FIVE HOME RUNS: YOUTUBE
WARREN, Mich. – Macomb Softball erupted for five home runs on the day, including a walk-off home run by Rylee Thomas in the opener, as part of a doubleheader split with the visiting Mott Community College Bears Tuesday (April 5) in Warren. With the split, the Monarchs and Bears also split their season series at two games apiece. The Monarchs ended the day with an 8-5 record overall and a 5-3 mark in the MCCAA Eastern Conference. The Bears sit at 10-9 overall and 4-2 in league play following Tuesday's split.
GAME ONE: Macomb 7, Mott 6
After a slow start that resulted in a 4-0 deficit midway through the contest, the Monarchs' bats made a statement in the fifth as the Blue & White plated six runs in the frame thanks to three home runs over the span of six batters. Skye Norris (Macomb, Mich./Anchor Bay) got the party started with a two-run blast well over the left field wall to cut the Bears lead in half at 4-2. Norris' home run, her first of the season, also acted as the Monarchs first hit of the game. One batter later, newcomer Samantha Scott (Romeo, Mich./Eisenhower) hit her first home run in a Monarch uniform, a solo shot that cleared the fence in centerfield to make it a one-run game.
After a Danielle Erickson (Sterling Heights, Mich./Sterling Heights) single and a Rylee Thomas (Harrison Twp., Mich./L'Anse Creuse) walk, Jenna Casey (New Baltimore, Mich./Anchor Bay) stepped to the plate and connected on a three-run home run to right center to give the Monarchs a 6-4 edge after five innings of play.
The Bears answered quickly by plating two runs in the sixth to bring the score even at 6-6. The score would remain the same until Thomas led off the bottom of the seventh with a no-doubter, walk-off home run to give the Monarchs a dramatic 7-6 win in the opener. For Thomas, the walk-off shot marked her first official home run at the collegiate level. Thomas hit a home run in Florida in a game that eventually was canceled, thus nullifying the stats.
Norris, the Monarch who kicked off the fifth inning home run derby, stepped into the circle in relief of Carly Sierzenga (Macomb, Mich./Dakota) and went on to earn her first win of 2022 after tossing 1.2 innings of one hit ball. Sierzenga got the start and struck out five batters.
GAME TWO: Mott 8, Macomb 6
Much like the Monarchs in game one, the Bears used a big inning to propel themselves to victory. With the score tied 3-3, the Bears posted four runs on six hits and one error in the top of the sixth to take a 7-3 lead. The Bears would tack on one more run in the top of the seventh to make it 8-3, but Carly Sierzenga gave the Monarchs a chance in the home half of the seventh with a pinch hit three-run home run to bring the Blue & White to within two at 8-6. The Monarchs brought the game-winning run to the plate later in the inning but fell just short of another impressive comeback after the Bears closed out the game for the 8-6 win.
Jenna Casey led all Monarchs with three hits, while Danielle Erickson and Rylee Thomas followed closely behind with two hits each as the trio accounted for seven of the team's nine hits in the nightcap. Sierzenga led the RBI department with three thanks to her three-run shot in the seventh inning.
