HOWELL, Mich. – One day after sweeping conference counterpart SC4, Macomb Baseball hit the road for a non-conference twin bill against Cleary University JV on Monday (April 25). The bats remained hot, but one big inning by Cleary would prevent a sweep as the Monarchs split with the Cougars after losing game one, 7-5, and winning the nightcap by an 11-6 final.
 
With the split, the Monarchs now sit at 11-25 overall on the season. The Blue & White will return to action Thursday for a non-conference doubleheader at Siena Heights University JV. The following day, the Monarchs will play a league doubleheader against Jackson College at Siena Heights. The week ends with two games at home opposite Jackson on Saturday beginning at 1:00 p.m.

GAME ONE: Cleary JV 7, Macomb 5
The Cougars plated all seven of their runs in the fourth inning to earn a narrow 7-5 decision over the Monarchs in the opener. The Monarchs recorded 10 hits in game one and were led by Trace Hudson (Farmington, Mich./Lapeer), Ty Mychek (Ray Twp., Mich./Romeo) and Jeremy Pudlik (Waterford, Mich./Waterford Mott) with two hits each.
 
Rocco Comito (Macomb, Mich./Marine City Cardinal Mooney), Terry Dean (Davison, Mich./Davison), Harrison Ryan (Macomb, Mich./L'Anse Creuse North) and Joey Tedesco (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich./GP North/Hillsdale) all recorded a hit, while Comito, Hudson and Mychek had an RBI each in the game one setback.
 
Gary Glaser III (Macomb, Mich./Lutheran North) entered the game in the fourth inning and was in a groove, pitching two and a third of one-hit ball while punching out four Cougars.
 
GAME TWO: Macomb 11, Cleary JV 6
Logan Rybarczyk (Chesterfield, Mich./Anchor Bay) launched his first career home run on a perfect 2-for-2 line with three runs scored and two RBI to pace a balanced, high-octane Monarchs offense in game two. Rybarczyk's home run, a two-run shot in the fourth inning that easily cleared the right field wall, brought the Monarchs to within one at 5-4.
 
Trailing by as many as four runs early, the Monarchs took the lead for good thanks to a six-run sixth inning that was kicked off by a two-RBI single to left off the bat of Adam Amodei (Mt. Clemens, Mich./Chippewa Valley). Amodei's two-run single acted as the go-ahead hit and—following a Rybarczyk single to left that loaded the bases—Rocco Comito came through with what would eventually stand as the game-winning at-bat with a deep sacrifice fly to left center that brought Amodei in to score to give the Monarchs a 7-5 lead. A wild pitch, a Tom Burt (Clinton, Mich./Clinton) RBI double and a hard-hit ball by Connor Armstrong (St. Clair Shores, Mich./Chippewa Valley) closed out a six-run sixth that saw the Monarchs turn a 5-4 deficit into a 10-5 lead in the latter stages of the nightcap.
 
After Cleary brought one across in the sixth to make it 10-6, Harrison Ryan got the run back in seventh with an RBI drive that nearly resulted in an inside-the-park home run. Ryan was out at the plate while attempting to leg out the home run the hard way and instead was credited with an RBI triple to bring the game to its 11-6 final tally.
 
Austin Plitz (Macomb, Mich.Dakota) came on in the fifth inning and shut down the Cougars over the game's final three innings to earn his first collegiate win. Plitz kept the Cougars guessing over his three innings of work and went on to strike out four batters while only allowing one hit.
 
Brendan Bos (Howell, Mich./Howell) put on a performance of his own in his hometown, tossing three innings of no-hit ball with three strikeouts prior to Plitz's time on the mound.