MADISON, WISC. - Madison College defined the word efficiency in winning all three of their games via run rule in this past weekend's Region 4 Sectional Tournament at Robin Roberts Field. The top-seeded WolfPack, who are ranked #8 in the latest NJCAA Division II Poll, opened play Friday with an 11-2 win over eighth-seeded College of Lake County in eight innings and followed with a 12-1 drubbing of 12th-seeded Elgin Community College in five innings. The Pack returned Saturday and handed the Spartans an 8-0 setback in eight innings to advance to and host the 2023 Region 4 Division II Tournament for the fourth consecutive season. They outscored their opponents by a 31-3 margin over 21 total innings played.

Game #1: (1) Madison College 11, (8) College of Lake County 2 (8 innings)

Despite being upset in the day's opening game by a 13-3 score in seven innings, the College of Lake County (26-22-2) showed some life at the start of the day's second game, scoring a run on a hit, an error, and a fielder's choice.The WolfPack took the lead for good in the bottom of the second, plating three runs on three hits and an error. After back-to-back singles from Will Johannes and Payton Frehner, a Lancers error trying to cut down Johannes at third allowed the freshman to score. Three batters later, Carson Shepard roped a two-out double to center that brought in Frehner and Charlie Marion for a 3-1 lead.

The differential grew to 4-1 as Frehner drove in Gabe Roessler with a two-bagger to center. An error during the opening at bat in the home half of the fourth put Trace Kirchberg aboard, and after a Dayton Rozinski-Hicks sacrifice bunt moved him to second, another CLC miscue on a pickoff attempt sent the first year right fielder on to third. Shepard hit a single to short and Kirchberg touched home for a 5-1 advantage. 

A passed ball against the WolfPack in the fifth trimmed the lead to three runs, where it stayed until Johannes took over the game in the seventh. He drove a 1-0 offering deep to right for a two-run home run and a 7-2 lead. In the eighth inning, the Pack built on to their lead with a Roessler sac fly and a run-scoring double from Ross. With a 9-2 edge, two outs, and a runner on, Johannes again went yard with a two-run blast to right for a walk-off 11-2 win in run-rule fashion.

Johannes, a Mukwonago, Wisconsin, native, finished the game 3 for 5 with four runs batted in and three runs scored. He becomes the 18th player in program history with multiple home runs in a game, joining teammate Trace Kirchberg, who accomplished the feat five days earlier. Johannes matched his season-best with four RBI.

Ross, Frehner, and Shepard joined Johannes in the three-hit club, as the heart of the WolfPack (Ross, Johannes, Frehner) lineup combined to go 9 for 14 with six runs driven in and six runs scored. Ross scored twice and drove in one, while Frehner had one of each. Shepard was 3 for 4 with three runs batted in and one run scored for his second three-RBI game of the season. All three tied their season-best efforts with three hits.

The Madison hit parade finished with 15 hits en route to eliminating the Lancers (26-22-2) from the postseason. 

Not to be overshadowed, sophomore Alex Hayes (7-0) produced his fourth game with nine or more strikeouts as he fanned nine batters and held the Lancers to two unearned runs on a dozen hits. He worked 7.1 innings before freshman Nick West took over for the final two outs of the eighth inning.

Game #2: (1) Madison College 12, (12) Elgin Community College 1 (5 innings)

Madison College kept the bats going into their second game of the day, scoring a run in each of the first four innings against the Spartans. Three consecutive singles from Clayton Slack, Gabe Roessler, and Grant Ross pushed in a run in the first, and Slack came back in the second with another base knock to plate Charlie Marion to make it a 2-0 lead.

Elgin got on the scoreboard in the top of the third thanks to a pair of hits and a wild pitch by starter Chris Byhre, but the region's top seed responded with a four-run home half to start to pull away. Three singles in a row loaded the bases, and a throwing error by ECC brought Will Johannes in. Sophomore Carter Stebane then laced a triple to deep right center to score Frehner and Marion for a five-run lead. Nick Nowak's sac fly capped the inning as Stebane touched home to make it 6-1.

The game reached run-rule status in the bottom of the fourth with the WolfPack hanging a six-spot on the Spartans. Ross doubled in Roessler to get it started, and Frehner singled Ross in from third. Frehner eventually scored on a wild pitch ahead of a Clayton Slack two-RBI-single to center that plated Charlie Marion and Nowak. The final run came in via a balk to make it 12-1. 

Byhre was stout in limiting ECC to five hits and a run over five innings. He struck out four and walked two to improve to 6-2.

Slack, a transfer from Marshalltown Community College, and Ross led the offensive assault with three hits each. Slack drove in three runs and scored another, while Ross produced two RBI and a run scored. Frehner was the only other player with multiple hits, going 2 for 3 with two runs scored and a run batted in. Marion, who returned to the team after missing 16 games due to injury, matched a career-best with three runs scored.

Game #3: (1) Madison College 8, (12) Elgin Community College 0 (8 innings)

Madison College got right to work in the final of the Sectional Tournament with five runs on one hit, three free passes, and an error in the first inning. After a Spartans error scored Jake Petasek, team home run leader Will Johannes came up with the bases loaded and drove the team's first grand slam of the season over the left field wall for a 5-0 lead. The freshman from Mukwonago, Wisconsin, boasts 11 homers on the season, with six coming in the month of May.



Despite stranding several runners over the next few innings, the WolfPack maintained their lead as starter Michael Carpenter took care of business on the hill. An error by the ECC catcher in the bottom of the eight was enough to plate pinch runner Dayton Rozinski-Hicks, and back-to-back run-scoring base knocks from Grant Ross and Payton Frehner gave the WolfPack a walk-off win in eight innings via the run rule. 

Six different players produced a hit and eight different players scored a run for Madison. Johannes finished with a career-high-tying four RBI for the second game in the tournament, and for the fourth time in the last eight games.

Carpenter (4-2) was masterful with third performance of nine or more strikeouts this season. The Hartland, Wisconsin, native surrendered just two hits over seven-plus innings before fellow first year Nick West took care of the final two outs in the top of the eighth.

The Pack now owns an eight-game win streak over Elgin (21-34) and is 35-21 all-time against ECC. Their current nine-game win streak also moved Madison past 40 wins for the third straight year and for the 14th time in program history.

Up Next: 

Madison College (41-10) will welcome the same four-team field as last year's Region 4 Tournament when play begins Thursday, May 18 at Robin Roberts Field. The top-seeded WolfPack will open against fourth-seeded Kankakee Community College (34-20) at 9:00 a.m. The two programs split a doubleheader in Illinois during the season, and the all-time series favors the Pack 24-19. The other opening round game pits third-seeded Black Hawk College (36-22) against second-seeded McHenry County College (43-10) at noon. The losers of each game will play an elimination game at 3:00 p.m., while the winners will advance to Friday.

Watch all the games live at MadisonCollege.tv, and follow live stats of Madison College games via the GameChanger app.

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