MELBOURNE, Fla. – Macomb Softball swept the day with a 5-3 win over Culver-Stockton JV and a 4-0 victory over Central Florida Developmental Thursday (March 9) in Melbourne, Fla. The pair of wins lifts the Monarchs record to 4-6 on the young season.

GAME ONE: Macomb 5, Culver-Stockton JV 3
The Monarchs trailed 3-0 with two outs in the sixth when Carleigh Bilpo (Sterling Heights, Mich./Henry Ford II) doubled to center to bring Rylee Thomas (Harrison Twp., Mich./L'Anse Creuse) and Emma Lautenbach (Warren, Mich./Center Line) around to score. The freshman's clutch 2-RBI double brought the Monarchs to within one, 3-2, and one batter later Alexis Murray (Clinton Twp., Mich./Chippewa Valley) put a ball in play that allowed Danielle Erickson (Sterling Heights, Mich./Sterling Heights) to reach home and tie the game at 3-3.

Brynn Beyer (Macomb, Mich./L'Anse Creuse North) stepped to the plate next and put the Monarchs in front with a RBI single through the left side that plated Katelyn Thomas (Macomb, Mich./Dakota). Elizabeth Townsend (New Baltimore, Mich./Anchor Bay) came to the plate next and once again came up huge for head coach Jim Beard and the Monarchs with a RBI single to left to give the Blue & White a 5-3 lead.
 
With Carly Sierzenga (Macomb, Mich./Dakota) in the circle and in command, the five-run sixth inning was all the Monarchs needed as the Blue & White went on to win by the 5-3 tally. Sierzenga went the distance, striking out three while holding the Wildcats scoreless over the final six innings to earn her first win of the season.

Townsend paced the Monarch bats with two of the team's six hits, including the lone double of the game, while Bilpo led the RBI department with two.

GAME TWO: Macomb 4, Central Florida Developmental 0
Katelynn Fraser (Macomb, Mich./Eisenhower) put together a brilliant performance in the circle, shutting down Central Florida Developmental to the tune of a complete game, three-hit shutout. The former Eisenhower standout added to the impressive performance with nine strikeouts to earn her first win at the collegiate level.

The Monarchs got on the board in the bottom of the fourth when Natalie Lerchenfeld (Macomb, Mich./Dakota) doubled to center field. Lerchenfeld's double, her first of the season, drove in Alexis Murray to put the Monarchs on top, 1-0. One inning later, Rylee Thomas (Harrison Twp., Mich./L'Anse Creuse) connected on a triple to left to plate Brynn Beyer. Samantha Scott (Romeo, Mich./Eisenhower) later brought Thomas home on a single through the left side to make it 3-0 Macomb in the fifth.

The Monarchs tacked on another run in the sixth when Thomas drove Danielle Erickson in on line drive single to left field.

Thomas went 2-for-4 with a triple and two RBIs, while Lerchenfeld went 1-for-2 with a double and a RBI.  Elizabeth Townsend continued her strong start to the 2023 season with a 2-for-3 effort in the nightcap.

UP NEXT
The Monarchs close out their spring trip with a pair of games at the Space Coast Complex Friday beginning at 2 p.m. opposite Culver-Stockton JV. A 4:30 p.m. contest against Bryant & Stratton-Wisconsin will wrap up the action in Florida.