STEVENSVILLE, Mich. – Survive and advance! After dropping Friday's (May 13) opener to OCC, Macomb Softball shutout Mott, 5-0, to advance to Saturday's Great Lakes District B Championship. With one loss, the Monarchs will need to defeat OCC twice Saturday to win the tournament crown and earn a berth into the NJCAA Division II National Championship.
First pitch for game one Saturday has been moved up to 10:00 a.m. The second game will follow immediately afterward, if necessary.
GAME ONE: OCC 11, Macomb 7
The Monarchs led for most of the way, but OCC came alive to post 10 runs over the fifth and sixth innings to earn an 11-7 victory. Samantha Scott (Romeo, Mich./Eisenhower) connected on her fifth home run of the season and Natalie Lerchenfeld (Macomb, Mich./Dakota) went a perfect 2-for-2 with a pair of RBIs and two runs scored.
Danielle Erickson (Sterling Heights, Mich./Sterling Heights) also had two hits as part of a 2-for-3 effort with an RBI and a run scored. Lerchenfeld and Scott led the Monarchs with two runs driven in each.
GAME TWO: Macomb 5, Mott 0
Jackie Seyfarth (Sterling Heights, Mich./Stevenson) was dominant in the circle for the Monarchs and earned her eighth win of the season after posting a complete-game shutout. Seyfarth spun a gem to keep the Monarchs alive and held Mott to four hits over seven innings while punching out two batters.
Elizabeth Townsend (Ira Twp., Mich./Anchor Bay) tied Macomb's career home run record with a first inning solo blast and Rylee Thomas (Harrison Twp., Mich./L'Anse Creuse) recorded a team-best two hits on a 2-for-2 line with a run scored. Townsend's home run, the 18th of her career to tie Jasmine Haralson's career mark, put the Monarchs on top 1-0 in the first inning and stood as the game-winning drive in the shutout victory.
Nicole Husken (Sterling Heights, Mich./Stevenson), Samantha Scott and Townsend all recorded RBIs in the season-saving victory.
