GALESBURG, ILL. - A split of a twin bill at Carl Sandburg College on Sunday gave the Madison College baseball team a 6-2 record after a grueling four-day stretch of doubleheaders. The WolfPack fell short in trying to rally from down six in a 10-9 loss to begin the day, but rebounded to defeat the Chargers 8-2 in a game that included the season's first grand slam.

Game #1: Carl Sandburg College 10, Madison College 9

Trailing 2-0 early, Madison College battled back to assume their first lead of the day over the next couple of innings. In the second, Bryce Plate grounded out to short, but drove in Ty Jandrowski in the process to pull within one. Then in the third, Chris Lund followed a Logan Michaels double with a two-run homer to left field. The Stoughton, Wisconsin, native's first home run of the season, and fourth of his career, put the WolfPack ahead 3-2. It became a two-run lead in the fourth when Plate led off the inning with a single, then advanced three bases on two wild pitches to score.

The lead would not hold, however, as Carl Sandburg hammered out an eight-run bottom half to assume a 10-4 advantage. The offensive onslaught featured four extra base hits, including three home runs, the first two of which came back-to-back off starter Garrett McGraw. The third homer was against righthanded reliever Riley Pawelski.

A rally to try and pull even began in the sixth as Sage Bruhl brought in Zach Bailey with sacrifice fly. Down to their final at-bats in the seventh, the 'Pack loaded the bases on two hit by pitches sandwiched around a double by Cade Bunnell. Carson Carmody became the third hit batter in a four at-bat stretch to force in a run and make it a 10-6 differential. Two batters later, and with two outs, Plate smacked an opposite field triple down the line in left to clear the bases and make it a one-run game. With the tying run just 90 feet away, Chase Scharnek was brought in to pinch hit for Sage Bruhl and grounded out back to the pitcher to end the game.

Logan Michaels went 3-for-4 with a run scored, while Cade Bunnell and Bryce Plate each tallied a pair of hits. Plate, a sophomore from Kaukauna, Wisconsin, drove in a season-high four runs. Chris Lund and Ty Jandrowski tied for the team lead in runs scored with two a piece.

Freshman Garrett McGraw (1-1) took the loss, his first of the year after making his second start. The native of Lodi, Wisconsin, allowed nine earned runs on nine hits with one walk and four strikeouts. Riley Pawelski came in to throw 2 2/3 innings, giving up one run and recording four K's.

Game #2: Madison College 8, Carl Sandburg College 2

Game two started off much the same as the opener, with Carl Sandburg (16-10) plating two runs on a home run to center against starter Tanner Umentum. The freshman settled in after that and, with help from reliever Brandon Frank for the final two innings, limited the Chargers to just three more hits the rest of the game.

Madison College pulled even in the third inning. After loading the bases on two singles and a hit by pitch, Chris Lund grounded into a double play that scored a run, and Cade Bunnell singled through the left side to plate another.

Still tied at two in the fifth, the WolfPack took the lead for good when Lund's sacrifice fly allowed Sage Bruhl to tag up and score from third. The 'Pack again faced a bases loaded situation in the sixth inning as they began to separate themselves. With two outs and three runners on, Zack Bailey drew a walk to force in a run. Then freshman Logan Michaels hit the season's first grand slam, crushing a 1-1 offering clear over the centerfield wall for an 8-2 lead. The bomb is the team-leading third of the season for the freshman DH from DeForest, Wisconsin.

Michaels set a career-high with four RBI as part of a 2-for-3 game with a run scored. Zach Bailey and Chris Lund each had two hits and a run batted in, with Bailey also scoring twice. Sage Bruhl was tops in runs scored with three after going 1-for-3 at the plate.

Tanner Umentum (1-2) earned his first career win after going five innings and giving up just two runs on five hits. The first-year righty set down a career-high nine batters via strikeout. Branden Frank allowed just one walk and struck out four in his two innings of relief duty to give the WolfPack its ninth win in ten all-time meetings with the Chargers.

Up next:

Madison College (18-10) was scheduled to play at NJCAA Division I Oakton Community College for a doubleheader on Tuesday, however, wet field conditions in Des Plaines, Illinois, forced a cancellation of the games. They will not be made up, though it did provide the WolfPack a bit of a reprieve following a busy weekend. They will return to the diamond on Thursday when Kishwaukee College (4-19) comes to Robin Roberts Field. Madison College swept the Kougars with a pair of wins south of the Illinois-Wisconsin border on March 23. Through 51 all-time meetings, the WolfPack own a 29-21-1 advantage, and have held the upper hand in six of the last nine games. First pitch is slated for 2:30 p.m., with the finale to start at approximately 5:30 p.m.

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