WARREN, Mich. – Macomb Baseball ended Saturday (April 11) in a tie atop the MCCAA Eastern Conference after splitting at home with Henry Ford. The Monarchs walked off game one for a 6-5 win before dropping the series finale by a 4-3 margin in extra innings. Despite the game two loss, the Monarchs secured the series victory, winning three-out-of-five games against the Hawks this season.
With the split, the Monarchs moved to 19-14 overall and 9-4 in the MCCAA East.
GAME ONE: Macomb 6, Henry Ford 5
In what was the start of a back-and-forth day, the Hawks plated the game's first two runs before the Monarchs roared back to take a 5-2 lead through six, capped off by an Aidan Miller solo blast over the wall in left center.
Miller's fifth home run of the season gave the Monarchs a needed insurance run as the Hawks rallied to post three runs in the top of the seventh to tie the contest, 5-5.
In the bottom of the seventh, Marwynn Matthews Jr connected on a leadoff single to center before advancing all the way to third base via a wild pitch. Buster Debol would provide the theatrics shortly thereafter with a walk-off single to left field that plated Matthews and lifted the Monarchs to a 6-5 victory.
Miller went 2-for-3 as part of an opener with a home run and two runs scored. Noberick Garcia was 2-for-2 with a pair of RBI singles and a stolen base, while Peyton Rich went 1-for-2 with an RBi and a run scored.
Greg Burns got the nod and struck out eight in four innings before giving way to the bullpen. Connor O'Neil came on to settle things down in the seventh and went on to earn his first collegiate win.
GAME TWO: Henry Ford 4, Macomb 3 (8 inn.)
The Hawks struck first again, taking a 2-0 lead in the second that was aided by a two-out walk. The Monarchs battled back to tie it in the third before the teams traded runs in the fourth to even the game at 3-3.
The Monarchs had several opportunities late as part of an 11-hit game, but the Hawks would emerge with a 4-3 win in the eighth inning.
Zackary Grinde led the Monarchs with a 3-for-4 day, while
Vito Zito tied the game in the fourth with a massive opposite field shot. The home run was Zito's fourth of the season and helped the freshman De La Salle product finish 2-for-3 on the afternoon.
Miller remained hot at the plate with a 2-for-4 nightcap, while Garcia walked twice and went 1-for-2 at the dish.
Grinde, Miller, Rich and
Lochlan Stoudt all doubled in game two for the Monarchs.
Evan Robinson made his sophomore debut and fanned three in the first as the 'opener',
Nick Riebschleger struck out four in three innings and
Drew Dutkiewicz added three punch outs as the Monarchs' pitchers amassed 12 strikeouts in the 4-3 setback.
UP NEXT: Non-Conference Doubleheader in Grand Rapids
The Monarchs will take on the Cornerstone University JV team in a non-conference twin bill on Tuesday (April 14) with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. at DeWitt Field in Grand Rapids.
