MADISON & SUN PRAIRIE, WISC. - An experienced Madison College baseball team showed plenty of resolve this weekend as it rallied from the loser's bracket, and then from a two-run deficit to win the
2022 Region 4 Division II (Midwest District) Tournament Championship with a 7-4 win over McHenry County College at
Robin Roberts Field, earning an automatic berth in the
2022 NJCAA Division II Baseball World Series in Enid, Oklahoma. The top-seeded WolfPack needed two wins over the third-seeded Scots on Saturday, and did just that with a 5-1 decision in the first championship game to force the winner-take-all "if necessary" game, where they earned a 7-4 come-from-behind victory and the program's ninth Region 4 title. Madison College had lost to McHenry County College in the tournament's first semifinal game on Friday by a 16-6 final, forcing the Pack into an elimination game that night against fourth-seeded Black Hawk College and they prevailed with a 9-1 win to reach the championship. Outfielder
Eli Kramer was named the Region 4 Tournament Most Valuable Player, and
Mike Davenport was awarded the Region 4 Coach of the Year.
Madison College now boasts 21 total region titles, including nine in Region 4 and 12 under Davenport's direction. This will mark the team's 11th all-time appearance at the Division II national tournament, and their tenth in the last 13 years. The WolfPack have earned 16 all-time national tournament appearances, including three straight Division III national championship from 1995 to 1997 and a NJCAA-record six consecutive trips to Oklahoma from 2010 to 2015.
Tournament Game #4: (3) McHenry County College 16, (1) Madison College 6 (8 innings)
Following a one-hour rain delay to start the game, the WolfPack were unable to find a rhythm and fell behind early. After allowing a run in the top of the first, starter
Jett Thielke surrendered five runs on five hits and a walk in the second. The biggest damage came on a two-out grand slam to make it 6-0 as the rain continued to fall. Madison College got on the board in the home half when
Gabe Roessler drew a four-pitch walk with the bases loaded to force in a run.
Jacob Arndt took over for Thielke, but also ran into trouble in the third and fourth innings. A walk and a hit batter each forced in runs in the third to make it 8-1.
Gabe O'Brien and
Eli Kramer each singled in a run, and
Eduardo Saucedo's walk brought home another as the Pack put a four-spot up in the third to close the gap to 8-5. However, the Scots plated four more in the fourth against Arndt, who was replaced by
Isaiah Cerfus.
Madison College scored its final run in the fourth on a wild pitch, and the Scots added another in the sixth and a three-run homer in the eighth to close out the upset win in run-rule fashion. The home loss was the first this season for the WolfPack, who were 23-0 at Robin Roberts Field and owned a 35-game home win streak going back to the 2021 season.
The game featured 22 combined runs on 26 hits, 16 walks, two hit batters, and nine errors. Kramer,
Brady Jurgella, and
Jake Nelson led the WolfPack with two hits each. Kramer drove in a run, while Jurgella and Nelson were two of six different players to score a run. O'Brien registered a hit, a team-high two runs batted in, and a run scored.
Thielke (8-2) suffered his second loss of the season, going just 2.2 innings and allowing eight runs on seven hits and two walks. He struck out two batters. Arndt was credited with one-third-innning of work and gave up four runs, two of which were earned, on a hit and three walks. Cerfus tossed five innings and was saddled with three earned runs, six hits, two walks, and a pair of K's.
Tournament Game #5: (1) Madison College 9, (4) Black Hawk College 1 (7 innings at Summit Credit Union Field)
Due to several factors, Friday's second semifinal and an elimination game with Black Hawk College (35-20) was moved to Sun Prairie HS in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. With the season on the line, and one day removed from a
3-0 win over the Braves, Madison College received a outstanding pitching effort from starter
Jacob Wilde (5-1). The left-hander from Waukesha, Wisconsin, struck out a season-high-tying nine batters, including all three in the seventh inning to finish out the win, and limited the Braves to a single run on five hits and one walk.
The offense came to life, as well, with timely hitting throughout. A two-out double by
Zach Storbakken drove in
Jake Nelson in the first inning, and the Sussex, Wisconisn, native came through with another run-scoring hit in the third after
Gunnar Doyle had doubled to left.
Brady Jurgella then lofted a fly ball to center and it just cleared the wall for a two-run blast to give the Pack a 4-0 lead. The advantage grew to five runs later in the inning with an RBI-single from
Eduardo Saucedo.
Madison College posted two runs each in the fourth and fifth innings, with Jurgella picking up two more runs batted in. The Menasha, Wisconsin, product racked up three hits and a four RBI in the same game for the first time his career. He also scored a run on his third home run of the season.
