MADISON, WISC. - With an opportunity to take a commanding lead in the race for their first ever North Central Community College Conference championship, the Madison College softball team suffered a pair of losses to four-time defending league champ Rock Valley College at Robert D. Goodman Softball Field on Tuesday. The matchup of nationally ranked teams saw the NJCAA DIII #1 Golden Eagles grab early leads and pull away late in taking wins of 6-0 and 5-3 over the NJCAA DII #13 WolfPack, and in the process, leapfrogging them in the N4C standings by one half-game. The losses also snapped the 'Pack's six-game win streak.

Game #1: #1 Rock Valley College 6, #13 Madison College 0 (7 innings)

Neither team was able to dent the scoreboard in the first two innings, although Madison College had two runners on and only one out in the second thanks to a pair of Golden Eagles errors, but was unable to capitalize. Rock Valley College took a 2-0 lead in the third, courtesy of a pair of WolfPack miscues in the field. Three singles in the home half of the fifth loaded the bases with two outs for Madison College, yet once again the home team was unable to get a timely hit as freshman Brittany Bredemann went down swinging to end the frame. In the seventh, RVC tallied four runs on a leadoff walk and four singles to put the game out of reach.

Madison College tallied six hits against Golden Eagles pitching, with sophomore Sam Schloegl and freshman Paige Cornelissen each collecting two base knocks. WolfPack hitters struck out seven times and stranded nine runners in the game.

Freshman Alli Walker (6-2), whose first career victory came in a 4-1 defeat of Rock Valley at the N4C Dome Jamboree, fought hard to keep her team in the game. The Portage, Wisconsin, native allowed four earned runs on seven hits and three walks over six-plus innings. Walker struck out six batters, giving her a team-best 69 K's on the year. Sophomore Emily Wiederholt entered in the seventh to face two batters and striking out the second to end the inning.

Game #2: #1 Rock Valley College 5, #13 Madison College 3 (7 innings)

Game two followed a very similar storyline as Rock Valley College (26-5, 8-1) broke a scoreless game with two runs in the third inning by taking advantage of a double, a triple, and a single in successive two-out at-bats against starter Hannah Wienen. Madison College appeared prime to get some runs on the board in their half of the third with the bases loaded after three singles, but sophomore Ashley Kniesel's hard-hit line drive was snared out of mid-air by the shortstop for the third out. The WolfPack's answer eventually came with their first run of the day in the fourth inning. With two outs, freshman Paige Cornelissen tripled on a line drive down the left field line, and then scored on a dropped pop fly off Sam Schloegl's bat.

The Golden Eagles extended their lead in the sixth with two more runs to make it 4-1, and again, the 'Pack looked ready to answer in a big way. Two singles and a walk filled the bases with just one out in the bottom of the inning, however, a fielder's choice ground ball from Katelin Gilbertson allowed the lead runner to be cut down at home and freshman Hannah Grahl popped out to right. The score became 5-1 with a solo home run off the scoreboard in center by RVC in the top of the seventh. Down to their final outs, Madison College worked a pair of free passes to first and sophomore first baseman Bre Feiler ripped a triple down the right field line to drive in pinch runner Allison Tomlinson and Kniesel. The game ended one batter later with a Cornelissen pop out.



The two rivals each tallied nine hits, however, the WolfPack left a dozen runners on base compared to five for the Golden Eagles. Cornelissen, a native of Wrightstown, Wisconsin, went 2 for 4 with a run scored as the only Madison College player with multiple hits. Seven others all registered a hit, with former Monona Grove HS athlete Bre Feiler leading in the RBI category with two.

Wienen, a sophomore from Scales Mound, Illinois, struck out six batters and did not walk any. She was credited for five earned runs on nine hits in her 6 2/3 innings. Fellow second year Mackenzie Terrill worked the final batter of the seventh inning.

Four-time defending national champion Rock Valley College now owns a 30-7 lead in the all-time series. The two teams will play again on April 27 in Rockford, Illinois, in a non-league doubleheader.

Up Next:

Madison College (22-7, 8-2) has a short turnaround as will make a third attempt at playing a doubleheader at the College of DuPage (10-12, 4-6) in N4C action. Originally scheduled for April 3, the twin bill was moved to April 9 and was postponed a second time. The WolfPack have won eight of the last ten meetings with the Chaparrals, including an 8-2 decision at the N4C Dome Jamboree in early March. DuPage leads the all-time series by a 24-12 count. First pitch in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, is at 3:00 p.m., with game two set for a 5:00 p.m. start.

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