MUSKEGON -Aaron Piasecki is happy to be back in Muskegon, playing in front of excited hometown crowds again.

He had been doing it his entire life, through youth leagues in Norton Shores and his outstanding high school career as an All-Stater at Mona Shores.

But college baseball took Piasecki away from home, to Kellogg Community College in Battle Creek.

He continued his success there, hitting a sizzling .457 with 57 RBIs in 50 games this spring for Kellogg and winning Freshman of the Year honors in the Western Conference of the Michigan Community College Athletic Association.

As soon as the season ended, however, Piasecki packed his bags and headed back to his hometown for a summer of more baseball, this time with the Muskegon Clippers.

His homecoming has been wildly successful, to say the least. Piasecki, a second baseman, is currently fifth in the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League batting race with a .386 average. He is also tied for the league lead in hits with 17, including two he collected in Thursday night’s 7-4 victory on the road over the Sandusky Ice Haulers.

Piasecki has also played outstanding defense and is a leader on a great Clippers squad that currently leads the league’s North Division with a 10-1 record. The Clippers will try to keep their hot streak going on Friday and Saturday night when they host the Michigan Monarchs at Marsh Field.

“He’s been really good,” said Clippers manager Logan Fleener. “He started off a little slow, but now he’s up around the league leaders in hits and he’s been playing really good defensively, too.

“He’s very even keel. He’s intense and enjoys the big moments, but every one of his at-bats he brings the same intensity. He doesn’t get too high or too low.

“For guys like Aaron, leadership has more do to with actions than words. Other guys are more vocal. He’s more about ‘Watch my success.’”

For Piasecki, the best part of his Clippers experience has been all the victories. Being dominant in summer college leagues is difficult for any team, because the players come from many different colleges and most have never played together before.

“It’s really hard to come to a summer team and win eight or nine in a row,” Piasecki said. “I think a lot of the guys on the team have been working hard throughout the spring, and a lot of them don’t like losing. When you put those two things together, you have success.

“I love winning. It’s really fun.”

The other Clippers reportedly refer to Piasecki as “The Mayor.”

That has something do to with the fact that he’s one of the few local players on a team full of guys from all over the state and nation.

It also has something to do with the confident way he carries himself and his performance on the field.

He’s had big hit after big hit this season, including a two-out, two-run single last Saturday that gave the Clippers a come-from-behind 3-2 walk-off victory over the Michigan Monarchs.

“I love those situations,” Piasecki said during the postgame celebration. “They’re fun. It’s awesome if you deliver.”

Piasecki loves being a big contributor for a team he’s been rooting for since he was a little kid.

He remembers taking part in the Clippers’ Youth Camp when he was 10 or 11, where he learned under Fleener, his current manager who was a Clippers infielder at the time.

He also remembers attending a lot of games with his father and thinking about the day when he would put on a Clippers uniform, regardless of where he played college baseball.

“I really enjoy playing in Muskegon,” Piasecki said. “All my buddies and my family can come to the games because it’s right down the road for them, and it’s nice being home and sleeping in my own bed.

“Me and my dad would go to about five games every year, and I remember back when I played for the Muskegon Channel Cats (a summer travel team) and we got to take batting practice with the Clippers when I was like 13.

“I definitely was planning on coming home and playing for the Clippers. I always wanted to do it and I’m glad I made this decision.”