TAYLOR, Mich. – Macomb Softball made its long-awaited return to game action Monday (April 3) when they visited Taylor's Heritage Park for a road doubleheader against the Henry Ford College Hawks. The doubleheader wasn't completed due to inclement weather, but the Monarchs were able to earn a 7-2 victory in the opener behind a five-run seventh inning.

The game one win lifts the Monarchs record to 7-8 overall and 1-2 in the MCCAA Eastern Conference. Game two was suspended in the middle of the second inning with the Monarchs leading the Hawks, 4-2. The game will be completed later this season and will pick up at the point of suspension.

In Monday's opener, the Monarchs picked up their fifth consecutive victory over the Hawks and improved the series record to 27-12 over the past 10 years. Carleigh Bilpo (Sterling Heights, Mich./Henry Ford II) got the scoring started in a big way with a two-run home run in the top of the fourth. Bilpo's big fly—her first home run at the collegiate level—cleared the wall in straightaway center field to give the Monarchs a 2-0 lead.

The Hawks would hit two home runs of their own, both solo shots, one coming in the bottom of the fifth and the other in the home half of the sixth to tie the game at 2-2 entering the seventh and final inning.

The Monarchs erupted for a five-run seventh inning as Danielle Erickson (Sterling Heights, Mich./Sterling Heights) hit a two-RBI single to right that scored Katelyn Thomas (Macomb, Mich./Dakota) and Savanna Clark (St. Clair, Mich./St. Clair) to get the scoring started. Erickson's two-RBI single gave the Monarchs a 4-2 lead and would later go down as the game-winning hit in the opener. Thomas reached base with a one-out double to center field and Clark recorded an infield single one batter later to set the table for Erickson.

Brynn Beyer (Macomb, Mich./L'Anse Creuse North) brought Erickson home one batter later with a towering home run over the wall in left center. Beyer's home run—the second of her career—extended the Monarchs' lead to 6-2. Later in the inning, Bilpo recorded her third hit of the game with an RBI single that brought a pinch-running Emma Lautenbach (Warren, Mich./Center Line) in to score to top off the five-run seventh.

In the circle, Katelynn Fraser (Macomb, Mich./Eisenhower) got the start and struck out four Hawks while only allowing the two solo home runs over 5.1 innings pitched. Fraser gave way to Allison Vogt (Chesterfield, Mich./Anchor Bay) who entered in the bottom of the sixth with one out and the game tied, 2-2. Vogt would go on to earn the win after a lights out performance as the right-handed pitcher retired all five batters she faced, four via strikeout, to lift her season punch out tally to a team-best 35 through 35.1 innings pitched. The win was Vogt's fourth of the season.

Offensively, Beyer and Bilpo provided the pop with a two-run home run each. Bilpo and Elizabeth Townsend (New Baltimore, Mich./Anchor Bay) led the team with three hits each.

With game two suspended until a later date, the Monarchs now turn their attention to Tuesday's (April 4) conference doubleheader at Flint's Kearlsey Park against Mott Community College. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. with live stream coverage via Mott available on Mott's YouTube Channel.