MADISON, WISC. - A pair of pitching gems proved vital over the weekend when the Madison College baseball team defeated Highland Community College two-games-to-one in the NJCAA Region IV Division II Best-of-Three Sectional Series at Robin Roberts Field. The third-seeded WolfPack won Saturday's series opener 9-2 behind Jack Eagan's 13 strikeouts, but dropped Game 2 to the sixth-seeded Cougars by a 7-5 count. Forced into a winner-take-all Game 3 on Sunday, Matt Hamilton held HCC scoreless through seven-plus innings in a 9-0 victory. The 'Pack has advanced through the sectional in nine consecutive seasons. 

Game #1: (3) Madison College 9, (6) Highland Community College 2 (9 innings)

Sophomore Jack Eagan was flat out dominant in the series opener, striking out eight of the first 12 batters he faced en route to matching a career-best 13 K's in the run-away win. Eagan also benefited from some early run support when the WolfPack bats put up three runs in each of the first two innings. A two-out rally in the first inning started with a Nick Gile single, which was followed by back-to-back run-scoring doubles by Nathan Aide and Jerry LaSaint. Madison College loaded the bases in the second with one out, and made it 4-0 on a wild pitch before a double to right field by Gile drove in Cam Cratic and Logan Michaels. Up 6-1 in the sixth, Gile struck again with a run-scoring double. The 'Pack continued to add a run in each of the seventh and eighth innings.

Eagan (4-1), a native of Wautoma, Wisconsin, picked up his second consecutive win with seven strong innings. He allowed two runs on eight hits and a walk. Fellow sophomore Jake Kopp finished out the win with two innings of scoreless, hit-less baseball. The West Bend, Wisconsin, native struck out five of the seven batters he faced and walked one.

Gile, a former Menomonee Falls HS athlete, ended with a 3 for 5 effort that produced three runs batted in and another scored, tops in the team in hits and RBI. Michaels and Jerry LaSaint both went 2 for 4, with Michaels scoring a team-leading three runs and LaSaint posting a two runs and one RBI.

Game #1: (6) Highland Community College 7, (3) Madison College 5 (9 innings)

The Cougars were able to strike first in the second game to take a 2-0 lead after runs in the second and fourth innings. Madison College answered in the home half of the fourth with four runs to take the lead. The first year trio of Adam LaRock, Lucas Trebian, and Cam Cratic each registered a RBI single in the frame. The lead, however, was short-lived as Highland plated a pair of fifth inning runs to immediately tie the score at 4-4. Two more runs in the fifth put HCC ahead 6-4 and spelled the end of the day for starter Nate Brown. Nick Gile's productive series continued with a run-scoring double to left in the sixth to pull the 'Pack within 6-5. Unfortunately, the Cougars added an insurance run in the eighth and Madison College was never able to threaten with a late rally.

Brown, a transfer from the University of Florida, fell to 3-5 on the year after surrendering six runs on seven hits and three free passes to first. The Hartland, Wisconsin, native did strike out seven batters over his five-plus innings. Sophomore Tyler Strzelczyk took the hill for 2 2/3 innings and amassed one earned run, three hits, three walks, three K's, two hit batters, and two wild pitches before freshman Jonathan Dominguez finished out the game.

Offensively, Gile and Jerry LaSaint led the team with two hits each, while Gile, LaRock, and Trebian each posted a run scored and one batted in.

Game #3: (3) Madison College 9, (6) Highland Community College 0 (9 innings)

Sunday's series finale started much the same way as game one, with the home-standing WolfPack racing out to a 4-0 and then watching their pitcher handle the rest en route to clinching a spot in next weekend's NJCAA Region IV Divison II Tournament. A single, an error, and a Logan Michaels sacrifice fly handed Madison College a 1-0 lead in the first inning, but with just one out on the board, there was still more work to be done. Nick Gile singled in Walker Jenkins and Jerry LaSaint added two more with a two-RBI double that plated Gile and Nathan Aide for a four-run edge.

Righthanded sophomore Matt Hamilton then took care of the rest, scattering six hits in 7 2/3 innings for a clutch effort on the hill. The Oak Creek, Wisconsin, native struck out four and walked one to improve to 6-1 with his first win since May 22. Jon-Anthony Caban and Jonathan Dominguez worked the final inning-and-a-third and combined for one hit and four K's, the last of which came in the only batter Dominguez faced to end the game.

Gile posted another 2 for 4 game with two runs scored and one batted in. For the series, the freshman infielder batted .538 with seven hits, including three doubles, five runs driven in, and four more scored. Jenkins, a freshman from Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, also went 2 for 4 with two runs and a RBI. Cam Cratic was the third player to cross home twice, while LaSaint, a native of Frisco, Texas, added his name ot the two RBI club.

Up Next:

Third-seeded Madison College (31-20) will open the double-elimination 2018 NJCAA Region IV Division II Baseball Tournament against the defending NJCAA Division II National Champions, Kankakee Community College (). The second-seeded Cavaliers defeated Madison College 9-3 in the Region IV title game last season after the WolfPack forced a winner-take-all Game Two with a 20-5 win, and the two programs split a doubleheader in Illinois earlier this year with the 'Pack taking the opener 4-2 and then falling 8-1. Through 33 all-time meetings, Madison College owns a 17-16 edge over Kankakee, and is 9-2 in postseason meetings after seeing an eight-game postseason win streak snapped in last year's tournament opening loss by 9-1 margin. Madison College has not won the Region IV Tournament in three years. First pitch is at 3:00 p.m. in Crystal Lake, Illinois. The other game pits top-seeded and host McHenry County College against fourth-seeded Black Hawk College.



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