WARREN, Mich. – For the first time since 1995, Macomb Baseball has won a MCCAA Conference Championship! With two wins on Saturday (May 4) over St. Clair County Community College, the Monarchs improved to 20-5 in league play to earn a share of the MCCAA Eastern Conference Championship for the first time in nearly 30 years.
 
The program's last championship (1995) was also shared. The last outright conference title for Macomb Baseball was won in 1987.
 
The 2024 conference title comes in only the second season with head coach Taylor Grzelakowski and staff at the helm. The 2024 season marked Grzelakowski's first full recruiting class after he was hired late in the 2023 recruiting cycle.
 
Next week's trip to the Region XII Tournament marks the program's first time qualifying for the postseason since 2018. The Monarchs, likely the sixth seed in the eight-team region tournament, will travel to the No. 3 seed next Thursday to begin a best 2-out-of-3, 9-inning game series. The winner of the series will move on to Jackson College, the final site for the region tournament, May 16-18 in a four-team double-elimination bracket.
 
As the (likely) six seed, the Monarchs will most likely head to Jackson College next week for the best 2-out-of-3 series. More information and finalized seeding will be forthcoming Sunday afternoon.
 
As for Saturday's twin bill, the Monarchs took game one in five innings by a 16-1 final tally. Brady Krzciok (Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston/Madonna) highlighted the opener with his 12^th home run of the year, tying the single season program record that was set by Anthony Hines in 2006. Krzciok, who ends the regular season as the NJCAA Division II leader in batting average (.509) and on-base percentage (.629), and is second nationally in slugging percentage (.935), went 2-for-3 in the opener with his historic blast.
 
Ty Stepek (Commerce Twp., Mich./Walled Lake Northern/GVSU) drove in a game-high four runs as part of a 2-for-3 game with a triple, while Vincent Cowdrey (White Lake, Mich./Orchard Lake St. Mary's) also tripled to go 1-for-2 at the plate with three RBIs. Ryan McKay (Macomb, Mich./Chippewa Valley) rounded out the game one offensive leaders with a 2-for-4 effort that included a pair of RBIs and runs scored.
 
Brandon Rice (Macomb, Mich./Eisenhower/Madonna) got the start and the win after holding the Skippers to two hits and no earned runs through four innings of work.
 
Game two saw the Monarchs close out the regular season in style with an 8-1 victory that secured the historic league title. The Monarchs jumped on top 5-0 after one inning of play and never looked back in the cruise control win as McKay led the offensive charge with a home run—his second of the season—and a triple. Sebastian Jaimes (Trenton, Mich./Western International) drove in a team-best two runs on a 1-for-1 day that featured a double and a sacrifice fly, while Krzciok, Stepek and Alex Mendes (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier) all joined McKay with two hits each.
 
Both of Stepek's game two hits were doubles.
 
The Monarchs turned to Johnny Wholestaff on the mound and were led by Dominic Miller (Macomb, Mich./Dakota) who got the ball to start game two and went three scoreless with four strikeouts. Cooper Batzold (Troy, Mich./Troy Athens) was one of four relievers to work an inning and earned the win. Jack Demetral (Macomb, Mich./Dakota) pitched the final three outs and struck out the last batter to bring on the championship celebration.