MADISON, WISC. - The Madison College baseball team claimed the 2021 North Central Community College Conference with a pair of wins over Joliet Junior College on Saturday at Robin Roberts Field. The WolfPack earned victories of 4-1 and 5-3 to defend their 2019 title and pick up their seventh N4C championship since joining the league in 2010. 

Game #1: #17 Madison College 4, Joliet Junior College 1 (7 innings)

In need of just one win to be crowned league champs, the WolfPack found themselves in an early hole after the visiting Wolves took advantage of two early errors by Madison College to score a run in the first inning. It remained a 1-0 deficit until the 'Pack evened the score in the third. Taiten Manriquez led off with a walk, advanced to second on a Brady Jurgella sacrifice, stole third base, and scored on a wild pitch. They took the lead for good in the fourth when Gunnar Doyle opened with a single, stole second, reached third on an error, and scored on a sac fly by Logan Mantz. Later in the frame, Manriquez doubled home two more runs to make it 4-1. 



After the first inning run, freshman Reagen Klawiter settled in and scattered three hits over seven innings to improve to 4-1. The Verona, Wisconsin, native, struck out five and walked none in the winning effort. 

Madison College only generated five hits, with Manriquez leading the way. The former Waunakee HS athlete drove in a team-best two runs and scored another with his one hit and one walk. 

Game #2: #17 Madison College 5, Joliet Junior College 3 (7 innings)

The WolfPack once again had an answer for a first inning Joliet Junior College (18-29, 4-4) run, putting up two runs in each of the first two innings. Jake Fulton's two-out single to right was the lone hit in the first inning, but it came with two runners on after back-to-back singles started the frame and was enough to score Brady Jurgella and Kameron Laskowski. The one-run lead jumped to 4-1 in the second when Jurgella's two-run single again followed two free passes to first to start the inning. Another Madison College error in the fourth trimmed the lead ot 4-2, however, a Wolves miscue in the sixth handed the run right back to the home team.

The lead came into jeopardy in the top of the seventh when JJC put runners at second and third with no outs against starter Luke Hansel, who on the first pitch to the third batter of the inning, snagged a line drive and threw to third to complete a double play. A triple to the next batter scored a run, but instead of the tying run being at third, it was now the plate and grounded out to Taiten Manriquez at short.



Hansel (6-1) earned his fourth straight win in as many starts by allowing three runs, two of which were earned, on eight hits and a walk. The former Union Grove HS athlete struck out two batters.

The WolfPack was outhit at the plate by an 8-6 tally. Doyle, a native of Oak Creek, Wisconsin, was the only player with more than one hit as he went 2 for 4. Jurgella and Fulton tied for team-high honors with two runs batted in.

Madison College boasts a 38-19 lead in the all-time series.

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