GLEN ELLYN, ILL. - One day after battling to a pair of narrowly-decided games with top-ranked Rock Valley College, the Madison College softball team rebounded with a huge offensive day in taking two wins at 5th-ranked College of DuPage in a North Central Community College Conference doubleheader Tuesday. The WolfPack tallied 33 runs and 39 hits in earning wins of 14-4 and 19-12. With wins in nine of the last ten meetings, the 'Pack has narrowed the all-time series count to 25-18 in favor of the Chaparrals.

Game #1: Madison College 14, College of DuPage 4 (7 innings)

The WolfPack jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second inning of the opener when Katherine Brandl doubled and drove in Kylle Hraban and Megan Miklesh. The College of DuPage got on the board with a run in the third, however, the 'Pack came back with a run of their own in the top of the fourth as Abbie Cavadini singled in Miklesh. When COD tied the game in the bottom half, it felt like the game was headed for a dramatic conclusion, but after Katie Joten led off the fifth with a triple and scored on Maddie Kvatek's grounder through the right side, momentum had shifted completely to Madison College. Four batters later, Miklesh, a sophomore from Plover, Wisconsin, hammered a three-run homer to left to put the visitors up 7-3. They padded that lead with seven more runs in the seventh, taking advantage of six hits and two walks. Kvatek and Briel Burg each picked up a RBI in the frame, while Hraban and Cavadini each drove in two, with Hraban's coming in separate at bats.

Kvatek, who played with Miklesh at Stevens Point Area Senior High, enjoyed her second four-hit game of the season, and registered two runs scored and two batted in. Miklesh used her one hit and a walk to match season-best totals with three RBI and three runs scored. Cavadini also had three runs driven in and one scored on her two hits, while Hraban and Brandl both posted two hits, two RBI, and one run. 

The offensive outburst overshadowed the stellar outing from second year arm Mallory Sterling (6-0), who stayed perfect on the year with six strikeouts over seven innings. The Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, native surrendered four runs, two of which were earned, on four hits and four walks.

Game #2: Madison College 19, College of DuPage 12 (7 innings)

The nightcap witnessed Madison College rack up 24 hits, the most in a game since a 24-hit effort at Harper College on May 2, 2014. Freshmen Brianna Brandner and Mia Noelker each had four hits to lead a group of eight players with multiple hits. Brandner, a former Portage HS athlete, scored a team-high three times, while also driving in a pair of runs. Noelker had two RBI and two runs scored. Janesville, Wisconsin, native, Paige Peloquin drove in a career-best four runs and scored two more by going 3 for 4 at the plate. Katherine Brandl finished with three RBI, two runs, and two hits. 

Madison College sent 11 batters to the plate in the first half inning and generated their first of two seven-run innings with seven hits and a walk. Six of the hits came consecutively, capped by a two-run double by Peloquin. Seven more hits and runs in the third boosted the lead to 14-1. Three of those seven hits went for triples, including back-to-back three-baggers for Brandl and Brandner. A four-run fourth pushed the differential to 18-3 and featured another hit streak of six straight for the 'Pack. Despite a 19-5 edge entering the bottom of the fifth, Madison College struggled to finish the game and allowed seven runs on seven hits and three errors.

Starter Cathryn Hiller (4-1) pitched the first two-and-a-third innings and limited the College of DuPage (14-10, 5-3) to three runs, one of which was earned, on five hits and one walk. Lauren Steien tossed the final two-plus innings with five earned runs, nine hits, and a walk.

Up Next:

Madison College (30-5, 6-2) is back at it on Thursday, April 29, with a trip to Oglesby, Illinois, to face Illinois Valley Community College (8-11) in a Region 4 twin bill. The WolfPack own a six-game win streak and a 9-5 all-time record against the Eagles. First pitch is set for 3:00 p.m. for game one, and approximately 5:00 p.m. for game two. Fans are allowed to attend.

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