HIGHLIGHTS: YOUTUBE
TITUSVILLE, Fla. – Macomb Softball started the 2022 season with a bang Sunday (March 6) by powering past the Tetons of Williston State with a 22-1 win in game one and a 24-0 victory in game two. The season-opening sweep lifted the Monarchs to 2-0 on the young season and sent the Tetons to 2-9 through their first 11 games of the campaign.
Sunday's 46-run offensive explosion saw the bats pick up where they left off last season when the Monarchs tallied 45 runs over the final three games of 2021. Dating back to April 30, 2021, the Monarchs have outscored the opposition 91-16 over a five-game stretch, including a 46-1 advantage from Sunday's doubleheader.
GAME ONE: Macomb 22, Williston State 1 (Final – 5 innings)
Big innings were the theme in game one (and throughout Opening Day) as the Monarchs plated six runs in the third before bringing eight runs across in the fourth and fifth innings to earn a 22-1 victory in the 2022 opener. Carly Sierzenga (Macomb, Mich./Dakota) got the start in the circle and was dominant from start to finish to earn the win. The freshman lefty struck out nine batters as part of a complete-game performance and only surrendered four hits in five innings of work. The lone run Teton run was unearned to keep Sierzenga's ERA at a perfect 0.00 after her first collegiate appearance.
The Monarchs racked up 21 RBI on 22 runs scored and were led by Jenna Casey (New Baltimore, Mich./Anchor Bay) who posted a team-best five RBI and four runs scored on a 2-for-4 effort at the plate. Sierzenga helped her own cause by driving in four runs, while Rylee Thomas (Harrison Twp., Mich./L'Anse Creuse) and Elizabeth Townsend (Ira Twp., Mich./Anchor Bay) followed with three RBI each. Danielle Erickson (Sterling Heights, Mich./Sterling Heights) and Nikki Syracuse (Macomb, Mich./Dakota) drove in a pair of runs each in the season-opening win.
Casey, Sierzenga and Townsend had a double each in the 22-run outburst for the Monarchs.
GAME TWO: Macomb 24, Williston State 0 (Final – 5 innings)
Led by a grand slam off the bat of Elizabeth Townsend, the Monarchs remained hot in game two on their way to a 24-0 victory in five innings. Townsend was 3-for-3 in Sunday's second game and went on to record a team-high five RBI.
Newcomers Jenna Alessandrini (Clinton Twp., Mich./Fraser) and Natalie Lerchenfeld (Macomb, Mich./Dakota) followed Townsend's balanced day at the plate and impressed in their first taste collegiate action. Alessandrini went 3-for-3 with four RBI, while Lerchenfeld posted an equal four RBI on a 3-for-5 effort at the plate. Nicole Husken (Sterling Heights, Mich./Stevenson) recorded two hits, one of the extra-base variety, and ended game two with two RBI.
In the circle, Jackie Seyfarth (Sterling Heights, Mich./Stevenson) was in command in her first outing of the season and went on to earn a complete-game win. The second-year freshman tossed four innings of shutout ball and scattered four hits while striking out one batter.
UP NEXT
The Monarchs have the day off Monday before returning to Chain of Lakes Park in Titusville, Fla. for a doubleheader Tuesday (March 8) that begins bright and early at 8:30 a.m. The Monarchs will take on Central Lakes-Brainerd in the early game at 8:30 a.m. and will play Williston State for the third time in three days at 1:00 p.m. Tuesday afternoon. Stay tuned for exciting updates regarding the possibility of live updates/live stats through GameChanger beginning with Tuesday's game opposite Central Lakes-Brainerd.
