Trips to the South in late May are quickly becoming an annual tradition for the Madison College softball team, who is set to make its third straight appearance at the NJCAA Division II Softball Championships today in Oxford, Alabama. At the same time, the WolfPack are hoping to change another growing tradition of leaving the tournament early. That process begins for 11th-seeded Madison College (39-7) with an opening round game against sixth-seeded Kirkwood Community College (52-10). 

The WolfPack have come an extremely long way, both in terms of a program and what they've overcome over the past 14 months. When head coach and Madison College Athletics Hall of Famer Leo Kalinowski took over the program in 2011, they finished the season winless in 33 games. A year later they had 14 wins, and continued to improve their win total for each of the next six years until they finished 52-10 in 2018, winning their first Region 4 total and making the school's first appearance at the national tournament. The historic 2018 season, which still boasts the most wins in a season in school history, saw the 'Pack finish sixth in the country with a 3-2 record during their trip to Clinton, Mississippi. The 2019 version followed with back-to-back Region 4 crowns and another trip to Mississippi, which last just three games with a win and two losses. 

There was tremendous optimism heading into the 2020 season, and it opened with eight straight wins at the N4C Dome Jamboree, including a 5-4 victory over six-time defending NJCAA Division III National Champion Rock Valley College as part of consecutive wins over highly ranked teams. Unfortunately, that would be it for the season, with the Covid-19 Pandemic bringing the sports world to a halt. It also left teams like the WolfPack trying to figure out how to keep the momentum going without truly knowing what players were leaving, coming back, or joining the team.

Kudos the Kalinowski and his staff, as Madison College picked up in 2021 right where they left off and posted an impressive 36-7 regular season record that included four wins in eight games against teams also playing in national tournaments and a second place finish in the North Central Community College Conference.

This year's team has featured a very balanced offense, with seven players owning a .400 batting average or better with at least 65 at-bats. Freshman Maddie Kvatek (Stevens Point, WI/Stevens Point Area) is tops at .548 and ranks tenth in the nation. The Stevens Point, Wisconsin, native produced team-best numbers of 63 hits - 24 of which went for extra base hits - 51 runs scored, and 49 runs batted in. Katie Joten, a first year infielder from Little Chute, Wisconsin, sits in the top three of every category, while also boasting a team-high eight home runs. In the circle, freshman arm Casey Fountain has been as good as anyone in the nation, ranking fifth in earned run average at 1.56 over nearly 100 innings of work. A former Poynette HS athlete, Fountain racked up 100 strikeouts opposite 26 walks and finished 13-2 with a save.

Another tradition taking hold in late May in the South is a matchup between Madison College and Kirkwood Community College (IA). The Region 4 and Region 11 champs will have met in all three of the WolfPack's trips to the national tournament. In 2018, the 'Pack won an 5-4 tussle in an elimination game, however, the Eagles got revenge in 2019, eliminating Madison College with a 12-9 decision despite six runs in the first inning by the WolfPack. Kirkwood Community College owns a 9-1 advantage in the all-time series, with the 2021 meeting being the rubbermatch of their postseason gatherings. The winner of Tuesday's 4:00 p.m. game will play Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. against the winner of #3 Louisburg and #14 Oakland. The losers of those two games will play an elimination game at noon on Wednesday.

For more information on the tournament, including live streaming options, click here.

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