ENID, OKLA. - Big innings at the start and end for Thursday night's Game 1 of the NJCAA Division II Baseball World Series Championship Series keyed an 11-4 victory for second-seeded Madison College over top-seeded Pearl River Community College at
David Allen Memorial Ballpark.
Gunnar Doyle and
Brady Jurgella combined for seven of the WolfPack's 15 hits, scored four runs, and drove in four more. Madison College, which is averaging 9.25 runs and 10.75 hits a game at the national tournament, leads the best-of-three series one-game-to-none, and will play for the program's first national title in Division II with Game 2 on Friday.
Playing as the visiting team for the first time in the national tournament, Madison College jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first half-inning of the game.
Zach Storbakken followed a
Jake Nelson single and a double from Doyle with a sacrifice fly to center to get the scoring started. Jurgella then ripped a two-bagger to left to plate Doyle, and eventually scored on
Gabe O'Brien's line drive single to left.
A two-out rally in the second produced two more runs to make it 5-0. With two runners on, Doyle registered his second hit of the game with a run-scoring single that drove in
Gabe Roessler. Jurgella came through again, roping a bases-loaded single to score Nelson.
Pearl River Community College, also making its first championship appearance, began chipping into the WolfPack lead in the third inning, generating a run from a double-play ball with the bases loaded against starter
Luke Hansel. The Wildcats tacked on two more runs in the third with a hit batter and two base hits.
The differential remained the same after both teams scored single runs in their respective halves of the fifth inning. Jurgella drew a lead-off walk, advanced to third on a PRCC error, and then scored on a wild pitch. The Wildcats run came as the lead-off hitter doubled down the left field line, and was able to continue racing around the bases on an error in left field by O'Brien.
Still 6-4 entering the seventh, catcher
Eduardo Saucedo drove a two-out single the center that was misplayed, allowing Jurgella, who had doubled to start the frame, to touch home and make it 7-4
Madison College found a little more breathing room with a four-run top of the ninth.
Eli Kramer stepped to the plate with the bases filled and two outs, and sent the first pitch he saw to the wall in right-center field, clearing the bases and making it a 10-4 differential. Doyle finished off the Wildcats, and his outstanding performance with a RBI single as Kramer put his foot on home plate for an 11-4 lead.
Doyle, a native of Oak Creek, Wisconsin, produced his third four-hit effort of the season and the fourth of his career. He drove in two runs and scored another.
Jurgella finished 3 for 4 on the day with a team-high three runs scored and drove in two more. The Menasha, Wisconsin, native boasts six games with three hits on the year, two of which now include at least three runs and two RBI.
Three others posted multiple hits, with Kramer driving in a game-high three runs and scoring another. Nelson had two hits, two runs, and a RBI. The top six hitters in the WolfPack lineup combined to go 13 for 27 with five extra base hits, eight runs scored and nine batted in.
Not to be overlooked, the Madison College pitchers shut down another potent lineup, holding PRCC to just three earned runs on eight hits. Hansel (4-1) battled his way through the first six innings, giving the WolfPack their longest start of the tournament. The right-hander from Caledonia, Wisconsin, gave up six hits and four total runs, along with two walks. Hansel fanned three before
Riley LeTourneau entered to work a four-batter seventh inning.
Chris Byhre took over for the eighth inning with the differential still at three, and earned his second save of the season despite two hits and a walk. The righty from Delafied, Wisconsin, got the final two batters to swing and miss, bringing the WolfPack one win away from a fourth national championship.
Up Next:
Madison College (49-9) will have two chances to secure the 2022 NJCAA Division II Baseball World Series Championship, starting with Game 2 on Friday, June 3 at 7:00 p.m. at
David Allen Memorial Ballpark. A Pearl River Community College (42-11) win would force a winner-take-all Game 3 on Saturday, June 4 at 7:00 p.m. The WolfPack won Division III championships in 1995, 1996, and 1997, while the Wildcats are seeking their first-ever crown.
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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