Madison College's
Will Johannes became the fifth player in program history to be voted the North Central Community College Conference Most Valuable Player in baseball as the freshman headlines a group of nine WolfPack players being awarded postseason recognition. Johannes, along with sophomores
Alex Hayes and
Gabe Roessler were named to both the both the N4C All-Conference and All-Region 4 teams, with Johannes and Roessler getting first team all-conference and second team all-region. Hayes was the WolfPack's lone First Team All-Region 4 honoree, and was second team all-conference.
Grant Ross was selected first team all-conference and
Payton Frehner and
Dayton Rozinski-Hicks took home second team accolades, while
Chris Byhre was a second team all-region pick. Head coach
Mike Davenport was named coach of the year for both the conference and the region.
Johannes, a catcher and first baseman, provided most of the offensive punch for the WolfPack, crushing a team-best 11 home runs to tie for the fifth-most in a single season in program history. The Mukwonago, Wisconsin, native was also tops on the squad with 52 runs scored and 50 runs batted in, which place him 25th and 20th, respectively, in team history over one year. Second on the team with 55 hits, Johannes racked up a team-high 21 extra base hits. During a three-game stretch in early May, he went 10 for 12 (.833) with two home runs, nine RBI, and six runs scored. On May 12 against the College of Lake County, Johannes smashed a pair of dingers as part of a 3 for 5 day with four runs batted in and three runs scored.
Hayes, a pitcher from Muskego, Wisconsin, stepped into the team's ace role in his second season and finished a perfect 8-0 with a 3.16 earned run average over 74.0 innings. Those numbers rank him tied for tenth in single-season wins and third for innings pitched. The lefthander struck out a team-best 84 batters to mark the seventh-highest total in a season in team history. Hayes, who ranked in the top four in Region 4 for wins, strikeouts, and innings, fanned a career-best 11 hitters over six-plus innings against Triton College on April 23, and finished the year with four games of nine or more K's. He will exit Madison College with the 12th most wins (12), seventh in total strikeouts (125), and tied for ninth in all-time innings (118.0).
Roessler, an infielder and outfielder, is a two-time all-conference recipient after pacing the offense with 56 hits, 11 doubles, three triples, and 15 stolen bases. The Rockton, Illinois, native generated a .326 batting average, and had hitting streaks of nine and ten games during the season, which ended with one hit in 15 of the last 17 games. On three occasions he racked up three hits in a game, with two of those performances yielding three runs scores. Roessler was second on the team with 46 runs scored and 36 runs batted in. Defensively, he made the switch from shortstop to centerfield after his freshman season, and proceeded to post a .942 fielding percentage with nine errors. He will depart the WolfPack ranking tied for 13th in career hits (124), tied for 11th all-time in doubles (25), tied for 16th in RBI (80), 12th in total runs (99), and tied for 19th in stolen bases (29) all-time.
Byhre, a pitcher from Delafield, Wisconsin, made nine starts and 12 appearances for the WolfPack, and finished with a 7-3 record, one save, and a 3.61 earned run average. The second year right hander claimed four consecutive wins from April 21 to May 12, and struck out five or more batters seven times en route to 51 strikeouts this season. Byhre was third on the team with 52.1 innings pitched.
Ross, an infielder and pitcher, showed tremendous baseball versatility in the debut collegiate season. At the plate, he registered the top batting average on the team at .367 thanks to 54 hits, including a team-high 11 doubles. The native of Pewaukee, Wisconsin, was third with 45 runs scored and 34 runs batted in, and tied for second on the team with 13 stolen bases. When the calendar flipped to May, Ross went on an 11-game hitting streak that included two of his four three-hit games. In the field, Ross racked up an .896 fielding percentage with eight errors, 35 assists, and 34 putouts as a third and second baseman en route to being named to the Region 4 Rawlings Gold Glove Team. Not done there, Ross also proved to be the team's most effective closer, posting a team-high four saves, to go along with a 2-0 record, over 6.2 innings of work and ten strikeouts.
Frehner, an infielder that became the team's everyday first baseman over the last month, ended the year with the team's second-highest batting average at .352. The Waukesha, Wisconsin, native registered 43 base hits, 39 runs scored, 25 runs batted in, and five stolen bases. He boasts three games with three hits, and set career-high marks with four runs scored on May 1 against Black Hawk College and four runs batted in on April 8 against Milwaukee Area Technical College. In the field, he racked up a .972 fielding percentage with five errors, 14 assists, and 162 putouts.
Rozinski-Hicks, an outfielder, batted .313 with 31 hits, 28 runs scored, and 24 runs batted in. The freshman from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, stole ten bases to rank fourth on the team. He posted a .944 fielding percentage with three errors, two assists, and 49 putouts one year after suffering a season-ending injury.
Sophomore shortstop
Clayton Slack was also named to the Region 4 Rawlings Gold Glove Team after the Viroqua, Wisconsin, native and transfer from Marshalltown Community College (IA) 13 errors and owned a .930 fielding percentage with 125 assists and 47 putouts.
Davenport swept the coaching awards in 2023, claiming coach of the year accolades from the North Central Community College Conference, NJCAA Region 4, and NJCAA Midwest District. The all-time winningest coach in WolfPack history now owns a 721-300-3 all-time record at Madison College, and has been N4C Coach of the Year eight times and Region 4 Coach of the Year 14 times.
Madison College WolfPack Baseball Individual Honors |
2023 North Central Community College Conference All-Conference Team |
2023 Region 4 All-Region Team
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