ALPENA, Mich. – The regular season came to a close Saturday (April 30) and Macomb Softball ended the campaign on a strong note by winning both games over the host Lumberjacks of Alpena Community College. The Monarchs won game one by a 9-1 tally and earned a hard-fought 3-1 win in game two.
With the wins, the Monarchs closed out the regular season with an overall record of 23-10 and a MCCAA Eastern Conference record of 20-8. At 20-8 in the MCCAA East, the Monarchs recorded their most wins in league play since 2006.
The Saturday sweep at Alpena also helped the Monarchs clinch second place in the MCCAA East and the No. 3 seed in the upcoming NJCAA Division II Great Lakes District B Tournament. With the No. 3 seed, the Monarchs will take on second-seeded OCC May 12 at 3:00 p.m. All tournament games will be played at LYBSA Fields in Stevensville, Mich., May 12-14.
GAME ONE: Macomb 9, Alpena 1
Carly Sierzenga (Macomb, Mich./Dakota) was dominant in the circle and the Monarchs' bats did the rest of the work as the Blue & White cruised to a 9-1 run-rule victory in five innings. Sierzenga struck out 10 batters and only allowed three hits on one run across five innings of work to earn win No. 13 of the season.
With Sierzenga in shut down mode, the Monarchs bats helped make the run-rule win possible as Rylee Thomas (Harrison Twp., Mich./L'Anse Creuse) kickstarted the offense with a leadoff home run in the second inning. Thomas would be responsible for the Monarchs second run of the game as well, this time driving in Skye Norris (Macomb, Mich./Anchor Bay) on a double to left field. After Alpena cut the Monarch lead to 2-1, Norris helped the Blue & White pull away with a three-run home run over the left field wall in the fourth inning.
The three-run shot gave the Monarchs a 5-1 lead in the fourth, and an inning later Danielle Erickson (Sterling Heights, Mich./Sterling Heights) ended the game early with a three-run walk-off home run for the 9-1 victory in five innings.
Norris, Thomas and Samantha Scott (Romeo, Mich./Eisenhower) paced the Monarchs with two hits each, while Jenna Alessandrini (Clinton Twp., Mich./Fraser), Jenna Casey (New Baltimore, Mich./Anchor Bay) and Erickson each had a hit in the run-rule triumph.
GAME TWO: Macomb 3, Alpena 1
Carly Sierzenga stepped back into the circle in game two and picked up where she left off by tossing seven innings of five-hit, one-run ball to post her MCCAA East leading 14th win of the season. The freshman lefty struck out eight Lumberjacks in game two and ended the day with 18 strikeouts over 12 innings pitched as part of two complete-game victories.
The Monarchs posted two of their three runs in the first inning as Samantha Scott and Rylee Thomas drove in a run each to give the Blue & White an early 2-0 lead. Defense would take over from there for both teams as Alpena would scratch a run across in the third and the Monarchs would add an insurance run in the sixth on a Jenna Casey RBI single for the 3-1 Macomb win.
Casey and Thomas led the Monarchs with two hits, while Scott, Danielle Erickson and Skye Norris each accounted for a hit in the season finale.
UP NEXT: Great Lakes District B Tournament (May 12-14, Stevensville, Mich.)
The Monarchs will have a bit of time off before they return to game action May 12 for the start of the Great Lakes District B Tournament. The Monarchs will battle OCC in the opener at 3:00 p.m. All tournament games will be played at LYBSA Fields in Stevensville, Mich.
