Baseball Mercies Bay Twice to Close Out Campaign

ALPENA, Mich. — The Alpena Community College baseball team saved some of its best baseball for last.

The Lumberjacks hosted Bay College on Sunday, May 3rd and swept the Norse in convincing fashion, winning game one 12-2 and game two 10-0 to close out the 2026 campaign. ACC combined for 22 hits, 22 runs, and a shutout across the twin bill, sending its sophomores out on a high note and finishing conference play at 12-13, good for fourth place in the MCCAA.

The Lumberjacks ended the year 14-37-1 overall.

Game One: ACC 12, Bay College 2 (5 innings)

The Lumberjacks came out swinging and never let up, erupting for seven runs in the second inning to blow the game open and cruise to a run-rule victory.

Bay College struck first in the top of the first, but ACC answered immediately. Isaac Zocco led off with a single and stole second, and after Aiden Bishop grounded out, Marcus Castellon worked a walk and stole second as well. With two on, Maxwell McCarty delivered a two-run double to right field, plating both Zocco and Castellon to give the Lumberjacks a 2-1 lead after one.

The second inning is where the game turned decisively. JJ Salas reached and moved to second on a wild pitch. Lane Gross doubled him home for the first run of the frame. Nate Gould singled and stole second, and Zocco followed with an RBI single to score Gross. Zocco stole second again, and Bishop capped the rally with a three-run home run to center field, clearing the bases. The Lumberjacks weren't done. AJ Wheelock doubled, McCarty tripled him home, and Kaden Benaske plated McCarty with a sacrifice fly. Seven runs on the inning, and the game was effectively over.

Ivan Kosmerick earned the win on the mound, going four innings and allowing just two runs — one earned — on four hits while striking out five. He was in complete control for most of his outing, retiring the side in order in the second with three consecutive strikeouts. Zachary Holifield came on in the fifth and worked a clean inning, striking out two of the four batters he faced.

The Lumberjacks added single runs in the fourth and fifth to reach the final of 12-2. Gross drove in Benaske in the fourth with a line drive single, and in the fifth Bishop and Castellon scored on a McCarty single to right to finish the scoring.

McCarty was the offensive standout, going 3-for-4 with a double, a triple, and five RBI. Bishop contributed a home run and three RBI, and Gross had a two-RBI day with a double and a single.

Game Two: ACC 10, Bay College 0 (5 innings)

If the opener was a statement, game two was an exclamation point — and it was authored in large part by sophomores playing the final game of their ACC careers.

Sophomore Jacob Brohl took the ball to start and was outstanding, going three innings and allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out two and keeping the Norse completely off balance. Ethan Bergstein, Kaleb Donajkowski, and Caleb McEwen — all sophomores finishing their time in a Lumberjack uniform — combined to finish it off across the final two innings, surrendering just one hit between them. Bay College was held to two hits on the night and never threatened to score. It was a performance that spoke to what this group of sophomores gave to the program over two years — and they went out the right way.

The Lumberjacks wasted no time offensively. Zocco opened the first with a double to center and scored on a Castellon groundball that reached on an error. Zach Fletcher then singled home Bishop, and Salas followed with a line drive single that scored both Castellon and Fletcher. Benaske added a sacrifice fly to score Salas, and just like that ACC had five runs before the first inning was complete.

The second inning brought three more. Bishop singled and stole second. McCarty singled him home and Fletcher followed with an RBI single of his own. Salas capped the inning with a two-run double to center, and the Lumberjacks led 8-0 after two.

Fletcher was the offensive star of game two, going 3-for-3 with a home run, four RBI, and a stolen base. In the fourth, with Castellon aboard after a walk, Fletcher launched a two-run shot to right field to push the lead to 10-0 and end any remaining suspense. Salas chipped in two hits and three RBI, and McCarty continued his strong afternoon at the plate with an RBI single.

Brohl earned the win, capping a doubleheader in which ACC's pitching staff allowed just two earned runs across ten innings of work.

A Season in Review

For all the challenges that came with a 14-37-1 record, the 2026 Lumberjacks produced several players who put up numbers worth remembering.

