STEVENSVILLE, Mich. – Macomb Softball opened the NJCAA Division II Great Lakes District B Tournament in winning fashion Thursday (May 12) with a hard-fought 3-1 victory over the Lakers of Lakeland Community College (Ohio). The win sets up a date with the MCCAA East Champion, OCC Raiders, Friday (May 13) at 12:00 p.m. at Stevensville's LYBSA Fields.
The winner of tomorrow's Macomb/OCC game will move into the District B Championship and need to be defeated twice by the team who emerges from the losers' bracket. Tomorrow's losing team will play immediately afterward at 2:00 p.m. against the winner of the elimination game between Mott and Schoolcraft.
The District B Championship will be held Saturday (May 14) at 12:00 p.m. with an if necessary game scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
On Thursday, the Monarchs and Lakers were deadlocked in a defensive battle as the game was scoreless over the first four innings of play. The Monarchs – the visitor on the scoreboard – struck first in the top of the fifth inning on a Danielle Erickson (Sterling Heights, Mich./Sterling Heights) RBI single that snuck through the left side and into left field. Erickson – the team's batting average leader this season – drove in Skye Norris (Macomb, Mich./Anchor Bay) who reached base via error to lead off the inning.
The Lakers answered with a run in the bottom of the fifth to tie it, but the Monarchs quickly jumped back on top with a two-run sixth inning to secure the 3-1 first round victory. Jenna Casey (New Baltimore, Mich./Anchor Bay) reached on a hard hit ball to shortstop that scored Samantha Scott (Romeo, Mich./Eisenhower) for the game-winning run, while Nikki Syracuse (Macomb, Mich./Dakota) put an insurance run on the board with an RBI single to left field that scored Elizabeth Townsend (Ira Twp., Mich./Anchor Bay) for the 3-1 final.
Townsend was red-hot once again and led the Monarchs with a perfect 3-for-3 day with a run scored. Erickson and Syracuse followed with two hits each and Norris accounted for the team's other hit in the two-run victory.
Carly Sierzenga (Macomb, Mich./Dakota) went the distance in the circle to earn her 15th win of the campaign. The freshman left-handed pitcher kept the Lakers off-balance throughout, holding the opposition to six hits on one earned run with three strikeouts.