Nelson also posted three hits and two runs scored. Storbakken went 2 for 3 with two RBI and a two runs scored, while Doyle's two base knocks led to a pair of runs scored and one driven in. Saucedo was also part of the two-hit club with a run batted in to help the WolfPack reach the Region 4 championship for the 11th time in 13 years under Davenport.
Tournament Game #6: (1) Madison College 5, (3) McHenry County College 1
A three-run second inning set the tone for Championship Saturday with the WolfPack in need of two wins over McHenry County College. Playing as the visitor, Madison College got consecutive singles from
Carter Stebane and
Gabe O'Brien, setting up
Eduardo Saucedo for a sacrifice fly that put the Pack on the board first. After a Scots error,
Eli Kramer and
Jake Nelson both hit two-out ground ball singles to drive in a run and make it 3-0.
Nelson came through again in the fourth with a RBI single on a fly ball to center that drove in
Gabe Roessler. After a bases loaded walk in the sixth gave MCC its lone run, and Nelson and the WolfPack capped the scoring in the eighth as he drove in O'Brien with another line drive back up the middle.
A native of Altoona, Wisconsin, Nelson was 3 for 3 with three runs batted in. Stebane, a Brillion, Wisconsin, native, also produced three hits and scored a run. O'Brien and Roessler both touched home twice and had a hit each. Kramer was 2 for 5 with RBI.
On the mound, starter
Carson Fluno (4-1) struck out a career-best 11 batters over his 5.2 innings to get the win. The former Sun Prairie HS athlete limited the Scots to a run on four hits and two walks.
Adrian Montilva took over in the sixth and tossed the final 3.1 innings of scoreless baseball. The Barquisimeto, Venezuela, native struck out four, walked three, and gave up one hit to secure his first save of his career.
Tournament Game #7: (1) Madison College 7, (3) McHenry County College 4
Madison College had forced the "if necessary" final game in a winner-take-all championship with McHenry County College, and neither team was able to take advantage of having a runner in scoring position through the game's first four innings. That changed in the bottom of the fifth when the WolfPack, back playing as the home team, loaded the bases on a walk, a hit by pitch, and a single, and were able to score two runs on a
Carter Stebane sacrifice fly and a wild pitch that plated
Zach Storbakken.
The momentum was short-lived, as the Scots fired back with four runs in the sixth. A pair of doubles sandwiched around a error by pitcher
Alex Hayes tied the game at 2-2 and brought
Riley LeTourneau in to pitch. Two more hits gave the Scots two more runs and a 4-2 edge.
First year shortstop
Gabe Roessler answered the bell in the home half, sending the first pitch he saw beyond the left field wall for a lead-off solo home run. It marked his second homer of the season, and the first since mid-March in Arizona. Still trailing by a run an inning later, the Pack found themselves with the bases loaded and two outs as
Jake Nelson brought his hot bat to the plate and lined a double to center to clear the bases. The 6-4 advantage grew to 7-4 in the eighth with another clutch two-out hit as
Eduardo Saucedo's two-bagger to right brought home Stebane.
Reliever
Chris Byhre, who made an unbelievable no-look catch on a line drive to end the seventh inning, finished out the championship-clinching win with a strikeout to set off dog pile celebration. Byhre (3-1) was credited with the win after shutting down the McHenry County College (40-18) bats over the final three innings. The Delafield, Wisconsin, native fanned three and did not allow a single hit, run, or walk.
Hayes finished with 5.1 innings, two earned runs, six hits, and four strikeouts. LeTourneau was credited an earned run on two hits and a K.
At the plate, Oregon, Wisconsin, native
Eduardo Saucedo was 3 for 4 with a RBI, while Nelson and Kramer had two hits each. Kramer finished with a run scored and Nelson drove in a team-high three runs. Roessler was 1 for 4 with two runs scored and a RBI.
Kramer, a native of Greenville, Wisconsin, finished the tournament batting .428 with a hit in every game. He was 9 for 21 with three doubles, five walks, four runs scored, and two runs batted en route to earning MVP honors. Nelson also enjoyed a highly-productive tournament, going 10 for 20 (.500) with two doubles, a walk, three runs scored, six RBI, and a stolen base.
Up Next:
Madison College (45-9) will learn its
2022 NJCAA Division II Baseball World Series fate on Tuesday when the NJCAA releases the seedings, matchups, and game information via Twitter and its website. The games will be played at
David Allen Memorial Ballpark in Enid, Oklahoma from May 28 through June 4. All games will stream live on the
NJCAA Network, with live stats of the Madison College games available via the GameChanger app.
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