MADISON, WISC. - The second no-hitter of the season for Madison College softball kick started a resounding sweep of Carl Sandburg College at Robert D. Goodman Softball Field on Friday. Hannah Wienen locked down the Chargers bats in a 14-1 win in five innings, which was followed by a 9-4 decision in the finale for the WolfPack, who are receiving votes in the latest NJCAA Division II Poll.

Game #1: (RV) Madison College 14, Carl Sandburg College 1 (5 innings)

It's rare when an offensive explosion can overshadow a no-hitter, but game one of the twin bill proved to be one of those moment. Starter Hannah Wienen marched through the first three batters in the top of the first, giving way to a Madison College lineup that refused to quit in the home half. Singles by three of the first four batters yielded the games first two runs as Brooke Heck drove in Breanna Bollig and Ashley Burg. After Ashley Kniesel flew out for the second out of the inning, the WolfPack hit parade took shape. Bailey Kratt, Ali Braddock, Emme Hilbert, Claire Brzenk, and Breanna Bollig all tallied a base hit as the 'Pack batted around. Braddock, Hilbert, and Bollig each were credited with a RBI in the six-run outburst.

A pair of Chargers errors in the second fueled two more runs, the second of which scored on another Hilbert single to right. Madison College put the game out of reach in the third with yet another six-run inning. Bollig and Burg opened with singles ahead of sophomore Hannah Jensen ripping a triple to righ-center that pushed the lead to 10-0. After Jensen scored on an error, Kniesel singled home Heck to make a 12-0 tally. Braddock then drove in Kniesel via an opposite field single, and Hilbert's career-best third hit allowed Kortni Grenawalt to cross home for a 14-0 lead.

With the game in hand, the focus turned pitcher Hannah Wienen, who saw the minimum nine batters through the first three innings. In the fourth, Wienen issued a walk to the lead off batter, and after another walk and a wild pitch, the Chargers had runners in scoring position with no out. The freshman from Scales Mound, Illinois, struck out two of the next three hitters, with the middle hitter being retired via a sacrifice fly to center that produced the lone CSC run. 

In the top of the fifth, Wienen made quick work of the six, seven, and eight hitters in the Chargers lineup to complete the no-hitter, doing do with a pop out to Braddock at second base. Wienen struck out nine and had two walks over her five innings of hitless softball. She joins Riley Landenberger and Emily Wiederholt in the no-hitter category this season, as the two freshman combined on a five-inning no-no that also produced a 13-run win over Milwaukee Area Technical College on March 5 at the N4C Dome Jamboree. (For reaction from Wienen, click on the video in the featured picture above.)

Offensively, Breanna Bollig and Emme Hilbert tied for team-high honors with three hits a piece. Hilbert, a product of Bay Port High School, drove in a career-high four runs, one better than Brooke Heck, who racked up a team-leading three runs scored.

Game #2: (RV) Madison College 9, Carl Sandburg College 4

Game two featured a similar start for Madison College, scoring three runs to grab the upper hand after the first inning. Sophomore Brenna Seeber ignited the fast start, drawing a lead off walk and then stealing second and third. Ashley Burg followed with a single to the left side the scored Seeber. Three batters later, with one on and two out, freshman Bre Feiler smacked the first-pitch she saw deep over the right field wall to make it 3-0.

An error in the second by Carl Sandburg (5-23) allowed a fourth run to score before both teams added a run in the third. The WolfPack tally came when Katelin Gilbertson, back in the lineup after leaving the game in the top half after taking a foul ball off the shoulder, drove a single to up the middle to score Riley Landenberger.

Still up 5-1 in the fourth, Hannah Jensen led off with a double and scored on a Landenberger sacrifice. Kortni Grenawalt got in the mix with a pinch hit RBI single to center that allowed Feiler to score.

In the fifth starter Emily Wiederholt ran into trouble when two singles and a walk loaded the bases. Jensen entered in relief and limited the damage to a pair of runs despite giving up three hits. But the WolfPack got both runs right back in their half. With runners at second and third, Landenberger came through with a hard ground ball single to center that scored two for a 9-3 lead.

Jensen would allow one more run in the seventh, but closed out the WolfPack's fifth win in eight all-time meetings with the Chargers to earn her first save of the season. The three-inning save featured six hits, one earned run, no walks, and one strikeout. Meanwhile, freshman Emily Wiederholt snapped a two-game losing skid and improved to 6-3 despite allowing three runs on five hits and two walks. The Cuba City, Wisconsin, native struck out seven opposing hitters, one shy of her career high.

Freshman Claire Brzenk was one of four hitters with a multi-hit effort, leading the way with a 3-for-4 day. Riley Landenberger drove in a team-best there runs. Bre Feiler, courtesy of her second home run of the season, had two RBI and two runs scored, matching Jensen for the team lead in the latter.

Up next:

Madison College (24-15) travels to Highland Community College (12-7) for a pair of games within Region IV. The programs have only played three times prior, with the WolfPack winning two of them. First pitch in Freeport, Illinois, is at 12:00 p.m. and game two is expected to start around 2:00 p.m.

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