PHOENIX, ARIZ. - A rough first inning put the Madison College baseball team in a deep hole they could not climb out of Wednesday, resulting in a 14-5 loss at GateWay Community College. After trailing by five in the first inning, the WolfPack narrowed the gap to just two in the fourth inning before the Geckos scored seven unanswered runs to finish off the game. The 'Pack now trail by an 11-3 margin in the all-time series, including nine straight losses.

Madison College started the game on the right foot, scoring a run in the top of the first. Carl Valk led off the game with a single, stole second base, and scored on an error committed on a ground ball hit by fellow sophomore Jarrett Scheelk. Unfortunately, the home half of the inning proved to be a struggle for the WolfPack to end. After the first two batters struck out against sophomore starter Troy Hickey, the southpaw walked six consecutive batters to force in four runs and gave up a two-run single to make it 6-1. Both teams added a run in the second to make it 7-2, which it stayed until the fourth when Madison College narrowed the gap to 7-5. Walker Jenkins roped a triple to left and scored on Nick Gile's line drive single. Scheelk followed with an RBI single of his own to plate Gile, and Nathan Aide rounded out the frame with an opposite field double to bring Scheelk home. 

From that point on it was all Geckos, as the home team used a hit by pitch and two walks in the fourth to score two runs, and a two-run triple in the sixth to push the lead to 11-5. A three-run eighth put the differential at nine thanks to four hits and two free passes.

The two teams combined for 21 walks, 21 hits, 15 strikeouts, four errors, and two hit batters. Hickey (0-1) lasted one and two-thirds innings before taking his first loss in second appearance of the season. The former Wilmot Union High School athlete was tagged for seven earned runs on three hits and seven walks, while striking out three. Freshman Connor Jasurda entered to work just over three innings and gave up another four earned runs with two hits, four walks, one hit batter, and three K's on his statline. Jackson Brown and Trentin Uttech combined to pitch the final three innings. Brown scattered two hits and a walk to go along with a pair of strikeouts. Uttech tossed the eighth inning for three runs on four hits, a walk, and a K.

At the plate, the WolfPack racked up ten hits and eight walks, led by two hit games from Valk, Gile, Aide, and Carson Holin. Aide's two hits both went for extra bases, hitting a double and a triple. Gile and Scheelk were the only players to both score a run and bat one in.

Up Next:

Madison College (3-6) will play their final official games of the annual Arizona Spring Trip on Thursday when they play at Glendale Community College (10-20) for two contests. The two teams split a doubleheader last year and the Gauchos boast a 6-3 all-time record over the WolfPack. First pitch of the day's first game is at 2:00 p.m. CST/12:00 p.m. PST, followed by a 5:00 p.m. CST/3:00 p.m. PST start time for the nightcap. 

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