ADISON, WISC. - Dominant pitching performances, including a school record effort by sophomore Sam Lund, carried the day as the Madison College baseball team swept past Carl Sandburg College to win a Region IV Division II Sectional Best-of-Three series Saturday at Robin Roberts Field. Lund struck out 18 batters in the 5-1 series clincher to match a program best total after Jack Eagan set down a dozen batters via strikeout in the 4-1 opening victory. The wins advance the fourth-seeded 'Pack into the double-elimination Region IV Division II Tournament at Kankakee Community College in Kankakee, Illinois, starting Friday, May 19.

Game #1: #4 Madison College 4, #5 Carl Sandburg College 1 (9 innings)

After starter Jack Eagan opened the day's action by striking out two of the first four batters he faced, Cade Bunnell quickly set the tone the series. The Kansas State University transfer crushed the first pitch he saw over the fence in right-center for a 1-0 Madison College lead in the first. The long ball gave Bunnell five home runs on the year, and four in consecutive at bats against NJCAA pitching.

Bunnell, a native of Stoughton, Wisconsin, stayed hot in the third, missing another home run by a matter of feet with a double off the left field wall to lead off the inning. Logan Michaels followed a bunt single and Chris Lund loaded the bases on a hit by pitch. A wild pitch during the ensuing at bat brought Bunnell in the score.

The Chargers tallied their lone run in the fifth when a walk and a single put runners at the corners before Eagan uncorked a wild pitch of his own, then failed to locate a toss from the catcher, Michaels, to allow the run to score.

Looking to gain a little separation, Madison College made CSC pay for a leadoff walk in the sixth. Sophomore Ty Jandrowski earned the free pass, and four batters later, scored from second on Sage Bruhl's line drive single to center. They made it 4-1 in similar fashion in the seventh. Bunnell opened the frame with a hit by pitch and scored for the third time four batters later when Kian O'Brien's bloop single over the shortstop drove him in.

Bolstered by a three-run edge, Eagan went to work in the eighth, but was removed with runners at first and second and two outs on the board. First year righthander Jon-Anthony Caban entered and struck out his only batter faced on a dropped third strike to end the threat. Sophomore Riley Pawelski, a transfer from Illinois State University, worked himself out of a jam in the ninth to earn his first save of the season. Eagan (7-1) finished with a career-high 12 strikeouts over 7 2/3 innings and allowed one earned run on two hits and six walks. The Wautoma, Wisconsin, native and Indiana University transfer has recorded double-digit K's in three straight starts and has dropped his ERA to 1.29, which ranks second in the country.

Bunnell finished 2-for-3 with three runs and a RBI, while Michaels also added two hits to the WolfPack's eight-hit total.

Game #2: #4 Madison College 5, #5 Carl Sandburg College 1 (9 innings)

In game two, Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, native Sam Lund attacked the Carl Sandburg (27-24) batters and the Madison College record books. The righthander struck out the side in three innings, while also putting together streaks of five and seven consecutive strike outs, en route to tying a program record with 18 total punch outs (Joel Effertz reached 18 to defeat Kankakee Community College in the 2011 NJCAA Region IV Division II Tournament Championship).

The game remained scoreless through three innings before Madison College posted a three-spot in the fourth. Playing as the visiting team, the WolfPack drew walks to the first two batters in the top half of the inning. After a Logan Michaels sacrifice bunt, right fielder Chris Lund singled to right to score Sage Bruhl from third. Cade Bunnell tried to score from second, but was called out after appearing to slide under the tag. Later in the inning, catcher Nick Blomgren came up with two runners in scoring position and two outs, and hit a ground ball to the shortstop. The throw was wild and went out of play, allowing Lund and Ty Jandrowski to both cross home.

The WolfPack added two insurance runs in the ninth. A Michaels single to right field was misplayed, bringing Tanner Umentum and Kian O'Brien in to score.

Bolstered by the 5-0 score, coach Mike Davenport turned to Branden Frank to close out the series clinching win, which he did despite allowing a run to score on a wild pitch after a single and double opened the inning. Lund (8-1), meanwhile, finished with no runs given up on three hits and a walk. He has earned the win eight of his last night starts, with the lone non-decision coming in a one-inning, three-strikeout start against the University of Wisconsin Club Team on Tuesday. Minus his season-debut against Scottsdale on March 11, Lund has an ERA of 0.73, allowing four earned runs over 49 innings with 69 strikeouts. 

Chris Lund paced the offensive attack with a 2-for-3 game. The former Stoughton High School athlete was the only player to score a run and drive one in.

Up next:

Madison College (34-16) will open the Region IV Division II Tournament against top-seeded Kankakee Community College (45-9-1). The Cavaliers swept #8 Highland Community College 11-1 and 18-6 to reach the group of four, and also took a pair of games from the WolfPack by scores of 8-0 and 3-1 in Madison on April 22. KCC, which is ranked #8 in the latest NJCAA Division II Poll, has taken four of the last five meetings between the two and own a 15-13 lead all-time; however, the 'Pack beat Kankakee 6-2 in last year's Region IV Tournament. First pitch is set for 12:00 p.m.

The other quarterfinal matchup is between #2 McHenry County College (41-10-1) and #3 Black Hawk College (36-8). The Scots are ranked 13th nationally and are the defending Region IV champions, while the Braves currently sit 15th in the country. Madison College split a May 4 twin bill at home against MCC to snap a five-game losing skid in the head-to-head series that has the WolfPack owning a 19-10-1 record. An April 30 doubleheader at Black Hawk College was cancelled due to rain, leaving the all-time series at 14-11 in favor of Madison College.

For more information on the Region IV Division II Tournament, visit Tournament Central at Region4Sports.com.


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