GALESBURG, ILL. - It had been 377 days since the Madison College baseball team last played a game, and the WolfPack made their return count with a season-opening doubleheader sweep of Carl Sandburg College. Madison College, which is receiving votes in the NJCAA Division II Poll after sitting at #30 in the preseason poll, started the day with a 5-0 blanking of the Chargers, and closed out the twin bill with a 5-1 decision. The 'Pack snapped a three-game losing streak against CSC to improve their record in the all-time series to 14-4.

Game #1: Madison College 5, Carl Sandburg College 0 (7 innings)

Madison College opened the season with a bang, literally, as freshman Zach Storbakken hit a three-run homer in the top of the first inning. The infielder from Sussex, Wisconsin, sent a payoff pitch beyond the left field wall to drive in Kameron Laskowski and Eli Kramer. 

From there, the WolfPack arms handled the rest with first year arms Luke Hansel (1-0) and Jett Thielke combined on a five-hit shutout. Hansel, a righthander from Union Grove High School, worked six innings in his collegiate debut and scattered the five hits while also striking out four. Thielke tossed the final inning and registered two free passes and one strikeout.

The game's final two runs came in the fourth and seventh innings, respectively. Gabe O'Brien drove in Logan Mantz with a single through the right side. Storbakken struck again with another run batted in on a line drive up the middle to plate Maguire Fitzgerald.

Storbakken, whose home run marked the first of his career, finished the game 2 for 3 with four RBI, a run scored, and a walk. Kramer and O'Brien also had two hits.

Game #1: Madison College 5, Carl Sandburg College 0 (7 innings)

The long ball played an early role in the nightcap with the WolfPack knocking two solo shots out of the park in the first three innings. Spencer Bartel hammered the first one with a lead off homer on the first pitch of the second inning, and Brady Jurgella matched that feat with a blast to center to start the third. The home runs were the first for each at the collegiate level.

Madison College made it 3-0 in the third when Eli Kramer raced home on a dropped third strike to to Eduardo Saucedo. Two innings later, Saucedo, a native of Oregon, Wisconsin, roped a double to right field that allowed Zach Storbakken and Gunnar Doyle to touch home for a 5-1 advantage.

Sophomore Patrick Foldy got the start and worked three-and-a-third innings. The former Sussex Hamilton HS pitcher gave up one earned run, one hit, and three walks while setting down three via strikeout. Jacob Wilde (1-0), a freshman from Waukesha, Wisconsin, earned his first collegiate win in relief after tossing the final three-and-two-thirds innings and held the Chargers to one hit and one walk with four K's.

Up Next:

Madison College (2-0) travels to Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Monday, March 15 for an opportunity to play two games inside US Bank Stadium against Dakota County Technical College (2-7). The WolfPack is 2-1 all-time against the Blue Knights, a team they last played in Scottsdale, Arizona, in 2016. First pitch is set for noon, with game two to begin around 3:00 p.m.

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