MADISON, WISC. - The Madison College baseball team showed why they are the top-seed of the NJCAA Region 4 Division II Baseball Tournament with a sweep of #3-seeded Highland Community College in the Best-of-Three Sectional Series at Robin Roberts Field on Friday. The WolfPack, ranked #14 in the NJCAA Division II Poll, won the series opener 7-3, and finished off the series win with a 9-1 run-ruled victory to become the only team in the tournament to sweep their sectional series. The wins give the 'Pack a 4-0 record against the Cougars this spring, while boosting their all-time series lead to 40-6 and their record in postseason meetings to 7-2.

Game #1: #1 Madison College 7, #8 Highland Community College 3 (9 innings)

Madison College was unable to find the run-producing hits in the first two innings, leaving the bases loaded in the first and runners at the corners in the second, but Gunnar Doyle's single after Kameron Laskowski's lead-off single put the WolfPack ahead 1-0. Logan Mantz followed with a single to short, and the Cougar's second error of the inning allowed Doyle to score from second.

After Highland CC trimmed the margin to 2-1 in the top of the seventh, the 'Pack answered with five runs on six hits and an error. Back-to-back singles to start the inning set the stage for a Laskowski sacrifice, and two more runs came across when Doyle roped a double to left. The final two runs were produced by designated hitter Eduardo Saucedo as he pounded a single up the middle.

Despite two more runs coming in during the Cougars half of the eighth inning, the Madison College pitchers were dominant. Starter Jacob Wilde (6-1) went 6.2 innings and struck out 11 opposing batters for his second double-digit strike out performance of the season. The freshman from Waukesha, Wisconsin, allowed just one earned run on six hits. Carson Fluno, a former Sun Prairie HS athlete, earned his third save of the season by working the final 2.1 innings. Fluno surrendered two earned runs, three hits, and two walks, while striking out four.

Doyle went 2 for 4 with a team-leading three runs batted in and two runs scored for the Oak Creek, Wisconsin, product. Laskowski, a native of Sussex, Wisconsin, had a team-high three hits, which yielded a run and a run batted in. Mantz and Taiten Manriquez both posted two-hit efforts, while Saucedo joined Doyle with multiple RBI.

Game #2: #1 Madison College 9, #8 Highland Community College 1 (7 innings)

Game two also featured a slow start, with Highland Community College (24-21-2) scoring the game's first run in the third inning against starter Reagan Klawiter. The three hits that generated the one run were half of what the lefthander from Verona, Wisconsin. allowed over seven innings. The transfer from Illinois State University fanned ten batters for the second consecutive outing. Klawiter has racked up double-digit K's in three of his last four appearances.

The Madison College bats came to life in the fourth with four runs on three hits and two walks.  Gunnar Doyle led off with a double, and scored two batters later on Eduardo Saucedo's two-bagger to tie the score. A wild pitch with the bases loaded plated Saucedo. Eli Kramer and Nathan Ebersole eventually scored when Brady Jurgella's hard grounder got through the right side. Three hits and two errors led to two more runs in the fifth. Saucedo drove in one with another grounder to right, and an error on the play created a second run. The final run of the inning was the result of a well-executed steal of home by Saucedo while Eli Kramer was caught in a run-down stealing second, and both were safe.

The game, and series, ended in the seventh when Jurgella lined a single to right, bringing in Jake Nelson and Kramer for a run-ruled eight-run victory in the seventh. 

Jurgella, a native of Menasha, Wisconsin, finished with a career-high four runs batted in on two hits. Saucedo a former Oregon HS athlete, used his two hits to drive in two runs and score two more. Doyle also had two hits and scored two runs, giving him four hits, four runs scored, and three RBI in the series. Kramer also scored two runs in the game.

Up Next:

Madison College (40-12) advances to and will host the 2021 Region 4 Division II Baseball Tournament at Robin Roberts Field from May 20-22. The WolfPack will open play at 9:00 a.m. against #4 seed College of Lake County (36-17). The WolfPack earned narrow victories in a 3-2 and 7-5 doubleheader sweep on May 8, and are 29-5 in the all-time series, including an 7-1 mark in postseason meetings.

A limited amount of spectators are allowed (Fan Policy (PDF)), and the games can be seen live via MadisonCollege.tv.

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