Marcus Castellon had the best offensive season on the roster. The sophomore first baseman slashed .336/.427/1.020 with an OPS north of 1.000 — the only Lumberjack to eclipse that threshold. He led the team with 37 RBI and 18 extra-base hits, including seven home runs. His .594 slugging percentage was nearly 200 points above the team average. Playing in 41 games, Castellon was the engine of the ACC offense from the cleanup spot all season long and he played a solid first base despite just moving there this spring.

Miguel Salcedo was the team's most well-rounded producer. The freshman batted .298 with a .443 on-base percentage and finished with six home runs and 35 RBI in 45 games. His .916 OPS ranked second on the team, and his discipline at the plate — 28 walks against 19 strikeouts — was among the best ratios on the roster. Salcedo's .357 average with runners in scoring position underscored his value when games were on the line.

Aiden Bishop was the team's iron man, appearing in 50 games and compiling 189 plate appearances. The sophomore batted .270 with 22 RBI and scored 39 runs, providing steady production from the two hole all season. His 14 stolen bases in 15 attempts showed a consistent threat on the basepaths.

Sophomore Maxwell McCarty led the team in plate appearances with 182 and proved to be one of the more patient hitters in the lineup, drawing 21 walks to go with a .359 on-base percentage. His 11 stolen bases added another dimension to an offense that needed every advantage it could generate.

Freshman Isaac Zocco quietly put together a strong season at the top of the lineup, batting .324 with a .419 OBP across 50 games. His 10 stolen bases and 41 runs scored made him one of the more dangerous table-setters in the conference.

Nate Gould hit .302 with a .398 OBP and added 17 stolen bases in 20 attempts — an 85 percent success rate that ranked among the best on the team. Gould's ability to get on base and create havoc on the bases gave the Lumberjack lineup a consistent spark throughout the year.

Behind the plate, AJ Wheelock and Jonny Rensberry combined to handle the bulk of the catching duties across a long and demanding season. Wheelock appeared in 31 games and hit .259 with eight doubles and 17 RBI, providing steady offensive production from the middle of the order while logging 160 innings behind the dish. Rensberry appeared in 19 games and hit .293 with a .431 on-base percentage. Between the two of them, they also caught 21 opposing baserunners attempting to steal across the course of the season.

On the mound, Lane Gross was ACC's most reliable arm in terms of innings consumed, leading the staff with 49.1 innings pitched across 11 appearances. The standout of the pitching staff by ERA was Zachary Holifield, whose 2.647 mark was the best on the roster by a significant margin. Holifield struck out 16 batters in 17 innings and was one of the more dependable options out of the bullpen all season.

Ivan Kosmerick was arguably the staff's most dominant pitcher when he was on — the freshman struck out 48 batters in just 41 innings, a strikeout rate that stood out across the entire conference schedule, and he posted a 5.04 ERA while handling one of the heavier workloads on the staff. Charlie Best was another key contributor, going 34 innings across 12 appearances with a 4.19 ERA — the second-best mark among the regular arms — and 26 strikeouts against just 10 walks, giving the coaching staff a reliable option whenever the ball was in his hand.

Looking Ahead

Sunday's sweep was a fitting close to the fourth season of baseball at Alpena Community College, and the program's trajectory is hard to ignore. In year one, the Lumberjacks went 4-21 in conference. In year two, 4-16. In year three, the program took a meaningful step forward with 11 conference wins. And in 2026, that number climbed again to 12 — a steady, unbroken line of improvement in league play every single season the program has existed.

Fourth place in the MCCAA and a 12-13 conference mark reflects a program that is learning how to win at this level. The Lumberjacks played some of their most consistent baseball of the season in the final week, and Sunday's dominant sweep of Bay College was as fitting a curtain call as the coaching staff could have scripted.

With a young core that includes several freshmen who contributed meaningful innings and at-bats this season, the foundation is being laid in Alpena. The 2026 Lumberjacks fought until the final out — and on the last day of the season, they looked every bit like a team that will be back with more to say.