PHOENIX, ARI. - It was a total team effort, but a pair of transfers stood out early, as the Madison College baseball team opened the 2017 season, and the annual Arizona spring trip, with an 8-4 victory over Paradise Valley Community College on Thursday. The win marks the first in a season-opening game since the WolfPack earned a 7-4 decision in the opener of a doubleheader against GateWay Community College in 2014.

The WolfPack bats got the season off on the right foot as sophomores Bryce Plate and Kian O'Brien reached safely with a walk and a single, respectively. Two batters later High Point University transfer Nick Blomgren stepped in the batters box and roped a double past the centerfielder that brought in both runners. After a groundout advanced Blomgren to third, last year's team leader in runs batted in, Chris Lund, drove in his first of the season with a single to right for a 3-0 lead.

Gifted the three run advantage early, freshman and Indiana University transfer Jack Eagan took advantage as he worked a scoreless first inning. The Wautoma, Wisconsin, native remained locked in an limited the Pumas (17-10) to just two runs - one of which was earned - on two hits in his 5 1/3 innings to record his first collegiate win. Eagan (1-0) also struck out six and walked three.

Meanwhile, the WolfPack offense continued to add runs to the scoreboard over the next few innings. Sophomore Ty Jandrowski singled in Plate in the second, and fellow second year Carson Carmody did the same of Cade Bunnell in the third for a 5-0 advantage.

After PVCC tallied its first run in the home half of the third, Madison College got it right back, and it was Blomgren again ripping a double - this time to right field - the brought O'Brien in from second base to return the lead to five runs.

It remained 6-1 until the sixth when Eagan exited the game with a runner on third and one out for Garrett McGraw. The freshman from Lodi, Wisconsin, retired the first batter he faced, but gave up a run scored double to left that just escaped the top of Bryce Plate glove near the warning track.

As seemed to be the trend, the Madison College bats went right back to work in the seventh. Bunnell lead off with a double and Chris Lund's single put runners at the corners for freshman Caleb Hurt. The Eau Claire native took advantage of hs first career collegiate at bat, producing a run on a hard ground ball to the left side. Then Sage Bruhl, a transfer from Stetson University, singled to right to bring home a run for an 8-2 cushion. 

Paradise Valley cut it to a four-run deficit with two more runs in the seventh off McGraw, but righthander Connor Fedders slammed the door shut. The former Union Grove HS athlete tossed 2 1/3 innings of one-hit, shutout baseball after missing all of last season due to an arm injury.

The WolfPack collected 13 hits on the day, led by Chris Lund's 3-for-5 outing with a run scored and driven in. Former high school rivals Kian O'Brien (Madison La Follette) and Nick Blomgren (Janesville Craig) each had two hits, with Blomgren driving in a team-best three runs and scoring another.

"This was an very good win today," said head coach Mike Davenport after his team evened the all-time series with PVCC at three games a piece. "We were focused and ready to play from the opening pitch. I thought out two-out and two-strike approaches at the plate were tremendous, and that's something we've always prided ourselves on in this program. Plus, we got an outstanding game from Jack Eagan."

Madison College returns to the diamond for a doubleheader at Chandler-Gilbert Community College (14-10) on Friday. The first of two seven-inning games will start at 4:00 p.m. CT/3:00 p.m. MT, a move back an hour from the previously scheduled times.





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