MADISON, WISC. - The Madison College softball team showed early Thursday why they are seeded at the top of the 2019 Region IV Division II Tournament. The #1-seeded WolfPack, who are ranked #8 in the NJCAA Division II Poll, swept their Region IV Division II Quarterfinal Best-of-Three Series with #8-seeded Bryant & Stratton College with wins of 8-0 and 14-3 at Robert D. Goodman Softball Field. The defending Region IV Division II District B champions have won ten straight games heading into this weekend's Region IV Tournament, where they will continue their pursuit of a second consecutive trip to the NJCAA Division II National Tournament when they play Triton College on Saturday in Freeport, Illinois. Thursday's games also marked Sophomore Day as the WolfPack recognized a nine-member second-year Class of 2019.

Game #1: (1) Madison College 8, (8) Bryant & Stratton College 0 (6 innings)

Neither team was able to score in the first inning of the day's opening game, and after the WolfPack pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the second, the home team jumped out to a 5-0 nothing advantage in the bottom half. The inning's first two batters failed to reach, but the 'Pack poured it on with a two-out rally that started with freshman Morgan Dercola's double to left, which was followed by a Bobcats error on a fly ball by Hannah Grahl that brought Dercola in to score. Paige Cornelissen then singled in Grahl for a 2-0 lead. Maegan Brookins followed with a single, setting the stage for sophomore first baseman Dany Gumz to smash the biggest hit of the day, a three-run home run to left to cap the big inning.



Dercola's productive game continued in the third with another double, this time a line drive to left field that drove in Montana Platts. In the fourth it was Platts on the business end with a single up the middle that was good enough to score Maegan Brookins for a seven-run differential. Despite missing on a chance to end the game early in the fifth, the run-rule came into effect in the sixth when Platts hit a sacrifice fly to center that was deep enough to score Irene Tomasovic from third. 

While the offense was piling up eight runs and eight hits, freshman righthander Maddie Fink worked six scoreless innings in the circle, holding Bryant & Stratton College to two hits and two walks. The Stevens Point, Wisconsin, native struck out three batters en route to earning her 11th straight win, pushing her season record to 13-2 to place her fourth in program history for a single season.

Gumz, a former Marshall High School athlete, drove in a team-high three runs and scored another with her seventh home run of the season and 12th of her career. Platts and Dercola, a pair of freshmen from Burlington, Wisconsin, and Sussex, Wisconsin, respectively, each went 2 for 3 with a run scored. Platts also drove in two runs, while Dercola posted one RBI as the duo combined for three of the team's five extra base hits. 

Game #2: (1) Madison College 14, (8) Bryant & Stratton College 3 (5 innings)

The WolfPack seized control of game two early with a pair of first inning runs. Dany Gumz drove in Maegan Brookins with a single, and then took advantage of a throwing error to touch home herself. Like the opener, the game broke open in the second as Madison College posted four runs on three hits, three walks, and an error by Bryant & Stratton College (13-32). The error allowed the inning's first run to score after two walks and a single by Paige Cornelissen loaded the bases. Freshman Irene Tomasovic punched a ground ball through the left side, bringing in Cornelissen and Brookins, and Paige Hintz's run-scoring double to left allowed Gumz to touch home for a 6-0 lead.



The Bobcats tallied their first run in the top of the third, but the 'Pack had an answer and added three more in the home half. Following an error that accounted for the first run, Gumz and Tomasovic registered back-to-back RBI doubles for a 9-1 edge. Another big inning transpired in the fourth as coach Leo Kalinowski turned to his bench. Cornelissen, Anna Manke, and Kaela Kraemer each posted a run batted in, with Kraemer netting two on a double to center that scored Brookins and Gumz to push the score to 14-1 before the game ended via run-rule in the fifth.

Tomasovic, a native of Kimberly, Wisconsin, was a perfect 3 for 3 with three runs driven in, while Gumz went 2 for 4 with three RBI and a career-best four runs scored. For the day, Gumz hit .500 (3-6) with six runs batted in and five runs scored. Cornelissen, a product of Wrightstown, Wisconsin, had two hits, drove in a run, and scored another, while Hannah Grahl scored two runs and Kraemer produced two RBI.

Freshmen Jordan Martin (14-2) earned her 14th win of the season to move into third on the program's single-season wins list, and did so by striking out five batters over five innings. The former Hortonville High School athlete gave up four hits and was on the hook for one earned run of the three runs allowed. She also walked one batter.

Madison College is now 8-1 in quarterfinal games since moving up a division in 2015. They are unbeaten in six all-time meetings with the Bobcats and have outscored their newest in-state foe by a margin of 67-12.

Up Next: 

Madison College (38-10) will continue postseason play with the double-elimination 2019 Region IV Division II District B Tournament this Saturday and Sunday in Freeport, Illinois. The WolfPack will take on #4-seeded Triton College (29-23) on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. The Trojans advanced with wins of 8-0 and 3-0 over #5-seed Moraine Valley Community College. The two North Central Community College Conference rivals met three times during the regular season, with the 'Pack sweeping a home doubleheader on April 16 and Triton College claiming an 11-3 win at the N4C Dome Jamboree in early March. The all-time series stands at 21-11 in favor of Madison College, with Saturday's meeting marking the first in postseason play. The winner will advance to the semifinals to play the winner of #2 Prairie State College and #3 Carl Sandburg College, while the losers will play an elimination game in the loser's bracket. To follow the tournament, visit Region IV's Tournament Central.



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