WARREN, Mich. – Macomb Softball started strong and never looked back Tuesday (April 26) to earn a doubleheader sweep and series win over the SC4 Skippers. A focused Monarchs team run-ruled the Skippers twice, winning game one by an 8-0 tally in five innings and game two by a 9-1 final in six innings.
Now on a six-game winning streak, the Monarchs elevated their MCCAA Eastern Conference record to 15-7 and moved to 18-9 overall on the season after the SC4 sweep. During their recent six-game winning streak, the Monarchs have outscored the opposition by a stunning 59-6 margin.
Tuesday's twin bill sweep lifted the Monarchs back into a second place tie with Schoolcraft with both teams sitting at 15-7 in league play. The pair of wins also helped the Monarchs inch closer to securing a berth into the NJCAA Division II District B Tournament. The playoff picture is still blurry as of now but will begin to clear up tomorrow and Thursday as teams continue to finish up their schedule around the league.
GAME ONE: Macomb 8, SC4 0 (5 inn.)
Jackie Seyfarth (Sterling Heights, Mich./Stevenson) continued her dominance as of late with a complete-game one-hitter to help the Monarchs secure the 8-0 win in five innings. Seyfarth was spinning the ball well and kept the Skippers off-balance as SC4 only recorded one hard hit ball in the five-inning contest. The second-year pitcher struck out two and relied on a stingy defense behind her to pick up her seventh win of the season and her third straight victory dating back to last Friday's performance at Henry Ford.
With Seyfarth in command, the Monarchs' bats took care of everything else as Nikki Syracuse (Macomb, Mich./Dakota) paced a balanced offense with a double and two RBIs in the opener. Skye Norris (Macomb, Mich./Anchor Bay) also recorded a double to help lead the Monarchs to the run-rule victory.
Danielle Erickson (Sterling Heights, Mich./Sterling Heights) led all batters with three hits, while Emma Lautenbach (Warren, Mich./Center Line) followed closely with two hits on a perfect 2-for-2 performance with an RBI and two runs scored.
GAME TWO: Macomb 9, SC4 1 (6 inn.)
Game one went five innings and game two went six as the Monarchs continued their recent winning ways with a 9-1 victory in the series finale. Much like Seyfarth, Carly Sierzenga (Macomb, Mich./Dakota) was impressive in the circle as the freshman held SC4 to one run on four hits to record her MCCAA East leading 10th win of the campaign. Sierzenga struck out twice as many Skippers (8) as hits allowed (4) to secure the victory.
At the plate, the Monarchs remained red-hot as Skye Norris and Nikki Syracuse hit two doubles each in the nightcap, while Rylee Thomas (Harrison Twp., Mich./L'Anse Creuse) connected on a double of her own in the eight-run win. With two more doubles in game two, both Norris and Syracuse ended the day with three two-baggers each. Norris led all Monarchs with three RBIs, while Syracuse and Thomas followed with two RBIs each. Thomas, one of several Monarchs to see a would-be home run get caught up in the wind, ended game two going 3-for-4 with three runs scored and two RBIs.
Danielle Erickson went 2-for-4 in game two and hit a team-best .625 over the course of Tuesday's doubleheader.
