It's been slowly building over the course of eight years. What started with zero wins in 2011, eventually made its way to a program record 22 wins in 2014, and now in 2018, the Madison College softball team is playing at a national level. The WolfPack climbed out of the cellar to become the #9-ranked team in the nation, and today will open play at the NJCAA Division II Softball National Championships as the #11 seed.

One year ago, Madison College thought it was ready to take that leap. With a 4-0 win over Waubonsee Community College, the 'Pack forced a winner-take-all second game in the NJCAA Region IV Division II District B Championship, a point they had never reached before. Unfortunately, the Chiefs used a two-run first inning to beat Madison College and advance to the national tournament, while the WolfPack finished 37-19, runners-up in the region, and returned to the drawing board.

Coach Leo Kalinowski and his staff brought back a solid core of second year players in 2018, a talented and driven collection of arms and bats. They added a freshman group that was made up of skill, speed, and ability, but a group that also brought with it a winning mentality after many of its parts experienced success at the prep level. When all the pieces were put into place, Kalinowski and company knew they had a team that could put Madison College softball on the map.

That message was well received by many in the region with game one of the season, as the WolfPack upset four-time defending NJCAA Division III National Champion Rock Valley College by a 4-1 final at the N4C Dome Jamboree. Freshman Alli Walker showed her mettle with a masterful outing in her collegiate debut, a sign of bigger things to come. The 'Pack posted a 6-0 record outside of Chicago, and carried that momentum some 1,200 miles south for their annual Florida Spring Trip. They arrived in the Sunshine State as the #14 team in the polls, and proceeded to win the next six games by a margin of 58-16 to reach 12-0, a record for the best start in program history. Having jumped to #9 in the polls before leaving Florida, Madison College returned with a 16-3 overall record and ready to take on the rest of the region.

The softball gods kept the WolfPack in check with a pair of humbling doubleheaders. At perennial power Kirkwood Community College, the 'Pack lost 8-0 and 8-1 to an Eagles team that eventually qualified for this week's national championships and received the #5 seed. Three weeks later, the losses came in a crucial home series with Rock Valley College. The Golden Eagles left Madison with wins of 6-0 and 5-3, which would ultimately hand them a fifth consecutive North Central Community College Conference title despite the teams finished even at 16-2 in league play.

From that moment on, everything clicked for the WolfPack, who rattled off a school-record 22-game win streak. Madison College found a groove that saw them earn 14 run-rule victories, post nine shutouts, reach double-digit runs 14 times, and outscore the opposition by a total of 208-60, a difference of 6.7 runs a game. The impressive streak allowed the 'Pack to shatter the program record for wins for the fifth year in a row, earn it's best finish ever in the N4C with a tied for first, and earn earn the program's first #1 seed for the Region IV Division II District B Tournament.

After dispatching Kishwaukee College in a two-game sweep of their quarterfinal best-of-three series, Madison College opened the Region IV Tourney with wins of 7-2 and 9-1 over Carl Sandburg College and Sauk Valley Community College to reach the championship. The Skyhawks would return from the loser's bracket and hand the WolfPack a 4-2 setback in game one of the championship, snapping the team's win streak at 26 and forcing a winner-take-all game two. Trailing 1-0 in the fourth, sophomores Katelin Gilbertson and Ashley Kniesel powered back-to-back home runs to grab a 3-1 lead, which they held on to for the program's first ever region championship. [See video of Gilbertson and Kniesel in the main story image above.]

Throughout the year, numerous players came through with clutch moments (see sophomore Ali Braddock twice driving in the game-winning run in one week) and impressive stretches of play (see Emily Wiederholt holding opposing team's scoreless for 28 consecutive innings). But freshman pitcher Alli Walker's steady performance all season stood head-and-shoulders above the crowd. The Portage, Wisconsin, native broke the school record for strikeouts in a season and went 14-3 with a 1.25 ERA en route to being named the N4C Most Valuable Player. She becomes the first player in program history to receive the honor, as well as top vote-getter for the All-Region IV team.



Madison College reached 49-8 in their run-up to the national tournament and will make their first appearance at the national tournament on Wednesday, May 16 at 3:30 p.m. The 11th-seeded WolfPack will open against sixth-seeded Cowley College (KS), winners of the NJCAA Region VI District E Tournament. The Tigers are 39-14 and making their eighth appearance, but their first trip to Mississippi since 2013 when they finished third overall. The winner advances to play the winner of third-seeded LSU-Eunice and 14th-seeded Mercer County Community College (NJ) on Thursday at 3:30 p.m., while the losers meet at 1:30 p.m.

For more information on the tournament, including live streaming options, click here.

For more information on the other 15 qualifiers, including the Cowley College Tigers, click here.

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