The Lakahawks have a 54-game schedule, including 23 home dates
LEESBURG, Fla. (Baseball) – The Lake-Sumter State College (LSSC) baseball team has released their schedule for the upcoming 2025 season. The Lakahawks have a 54-game schedule, including 23 home dates.
Lake-Sumter baseball completed the 2024 season with a 26-26-1 record, tying for the second most wins in a single season in program history. The team placed four on the All-Sun-Lakes Conference list, three on the Region 8 Gold Glove Team, and one on the All-FCSAA/All-NJCAA Region 8 team.
The Lakehawks return 18 sophomores for the 2025 season, including Andrew Merchant who was named all-conference and to the gold glove team in 2024.
As a freshman, Merchant posted a .339 batting average, .444 on-base percentage, and a .491 slugging percentage. On defense, he recorded a .987 fielding percentage with just one error in 79 chances from the outfield.
Right-handed pitcher Max Windham also returns for his sophomore season after taking a redshirt in 2024. In 2023, Windham posted a 4-6 record on the mound with 67.1 innings pitched.
Head Coach Rich Billings enters his 15th year leading the Lakehawks. He shares his thoughts headed into the season, “I am very excited to watch out players compete in 2025.”
“Our schedule is a challenging one that includes many of our in-state Division I junior colleges from Tallahassee all the way to Ft. Pierce. We also have some tough competition from out-of-state teams coming in for spring break, which include CCBC Catonsville (Md.) and Lansing Community College (Mich.).”
“In addition, we will be hosting, for the first time ever, New College of Florida, a competitive NAIA program out of Bradenton, Fla,” said Coach Billings.
The Lakehawks will open at home on Friday, Jan. 24 with a single game against Santa Fe College at 1:00 p.m. On Saturday, they will host Millenia Atlantic University for a double header at 12:00 and 2:30 p.m.
Lake-Sumter will play non-conference opponents in January until late February to prepare for a highly competitive Sun-Lakes Conference regular season schedule.
In conference play, the Lakehawks will face each opponent in two three-game series for a total of six regular season matchups accounting for post-season placement. Each team will host three games and go on the road for three games.
The Sun-Lakes Conference consists of six teams: Florida State College at Jacksonville, Lake-Sumter State College, Palm Beach State College, Pasco-Hernando State College, South Florida State College, and St. Johns River State College.
After a 30-game conference slate, the top-four teams will compete in the 2025 Region 8 Championship from May 1-4. At this time, the championship location is still to be determined.
“It is going to be a great year for Lakehawk baseball. Our players are excited and up to the tremendous challenge of competing for a Sun-Lakes Conference championship,” said Coach Billings.
All Lakehawk home games will be livestreamed free of charge during the season. Games can be accessed at Team 1 Sports: College.
The Lakehawks have a 56-game schedule, including 16 home dates.
Lake-Sumter State College (LSSC) softball has announced their schedule for the 2025 season. The Lakahawks have a 56-game schedule, including 16 home dates.
Lake-Sumter softball completed the 2024 season with a 30-29 overall record, the first back-to-back 30-win season in program history. The Lakehawks placed six on the All-Sun-Lakes Conference list and three on the All-FCSAA/All-NJCAA Region 8.
The three all-state recipients are returning sophomores Payton Parkes, Emma Chisholm, and Savannah Ellis. Additionally, Parkes was named to the NFCA/NJCAA Division II All-South Region Team, the only recipient from the State of Florida.
For the 2024 season, Parkes posted a .384 batting average, .419 on-base percentage, and a .643 slugging percentage. She recorded 71 hits with 15 doubles, three triples, and nine homeruns.
As the Lakehawks’ everyday second baseman, Parkes posted a .944 fielding percentage, recording just 10 errors in 178 total chances.
The Lakehawks also return a very successful sophomore pitching staff with Ellis, Kaitlyn Duquette, and Amy Bak. Between the three, they posted a 21-11 record on the mound with 8 saves.
Head Coach Jay Miller, entering his 10th season with the team, shared his thoughts on the upcoming season, “In the past two years, we have been ranked as high as No. 15 in the country, and in 2024, we finished ties for second in the conference.”
“The team that won the conference, went on to win the 2024 NJCAA Division II Championship. It is a testament to how good our conference and our region is as a whole; every time we take the field, it will be a battle.”
“Sun-Lakes Conference softball opens Friday, Feb. 21, which is the earliest we have ever started a conference schedule. Having the majority of starters returning in 2025 bodes well for us to hopefully get off to a good start,” said Coach Miller.
The Lakehawks will open at home on Friday, Jan. 24 with a single game against East Georgia State College at 1:00 and 3:00 p.m. On Saturday, they will Seminole State College at 12:00 and 2:00 p.m.
The non-conference schedule will stretch through January into late February preparing the Lakehawks for a highly competitive Sun-Lakes Conference regular season schedule.
In conference play, the Lakehawks will face each opponent in one three-game series and one double header for a total of five regular season games, eliminating the need for a head-to-head tie breaker to determine post-season placement.
The Sun-Lakes Conference consists of seven teams: Florida Gateway College, Florida State College at Jacksonville, Lake-Sumter State College, Pasco-Hernando State College, South Florida State College, St. Johns River State College, and joining the conference for the 2025 season, State College of Florida.
After a 30-game conference slate, the top-four teams will compete in the 2025 Region 8 Championship. At this time, the dates and championship location is still to be determined.
All Lakehawk home games will be livestreamed free of charge during the season. Games can be accessed at Team 1 Sports: College.
