PALATINE, ILL. - For the second time in less than a week, the Madison College softball team went on the road in North Central Community College Conference play and returned with a split of a doubleheader after going 1-1 in two shortened games at Harper College on Thursday. The WolfPack dominated the opening game with a 12-4 win in five innings, but coughed up a eight-run lead in the finale to lose 11-8 in five innings. The loss ended an 18-game win streak over the Hawks, with the all-time series now sitting at 29-13-1 in favor of the Pack.

Game #1: Madison College 12, Harper College 4 (5 innings)

The Madison College bats were red hot to start the day as they produced runs in each of the first four innings, highlighted by a five-run first inning. Sammy Nelson doubled in Hannah Aldrich to get the day going, and after two more runs scored on a passed ball and an error, freshman Brooke Cimler tripled to right to plate Mackenna Schultz. The final run tall in the first came from a ground out by Chariell Butler that scored Cimler. Another Harper College error in the second put the WolfPack up 6-0, and RBI-singles from Mackenzie Backman and Aldrich in the third pushed the differential to eight.

After the Hawks put two runs on the scoreboard in the home half of the third thanks to a pair of walks and an error, Madison answered with a four-spot in the fourth. Freshman Ella Wyskochil led off with a triple to center to ignite a stretch of five consecutive batters reaching safely. Wyskochil and Gish both scored on separate passed balls, and Backman and Hannah Richter each drove in a run with a ground out to make it 12-2. Despite two more Harper runs on an inside-the-park homer in the fifth, the game ended via run-rule.

Cimler, a former Whitnall HS athlete, was tops at the plate with two hits, three runs scored, and one run batted in. Aldrich and Richter both finished with two hits, one run scored, and one RBI. Gish and Schultz each crossed home twice, with Schultz also driving in a run with her one hit. Backman was 1 for 3 with two runs driven in and a run scored.

Sophomore Addison Warner (1-2) secured her first win of the season with a complete-game, five-inning effort that yielded three earned runs on four hits and three walks. She matched a career-high with six strike outs.

Game #2: Harper College 11, Madison College 8 (5 innings)

Game two appeared headed for a similar result until the WolfPack experience one bad inning defensively. A walk and an error scored freshman Karis Paulson in the first inning, and in the third, Paulson followed a leadoff triple from Briar Armatoski with a single to make it 2-0. Paulson later scored on a successful steal of home.

The WolfPack blew the game open in the fourth with five runs on four hits and a pair of walks. This time it was Sophie Rivera opening the frame with a three-bagger, and scoring on a base knock from Kaylin Bergum. Back-to-back singles from Paulson and Madison Coubal produce one run each to make it 6-0 before Ellie Rademacher's sacrifice fly and Coubals steal of home extended the lead to 8-0. 

Harper College (1-1, 1-1), however, answered in a big way with 11 runs in the fourth inning, which featured 15 batters, four hits, four walks, and five errors. With the game under a time limit due to field usage, Madison College had one last chance to rally back in the fifth, but went 1-2-3 to end the game.

Paulson, a Monroe, Wisconsin, native, scored a season-high three times, to go along with two hits, one walk, and two runs batted in. Coubal finished with two RBI, one hit, and one run scored. Bergum, a product of Franklin, Wisconsin, racked up a hit, a run scored, and one batted in, and Armatoski touched home twice and was 1 for 1 with a walk.

Ella Wyskochil started the game worked 3.1 innings with three earned runs on two hits and four walks. She also recorded the lone strikeout of the game before giving way to Claire Smedema. The sophomore was unable to record an out and faced six batters, giving up six unearned runs on a hit and two walks. Hannah Aldrich (3-2) then entered in the troublesome fourth inning and recorded the final two outs, but was saddled with the loss after surrendering a run on one hit and a base on balls.

Up Next:

Madison College (8-12, 2-2) returns home to Robert D. Goodman Softball Field to host Region 4 foe Sauk Valley Community College (1-11) for a doubleheader on Friday, April 7. The WolfPack rae 15-5 all-time against the Skyhawks. First pitch is ta 3:00 p.m., followed by an approximate 5:00 p.m. start for the nightcap.

Watch both games live at MadisonCollege.tv, and follow live stats via the GameChanger app.

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