It Continues

James Edwards III, Lansing State Journal

On the other end of the spectrum, Marc Kibby took over a program with rich tradition when he was named LCC's softball coach six years ago.

Kibby and former athletic director Scott Latham had three goals entering the new regime — represent Lansing, carry on the school's softball tradition and give back.

He's done just that.

With victories over Mott Community College and Kalamazoo Valley Community College last weekend, LCC, which won its second straight Western Conference title this year, claimed its first state championship since 2009.

His team opens the District I tournament against Kalamazoo Valley Community College at 4 p.m. Wednesday at Ranney Park.

"It's (about) playing winning softball and playing as a team," Kibby said. "And being good people. That's what we want."

Last season, the Stars won the District I tournament and qualified for nationals. They posted a 40-19 record in the process. This season, LCC is 37-13-1 and is on pace to surpass last year's win total, which was the most during Kibby's tenure, with a strong showing in the postseason.

Kibby said he believes last season's deep run has carried over into this year.

"We have four key sophomores who were back from last year's team," said Kibby, whose team went 28-4 for the second straight year in conference play. "You hear all of these coaches say, 'Four years, you have to have seniors.' Well, at a two-year school, you have to have sophomores. Our sophomores here, the last three weeks, have picked it up. You know that they want this."

Before coming to LCC, Kibby spent 16 years as the softball coach at Bath High School. His time at Bath, he said, allowed him to evaluate talent in less-publicized cities and high schools. Five of Kibby's 17 players come from areas with less than a population of 2,000 people, and he has two players from the Upper Peninsula.

"That's the kind of program that we wanted," he added. "These kids have talent. No one spends the time to look as hard as we do."