GRAYSLAKE, ILL. - Taking full advantage of unseasonably warm February temperatures, the Madison College baseball team played an impromptu season-opener against Region 4 rival College of Lake County on Tuesday, and claimed a lopsided 17-4 victory in a single, nine-inning game. Will Johannes and James Duncan each smashed a home run as the WolfPack put up their most runs in a game since scoring 17 at Mesa Community College during the 2023 Arizona Spring Trip. The Pack, currently ranked #8 in the NJCAA Division III Preseason Poll, now leads the all-time series with the Lancers by a 33-8 tally, and are scheduled to host CLC for a 1x9 on Sunday, April 21.

Madison College posted two runs in the season's first inning of play, and both came with two outs on the scoreboard. With runners at third and second and two away, Johannes was able to reach first safely on a dropped third strike, which also allowed sophomore Dayton Rozinski-Hicks to race in for a 1-0 lead. Peyton Frehner followed with a single up the middle to plate Nick Nowak. The lead was short-lived as the College of Lake County (0-1) flexed some muscle in the home half of the first with a two-run homer off first year starter Carson Klaus.

Jake Petasek opened the second with a single, and then raced around from first to score on a double by freshman Marcelino Alonso. Four batters later, and after a pair of singles loaded the bases, sophomore Grant Ross lined a single to right and scored Chris Calico and Rozinski-Hicks for a 5-2 advantage. The differential grew to four runs before the inning ended thanks to a bases loaded walk of Frehner.

The Lancers again answered with some pop, getting a leadoff home run against freshman Camden Broske. The righthander then allowed a double and two singles to make it a 6-4 game after two innings. From that point on, the game belonged to the WolfPack.

Alonso roped a double to left to begin the third, and came in to score two batters later on a single from Rozinski-Hicks. An error later in the inning allowed two runs to score, and left two runners on for Johannes, who crushed his first home run of the season and 12th of his career. The three-run blast put the visitors on top 12-4. 

Johannes struck again in the fifth with a run-scoring single that drove in Charlie Marion, and freshman James Duncan added his name to the early season home run list with a two-run shot over the right field wall in the sixth. His first career homer gave the Pack a 15-4 lead. Despite the run-rules, the team's agreed to continue playing a full nine-inning game, which allowed Madison College to tack on two more runs in the top of the ninth on an error and a wild pitch.

Madison College produced 17 hits and took advantage of seven Lancers errors. Frehner and Nowak, who are both natives of Waukesha, Wisconsin, each finished with a team-high three hits. The duo combined for three runs scored and two batted in.

Johannes, a second year catcher/first baseman from Mukwonago, Wisconsin, used his two hits to generate a career-high-tying four runs batted in, to go along with two runs scored. Alonso and Duncan also had two hits, and combined for three RBI and two runs scored.

On the hill, the WolfPack utilized ten different arms, eight of which each worked a full inning. First year righty Gradin Taschner impressed in the fourth inning, striking out the side against the only three batters he faced. Noah Musolf, Adison Tevz, and Allen Leitner each had a strike out in a hitless inning, while sophomores Liam Stumpf and Eamonn Mulhern both went unscathed in their time on the mound. Stumpf (1-0) was awarded the win for the fourth of his career.

Up Next:

Madison College (1-0) is next scheduled to play when they travel for their annual Arizona Spring Trip, which opens March 7 with a doubleheader at Chandler-Gilbert Community College. With more warm weather on the horizon, the WolfPack could likely add additional games in the coming days.

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