utility player Tyler Bradner, of Howell/Howell High School
  • Freshman outfielder Seth Johnson, of Gobles, a transfer from Michigan State University

KCC freshman pitcher Tate Brawley, of Niles/Niles High School, was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, while Eric Laskovy, head coach for the Bruins, was named Coach of the Year.

KCC won the Michigan Community College Athletic Association conference championship earlier this month; last weekend’s regional appearance was the team’s 10th since 2002. This weekend’s World Series showing will mark the team’s sixth national championship appearance since 1999, when the team finished second in the nation. The Bruins finished fifth in the nation in 2002, second in 2007, eighth in 2009 and fourth in 2011.

Media materials

Click here for more information about the NJCAA DII World Series from the NJCAA website, including a pretournament packet.

High-resolution team and individual photos of the KCC baseball team – including the post-regionals photo featured above – are available for download for use by fans and the media from the 2015 KCC Baseball album on KCC’s Flickr page.

High-resolution images of the team in action playing during home games at Bailey Park in Battle Creek are available for download from the following online Dropboxes (please credit appropriately if used):

For more information about KCC baseball, contact head baseball coach Eric Laskovy at:

  • 269-965-3931 ext. 2536
  • laskovye@kellogg.edu

Kellogg Community College is part of the Michigan Community College Athletic Association and is a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association’s Region 12. KCC athletes are known as Bruins, the mascot’s name is Blaze and the College’s school colors are blue and silver. Sports currently offered at KCC include baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, softball and women’s volleyball. For more information about KCC’s baseball team, visit www.kellogg.edu/baseball.

For more news about Kellogg Community College, view our latest news releases online at daily.kellogg.edu/category/news-releases