WARREN, Mich. – Macomb Softball picked up a key game two win after dropping Friday's (March 29) opener to split the day with Mott Community College and remain tied with the Bears atop the MCCAA Eastern Conference at 5-1 in league play. With the split, the Monarchs shift their record to 9-7 overall. The Bears ended the day at 13-7 overall.
The Monarchs head to Marysville City Park tomorrow (March 30) for a doubleheader with the Skippers of St. Clair County Community College at 1 p.m. The Skippers enter the weekend as the most improved team in the conference from last season and currently own a 4-2 record in league play.
Down 5-0 in Friday's opener, the Monarchs battled back and had the game-tying run on base or at the plate on several occasions but couldn't dig out of the early hole in a 6-3 setback.
Brynn Beyer (Chesterfield, Mich./L'Anse Creuse North) and
Haley Mitchell (Memphis, Mich./Memphis) led the Monarchs with two hits each in game one while
Ally Prasnjak (St. Clair Shores, Mich./Lakeview) had the lone extra-base hit with a double as part of a 1-for-3 effort.
In game two, Prasnjak got the scoring started with a first inning solo home run and later homered in the fourth inning to ignite the Monarch bats in the nightcap. While Prasnjak's first big fly jump-started the offense, a
Savanna Clark (St. Clair, Mich./St. Clair) two-RBI single up the middle and a Beyer RBI single highlighted a four-run second inning to put the Monarchs in front, 5-0.
After the Bears plated four in the top of the third,
Sydney Urban (Warren, Mich./Regina) would answer with a solo home run in the home half of the frame to give the Monarchs a 6-4 advantage. Prasnjak's fourth inning home run was next and extended the Monarchs lead to 7-4 and a
Carleigh Bilpo (Sterling Heights, Mich./Henry Ford II) RBI double made it 8-4 Macomb two batters later.
The Bears scored four unanswered in the fifth inning to deadlock the nightcap at 8-8 before Urban emptied the bases with a sixth inning grand slam to give the Monarchs a 12-8 lead and the win for the split.
Katelynn Fraser (Washington Twp., Mich./Eisenhower) came on work the final 2 1/3 innings and earned the win after holding the high octane Bears offense to one hit.
