SOUTH HOLLAND, ILL. - After a tough pair of losses the week prior, the Madison College softball team rebounded with a clean sweep of a road doubleheader at South Suburban College, winning by scores of 7-3 and 4-0 on Tuesday. The WolfPack, who split two games with the Bulldogs earlier in the month in Florida, picked up a two-hit shutout in the nightcap behind outstanding pitching from sophomore Mackenzie Terrill and freshman Alli Walker. The wins snap a two-game skid, part of a 2-4 stretch over the last six games that dropped the 'Pack into the ranks of teams receiving votes in the NJCAA Division III Poll.

Game #1: Madison College (RV) 7, South Suburban College 3 (7 innings)

Five runs in the third inning aided Madison College to a four-run win in the opener of the twin bill. The WolfPack took a 1-0 lead in the first when freshman Hannah Grahl followed up sophomore Sam Schloegl's single with a double to right the allowed Schloegl to race around and score. The Aurora University transfer ignited the big inning as well, leading off with a single to left. Three batters later, Schloegl scored from third on a ground out to the right side. Ashley Kniesel ripped a single to left to drive in Grahl, followed by a two-RBI triple to left from Bre Feiler and a run-scoring single by Paige Cornelissen to make it a 6-0 advantage.

South Suburban trimmed the differential to four after scoring a pair of runs against pitcher Emily Wiederholt in the fourth, and made it a 6-3 contest with another run in the fifth against Riley Landenberger. The WolfPack, however, answered with one additional insurance run in the sixth. Knielse, a second year infielder from Waterloo, Wisconsin, opened the sixth with a home run to centerfield for her first of the season and fourth of her career.

Schloegl, Grahl, Kniesel, and Feiler all finished with two hits, while Kniesel also tied for the team-lead with two runs scored and two batted in. Schloegl also crossed home twice, and Feiler drove in a pair of runs.

Wiederholt (3-2) picked up the win, snapping a two-game skid. The Cuba City, Wisconsin, product allowed two earned runs on just three hits and a walk, while also striking out three batters in three-plus innings. Landenberger was credited with one earned run, three hits, two walks and a K in her three innings in the circle. The second year righthander ran into trouble in the seventh by issuing bases on balls to two for the first three hitters, prompting coach Leo Kalinowski to turn to his bullpen and bring freshman Alli Walker in to close out the win.

Game #2: Madison College (RV) 4, South Suburban College 0 (6 innings)

Game two proved to be a bit more competitive, with Madison College pitching helping provide the differential. Righthander Mackenzie Terrill surrendered a leadoff single to open the game, which nearly turned into a run until the WolfPack defense ended the bottom of the first with an out between home and third after thwarting a steal attempt at the plate. The only other hit was a leadoff double in the fifth that did not score after Terrill was replaced by freshman Alli Walker during the inning. Terrill (4-0) finished with 4 1/3 innings of scoreless softball, striking out four batters and walking three to keep her perfect record in tact. Walker worked the final 1 2/3 innings with no hits, no runs, no walks, and one strikeout.

Offensively, freshman Brittany Bredemann's second inning double allowed fellow first year Nicole Ferch to score, giving the WolfPack a 1-0 lead. It grew to 2-0 in the fourth when Kylie Endres sent a 3-1 offering beyond the centerfield wall for her third home run of the season. She joins Katelin Gilbertson and Dany Gumz atop the home run list for the 'Pack. Looking for a little more separation from South Suburban College (12-9), Madison College made it 4-0 in the sixth with a two-run double off the bat of first year infielder Allison Tomlinson that plated Ashley Kniesel and Maddie Krafcheck.

Kniesel again paced the offense with a pair of hits and a run scored, while five others registered a base knock. Tomlinson led the RBI count with two to help the WolfPack improve to 3-1 against the Bulldogs in 2018, and 7-5 in the all-time series.

Up Next:

Madison College (18-5) will bump its home opener against in-state foe Bryant & Stratton College (1-9-1) ahead one day to Wednesday, March 28. The WolfPack went 12-6 at Robert D. Goodman Softball Field last spring, it's first season playing at the new facility. The doubleheader will mark the first games ever played between the two programs, as the Bobcats are in their first year of competition. First pitch is at 3:00 p.m., with game two to follow at approximately 5:00 p.m.

The game will also be available via live video stream at MadisonCollege.TV.

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