Chalk up yet another program first for the 2018 Madison College softball team as freshman pitcher Alli Walker has been named the North Central Community College Conference's Most Valuable Player and finished as the top vote-getter in all of NJCAA Region IV Division II District B. The WolfPack, who finished tied atop the conference standings with champion Rock Valley College and won its first-ever region title to qualify for next week's NJCAA Division II National Championships, placed a total of five players on the two lists. Walker and freshman infielder Hannah Grahl were each named first team all-conference and all-region. Sophomore outfielder Sam Schloegl earned first team all-region and second team all-conference, while fellow second year outfielder Claire Brzenk was a second team honoree by both. Freshman infielder Dany Gumz made first team all-region. The five postseason selections is also another team record.

Walker, a native of Portage, Wisconsin, set a new program record for strikeouts with 138 and posted a 1.25 ERA, which currently sits as seventh best in the nation. The 6'0" righthander went 14-3 with one save and tossed 112.1 innings. Opposing batters registered a .203 average against Walker, who was tagged for 85 hits, 20 earned runs, and 37 walks. Her collegiate career began with an impressive showing against four-time defending NJCAA Division III National Champion Rock Valley College, throwing seven innings of one-run ball and striking out 11 batters to snap the Golden Eagles 24 game conference win streak. Walker would win her first four starts, a streak that she topped with eight consecutive victories from April 17 to May 5. She collected a dozen complete games and four games with double-digit K's, highlighted by a 12-strikeout effort on April 30 at Harper College. Walker's distinction as the leading vote-getter in Region IV brings with it the region's top nomination for All-America honors.

"It is very deserving that Alli Walker was named the N4C MVP since she was very dominant in her performances, not only in league play, but non-conference games, as well," boasts head coach Leo Kalinowski.

Grahl, a Rosendale, Wisconsin, native, hit .390 and drove in a team-high 43 runs batted in. The 5'3" shortstop finished second on the team with 53 hits, including a team-best 15 doubles and six triples, and two home runs. Grahl scored 37 runs and stole ten bases. In the field, she committed 16 errors and registered an .872 fielding percentage. The former three-time WIAA State Champion at Laconia HS played in 48 games and registered three three-hit games, two contests with four RBI, and one game with three runs scored. 

Schloegl, a native of Wilmot, Wisconsin, and a transfer from NCAA Division III Aurora University, spent most of the season hitting atop the WolfPack lineup and registered a team-best 54 hits and 46 runs. The 5'2" slap hitter played in 47 games, hit .388 with eight extra base hits, and drove in 17 runs. Schloegl used her speed to steal 29 bases, finishing second on the team in that category without once being thrown out. During the year, she tallied four three-hit games and scored a career-best four runs on March 10 against Anderson University (IN) JV. In the field, she finished with two errors and an .889 fielding percentage. 

Brzenk, a Pewaukee, Wisconsin, native, was also near the top of the lineup throughout the spring, and hit .368 on 42 hits from the left side of the plate. She posted 32 runs scored and 25 driven in, with eight extra base hits and was 20 for 20 in stolen bases. Her top performances included three three-hit games and four games with three RBI. As an outfielder, Brzenk had three errors and a .923 fielding percentage.

Gumz, a native of Marshall, Wisconsin, finished second on the team with a .467 average, but was atop the team list with a .771 slugging percentage. Her 49 hits were third most, while she was second in doubles with 14 and third in home runs with four as part of 21 total extra base hits. The 5'7" third baseman and designated player was third with 37 RBI and scored 25 runs, At the N4C Dome Jamboree against Milwaukee Area Technical College, Gumz went a perfect 4 for 4 with three extra base hits including a home run, three runs batted in, three runs scored, and struck out four batters as she pitched two scoreless innings in relief. She also drove in four runs and score two more on a 3 for 3 day against Waubonsee Community College on April 20. Her only other pitching appearances netted a win against the Stormers on April 24 as she struck out seven batters in a two-hit shutout over five innings.

In addition to these postseason awards, sophomores Katelin Gilbertson, Ashley Kniesel, and Emily Wiederholt, along with Grahl, were all named to the 2018 NJCAA Region IV Division II District B All-Tournament Team. And for winning the program's first Region IV title, head coach Leo Kalinowski was named Coach of the Year for the first time in his softball career. Kalinowski won numerous national and regional coach of the year accolades during his hall of fame tenure with Madison College baseball from 1992 through 2003, during which he won three straight national titles.

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