Katherine Brandl
Jim Garvey
0
Madison College MADS 39-8-0, 0 N4C
5
Winner Kirkwood Community College KRWD 0, 0 N4C
Madison College MADS
39-8-0, 0 N4C
0
Final
5
Kirkwood Community College KRWD
0, 0 N4C
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Madison College MADS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 3
Kirkwood Community College KRWD 1 1 1 0 1 1 X 5 9 1

W: Kori Wedeking (1-0) L: Sterling, Mallory (8-2)

Game Recap: Softball |

Kirkwood shuts down WolfPack in national tournament opener

Madison College seeks to avoid elimination today at noon against Oakland CC Raiders

OXFORD, ALA. - In the third meeting in as many national tournaments between Madison College and Kirkwood Community College (IA), the sixth-seeded Eagles got the better of the #11-seed WolfPack on Tuesday with a 5-0 decision in the first round of the 2021 NJCAA Division II Softball Championships at Choccolocco Park. The 'Pack were held scoreless for just the third time this season, and drop into the losers bracket to play an elimination game Wednesday. 

Kirkwood Community College (53-10) took a 1-0 lead in the first with a run-scoring double, and added another run in the second. In between, second baseman Katherine Brandl registered the WolfPack's first hit with a single to left, however, the Eagles struck out the side to leave Brandl stranded. Catcher Abbie Cavadini opened the third with a single and advanced to second on a sacrifice, but was unable to move any farther. KCC, meanwhile, continued to add a single run at a time, pushing another across in the third to take a 3-0 advantage. Two of three WolfPack errors in the game came in the bottom of the fifth, with the first allowing the Eagles to tally their fourth run.

Madison College seemed primed for a rally in the sixth as freshmen Brianna Brandner and Maddie Kvatek produced back-to-back singles. The rally was shut down when Abby Luczak grounded out to the pitcher. Kirkwood Community College tacked on another insurance run in the sixth, and retired the WolfPack in order in the seventh.

Starter Mallory Sterling (8-2) worked all six innings and was tagged for four earned runs on nine hits and four walks. The sophomore from Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, finished with one strike out.

The WolfPack generated four hits, getting one each from Brandner, Kvatek, Brandl, and Cavadini.

The postseason rubber match win gives Kirkwood Community College a 2-1 lead over the 'Pack, who beat the Eagles at the 2018 national tournament and have now dropped consecutive meetings at the 2019 and 2021 editions. KCC leads the all-time series 10-1.

Up Next:

Madison College (39-8) drops into the loser's bracket and will play an elimination game Wednesday against 14th-seeded Oakland Community College (31-14). The Raiders lost 4-1 to third-seeded Louisburg in their tournament opener. Wednesday's meeting will mark the third all-time meeting between the two programs after a doubleheader split in Madison back in 1999. First pitch is at noon, with the winner to play again at 6:00 p.m. against the loser of #5 Highland Community College (KS) and #4 Des Moines Area Community College (IA).

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

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