WARREN, Mich. – The first conference series of 2026 goes in favor of the Monarchs! Macomb Baseball split Friday's (April 3) action in Warren against Mott Community College and secured a series victory over the Bears for the third time in as many seasons. The split and series win pushed the Monarchs to 17-12 overall and 7-2 in the MCCAA East.
GAME ONE: Macomb 1, Mott 7
The Monarchs dropped Friday's opener, 7-1, after only bringing one run across on eight hits while Mott played seven on five hits.
Buster Debol,
Marwynn Matthews Jr and
Vito Zito led the Monarchs offensively with two hits each.
GAME TWO: Macomb 16, Mott 9
After allowing seven runs on six walks in the opening frame, the Monarchs refused to quit and battled all the way back to post a 16-9 victory in the series finale.
Aidan Miller put the Monarchs on his back in game two as the sophomore third baseman drove in five runs as part of a 3-for-5 game with a double and his fourth home run of the campaign. Miller's home run, a three-run shot over the left field wall in the third, proved to the the game-winner as it put the Monarchs in front for good at 10-9. The home run was the start of nine unanswered runs for the Monarchs in the 16-9 triumph.
Prior to his go-ahead blast, Miller doubled in the first to bring in the Blue & White's first run of the game and recorded an RBI single in the second as part of a career game. Brett Leonard provided the pop in between Miller's double and single with a second-inning solo shot over the wall in left. The home run was Leonard's first at the collegiate level and marked the beginning of a 3-for-3 day for the freshman out of Sterling Heights Stevenson.
Debol carried over his strong play in the opener with a 2-for-3 series finale with four RBIs.
Zackary Grinde went 2-for-4 with a double, RBI and a walk, while Matthews Jr. recorded a 2-for-4 game with three runs scored, an RBI, stolen base and a walk.
Lochlan Stoudt was 1-for-3 with a double and a pair of runs scored to help lift the Monarchs to victory.
Nick Riebschleger came on to settle things down and tossed two-and-a-third innings of one-hit ball while striking out three to move to 2-0 on the season. Riebschleger was followed by
Aidan Manzella who fanned a pair and struck out two while not allowing a hit.
UP NEXT: Home against Glen Oaks on Tuesday
The Monarchs host Glen Oaks Community College in a single nine-inning, non-conference contest at 3 p.m. Tuesday (April 7) in Warren.
