MADISON, WISC. - The season's first home games came with the season's toughest test as when Madison College softball welcome six-time defending NJCAA Division III national champion Rock Valley College to Robert D. Goodman Softball Field. The WolfPack, ranked #14 in the NJCAA Division II Poll, took the opener by a 5-1 final, however, the Golden Eagles, ranked #1 in the NJCAA DIII Poll, won the nightcap by an 11-0 tally. The split puts the all-time series at 37-18 in favor of RVC, with the 'Pack claiming two of the last three. The two rivals are scheduled to meet again in Madison on Tuesday, April 20 for a North Central Community College Conference doubleheader, and again in Rockford, Illinois, for a pair of games on Sunday, May 9.

Game #1: #14 Madison College 5, #1 Rock Valley College 1 (7 innings)

Scoreless through the game's first two-and-a-half innings, Madison College was able to jump out ot a 1-0 advantage in the bottom of the third. With pinch runner Taylor VonBehren aboard at second base and with two out, freshman Katie Joten laced a double to left to make it 1-0. Rock Valley evened the score in the fifth on a solo home run off starter Casey Foutain, but it was the only run the first-year arm would surrender.

The WolfPack responded in the home half with a four-run inning that busted the game open. With the bases loaded and one out, freshman outfielder Brianna Brandner crushed a triple to deep left that drove in Maddie Kvatek, Abbie Cavadini, and Joten. Sophomore Katherine Brandl followed with a run-scoring single to right, scoring Brandner and giving the WolfPack a 5-1 lead.

Fountain (2-0) finished it off from there as she finished the game with nine strikeouts to match a career-best effort from her debut against Bay College on March 16. The former Poynette HS athlete surrendered nine hits and three walks to the Golden Eagles, but limited the damage to a single earned run.

Brandner's three RBI on a 1 for 3 effort at the plate paced the offense. The Portage, Wisconsin, native also scored a run. Brandl, a product of Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, was 2 for 3 at the plate with a run driven in as she accounted to a third of the team's hits.

Game #2: #1 Rock Valley College 11, #14 Madison College 0 (7 innings)

The day's finale was much closer than the final score would indicate. Neither team dented the scoreboard in the first two innings, and Rock Valley College took a 1-0 lead in the third on a Madison College error. It remained 1-0 until hte sixth when the Golden Eagles began to break away with four runs, followed by five more in the seventh. The first surge took advantage of five hits and an error, while the second surge also resulted from five hits as RVC racked up 14 base knocks in the contest. 

Rock Valley College (8-4) used three pitchers to hold the WolfPack to just two hits, both coming off the bat of Mia Noelker. The freshman from Overland Park, Kansas, doubled her hit total from her previous four games played.

Madison College starter Lauren Steien (1-1) took her first loss of the season after giving up four earned run on nine hits and a walk. She departed after 5 2/3 innings to make way for relief appearnces from Cathryn Hiller and Abbie Cavadini. Hiller's two-thirds-innings accounted for five earned runs, three hits, and two walks, while Cavadini's stint featured an earned run on two hits and a walk. The West Salem, Wisconsin, native did register the lone strikeout of the game for WolfPack pitching. 

Up Next:

Madison College (5-1) is back on the road for two more doubleheaders this week, starting with a twin bill at Heartland Community College (10-4) on Tuesday, March 30. The two programs have only played once before, a 9-3 Hawks win in Clermont, Florida in 2017. First pitch is at 2:15 p.m. and 4:15 p.m. in Normal, Illinois. The games can be watched live at the following links: Game 1 | Game 2

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