FREEPORT, ILL. - The Madison College softball team added two more Region 4 wins to their season total on Saturday with a road sweep of Highland Community College. Freshman Kendall Weik struck out 11 batters in the opener to hold off the Cougars in a narrow 5-3 win, and the WolfPack racked up a season-bests for runs and hits to earn an 18-4 blowout victory in five innings in the nightcap. The pair of W's give the Pack a 20-6 lead in the all-time series and 14 consecutive wins over HCC.

Game #1: Madison College 5, Highland Community College 3

The WolfPack shot out to an early 4-0 lead thanks to two hits, two errors, and a walk in the top of the first. Freshman Abbey Remington drew a leadoff walk, stole second, advanced to third on a ground out, and scored on a wild pitch for the game's first run. Following two singles, Highland committed a costly error at third that allowed two runs to score. The inning's second miscue in the field resulted the fourth Madison College run.

The Cougars loaded the bases in the bottom of the second against starter Kendall Weik, and a productive ground out to Madison Coubal at first base got the home team on the scoreboard. Madison College had a chance to get that run back in the fourth with the bases loaded and one out following three consecutive singles; however, Brooke Cimler, who made her first appearance since the spring trip to South Carolina in March, grounded into an inning-ending double play.

The Pack did put another run on the scoreboard in the fifth with four straight base hits, the last of which was an infield single by Brooke Anderson that drove in Mackenna Schultz.

Facing their final at-bats, Highland Community College attempted to mount a rally in the bottom of the seventh. Back-to-back two-out doubles brought the score to 5-2, and following a walk, the Cougars registered another run-scoring double to pull within two. With the game-tying run now aboard at first, Weik ended the game with her 11th strikeout of the afternoon.

Weik, who earlier in the season broke the program record for strikeouts in a game with 15, posted her second double-digit effort with the 11 K's over seven innings. She leads the team with 96 on the season, moving into ninth place on the school's single-season strikeouts list. Weik improved to 11-3 after allowing three runs on seven hits and four walks.

Sophomore Jenna Redders amassed three hits for the fourth time this season, and turned it into one run scored. Schultz and Rylee Rogers both had two hits in the game, with Schultz touching home a team-best two times. Brooke Anderson picked up the team's lone RBI on her only hit, to go along with a run scored.

Game #2: Madison College 18, Highland Community College 4 (5 innings)

Another big first inning got the ball rolling for what proved to be the WolfPack's best offensive game of the season. Five hits and an error in the first resulted in a 5-0 lead, with Ava Stahl, Jenna Redders, and Lillie Pluer each driving in a run. Karis Paulson picked up two RBI with a single to center. Redders came through with another run-scoring single in the second to plate Mackenna Schultz as the Pack added three more hits to their tally.

Highland Community College (9-10-1) put their first run on the board in the second with a sacrifice fly, but the WolfPack put together another five-run inning in the top of the third. Rylee Rogers doubled in a run, and Stahl followed with a two-RBI triple to make it 9-1. Anderson and Redders came through with additional run-producing hits for a ten-run lead. A Madison College error in the home half made it 11-2.

Four more hits in the top of the fourth were highlighted by a three-run homer to left by Anderson, giving the freshman from Plain, Wisconsin, her first career home run. After the Cougars made it 15-4 with a pair of runs in the their half of the fourth, the WolfPack tacked on four more hits and three more runs to reach their 14-run differential. Pluer and Schultz both had singles to drive in a run, while Stahl completed a record-tying afternoon with a RBI-triple.

Madison College finished with 22 hits in the game, marking their most since a 24-hit effort against the College of DuPage during the 2021 season. A major contributor to that was Stahl, as the former Wautoma HS athlete was a perfect 5 for 5 from the plate to become the sixth player in team history with five hits in a single game. She scored a career-best four runs and drove in three more, with two of her five hits going for triples..

Paulson, a native of Monroe, Wisconsin, registered her second 4 for 4 game this month, and used it to score a season-high three runs and drive in two more. Three other players, Rogers, Schultz, and Redders all had three hits in the game, with that number establishing a new career-best for Rogers. She produced three runs scored and one batted in, while Schultz had two of each and Redders amassed three RBI and one run scored.

Anderson led Madison College with a career-high four runs batted in and three runs scored on two hits. Her long ball was one of eight extra base hits in the game for the Pack.

In the circle, sophomore Ella Wyskochil (3-2) limited the Cougars to four unearned runs on nine hits. The Milwaukee, Wisconsin, native, struck out two over five innings.

Up Next:

Madison College (24-9) returns home with a three-game win streak ahead of a key Region 4 doubleheader against long-time rival Rock Valley College (19-12) on Tuesday, April 23. The Golden Eagles are receiving votes in the latest NJCAA Division II Poll and own a 47-19 edge in the all-time series with nine consecutive victories. First pitch at Robert D. Goodman Softball Field is scheduled for 3:00 p.m., with game two to follow at approximately 5:00 p.m. The game will stream live at MadisonCollege.TV and can be followed live via the GameChanger app.

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