MARYSVILLE, Mich. – One win away! Macomb Softball jumped on top early and never looked back in an 8-0 win over Hocking College on Friday (May 10) in Marysville. The win lifted the Monarchs into the Great Lakes District A Championship on Saturday at 10 a.m. As the lone undefeated team in the bracket, the Monarchs need one more win to secure the program's seventh NJCAA Division II World Series berth of all time and the first since 2015.
 
Saturday's championship opponent will be Hocking after the Hawks emerged from the loser's bracket Friday evening. A Monarchs win in the 10 a.m. game clinches the Great Lakes District A Championship while a Hawks win would force the 'if necessary' game at 12 p.m.
 
As for Friday's winner's bracket final against the Hawks, the Monarchs led 6-0 after three innings and tacked on two more in the later frames to win by the 8-0 tally. While the Monarchs supplied plenty of early run support, Allison Vogt (Chesterfield, Mich./Anchor Bay) did her part to keep the Hawks grounded as the sophomore struck out seven in a complete game, shutout performance. The shutout was Vogt's third of the season as the crafty right-handed pitcher improved to 14-5 to maintain her red-hot pace down the stretch.
 
Carleigh Bilpo (Sterling Heights, Mich./Henry Ford II) got the Monarchs started offensively with a RBI single in the first, while Katelyn Thomas (Macomb, Mich./Dakota) drove in two with a third inning double to make it 3-0. Brynn Beyer (Chesterfield, Mich./L'Anse Creuse North) would hit a sac fly later in the third to extend the lead to 4-0 before back-to-back RBI doubles by Zoe Hunt (Warren, Mich./Regina) and Savanna Clark (St. Clair, Mich./St. Clair) made it 6-0 Macomb after three innings of play.
 
Ally Prasnjak (St. Clair Shores, Mich./Lakeview) drove home Clark with an RBI single through the left side of the infield in the sixth before Clark brought Haley Mitchell (Memphis, Mich./Memphis) in to score an inning later for the 8-0 final.
 
Clark, Hunt, Mitchell and Thomas all hit a double while Clark swiped a pair of bags to lift her season total to 35 stolen bases. Clark led the Monarchs in hits with three and was followed by Chloe Cantin (Macomb, Mich./Eisenhower), Bilpo and Thomas with two each.