ENID, OKLA. - Five previous times ended in heartbreak. The sixth did not. After failing to advance past the national semifinals in five previous opportunities at the NJCAA Division II Baseball World Series, second-seeded Madison College finally broke through with a 3-1 victory Wednesday over tenth-seeded Mercer County Community College to move on to the championship series. Third baseman Zach Storbakken provided the biggest hits for the WolfPack, while the trio of Eli Hoyt, Alex Hayes, and Jett Thielke contained the Vikings bats. The second win over Mercer County Community College in four days eliminated the Vikings, and sends the Pack into a best-of-three series with top-ranked Pear River Community College (MS) at David Allen Memorial Ballpark starting Thursday, June 2.

Mercer County Community College (37-20) flexed some early muscle with a solo home run off starter Eli Hoyt in the top of the first inning. It would prove to be the only time a Vikings base runner touched third base.

Zach Storbakken, a native of Sussex, Wisconsin, answered back in the second inning with his mighty bat, clubbing a lead-off home run to even the score at 1-1. Storbakken's bash gives him a eight homers on the season, matching his mark from 2021 and moving him into a tie for sixth on the Madison College all-time home runs list.

Still tied in the fourth inning, and Storbakken struck again. Following a lead-off walk to Jake Nelson and a Gunnar Doyle single, Storbakken sent a ball to deep right-centerfield, where it was dropped by the center fielder. The error allowed Nelson to score, giving the WolfPack a 2-1 advantage. The miscue also moved Doyle to third, and the Oak Creek, Wisconsin, product tagged up and scored on Brady Jurgella's sacrifice fly to left for a two-run lead.

That is all the offense the Madison College pitching staff needed. Hoyt limited MCCC to four hits and two walks over his 4.2 innings, improving to 7-1 on the year. The native of Waukesha, Wisconsin, struck out six batters before running into trouble in the fifth with two runners on and two outs.

Coach Mike Davenport called on left-hander Alex Hayes, who struck out the next batter to end the threat. Hayes, a former Muskego HS athlete, tossed three innings of one-hit, shutout baseball with a walk and four K's. The WolfPack turned to Jett Thielke to close out the win, a role he filled in 2021 before becoming a starting pitcher in 2022. The lanky righty walked the first batter he faced before getting a called strike three to finish the eighth inning. In the ninth, the Green Bay, Wisconsin, native gave up a one-out single before closing the door on the semifinals with back-to-back strikeouts. It's his first save of the year, and the ninth of his career.

Despite being out-hit 6-3, Madison College made the most of their few hits. Storbakken finished 2 for 3 with one run batted in and a run scored. His two base knocks both went for extra bases. Doyle had the only other hit for the WolfPack, and joined Nelson in scoring a run. Jurgella was 0 for 2 with a RBI.

Up Next:

Madison College (48-9) will square off with Pear River Community College (42-10) in the NJCAA Division II Baseball World Series Championship best-of-three series at David Allen Memorial Ballpark. Game 1 will be Thursday, June 2, followed by Game 2 on Friday, June 3. If necessary, Game 3 will be played Saturday, June 4. All three games will start with a first pitch at 7:00 p.m. The WolfPack has never played in the NJCAA Division II Championship, and has not played in a national title game since 1997, when it completed an impressive run of three straight NJCAA Division III championships. The series will also mark the first-ever games played against the Wildcats.

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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