RIVER GROVE, ILL. - The Madison College softball team narrowly missed out on hosting this past weekend's Region 4 Quarterfinal Tournament, and they took out their frustration with three convincing wins to advance to the Region 4 Division II Tournament this weekend. The #5-seeded WolfPack opened postseason play with a 10-7 defeat of #12-seeded Milwaukee Area Technical College, and followed with back-to-back wins over host and #4-seed Triton College by scores of 11-5 and 6-3 to move on. Freshman Kendall Weik earned the win in all three games.

Game #1: (5) Madison College 10, (12) Milwaukee Area Technical College 7

The Stormers, who split two games with Madison College during the regular season, raced out to a 3-0 lead in the first half inning thanks to a hit, an error, and three walks against starter Brooke Steinhorst, who was relieved by Ella Wyskochil after five batters. It remained a three-run game until the bottom of the second when the WolfPack rattled off five runs to take the lead. A walk and two singles loaded the bases with one out, and sophomore Madison Coubal came through with a single to center that scored Brooke Anderson to get the Pack on the board. A productive ground out by Rylee Rogers cut the deficit to a single run, and freshman Abbey Remington followed with a two-run double to center that plated Karis Paulson and Coubal for a 4-3 lead. Ava Stahl tacked on one more run with a single through the left side that drove in Remington to make it 5-3.

Milwaukee Tech (16-25) pulled back even at 5-5 in the top of the fourth with two-run homer to left. Madison College went ahead 7-5 in the bottom of the fifth thanks to three hits. Anderson doubled in Mackenna Schultz, who led off with a single. And Paulson lifted a sacrifice fly to left that allowed Anderson to tag up and score.

In the sixth, the Stormers got one run back against reliever Kendall Weik, who walked the first two batters of the inning. However, three straight singles for the Pack to start the home half resulted in a run on Stahl's single the middle. A sac fly by Redders drove in Stahl and it was 10-6. In an effort to rally in the seventh, MATC-Milwaukee produced another run before Weik retired three straight batters to end the game.

Remington and Stahl, the first two batters in the WolfPack lineup, each generated three hits in the game. Stahl drove in three runs and score another, while Remington had two runs scored and two batted in.

Coubal and Steinhorst both went 2 for 3 with a run scored, with Coubal also picking up a RBI. Anderson matched Remington for the team lead with two runs scored as she was 1 for 3 with a run batted in.

Steinhorst was credited for three runs allowed with just one being earned on a hit and three walks. She exited without recording an out. Wyskochil was solid in relief, going four innings and holding the Stormers to two runs on two hits and a walk. She struck out one before Weik (13-4) took over for the final three innings. She fanned two and allowed two runs, one of which was earned, on a pair of hits and three walks.

Madison College is now 23-12 all-time against the Stormers.

Game #2: (5) Madison College 11, (4) Triton College 5

The WolfPack took a 2-0 lead in the first half inning of the semifinal with host Triton College, whom the Pack split a home doubleheader with on April 19. With Abbey Remington aboard on a leadoff single, sophomore Mackenna Schultz roped a triple to right to make it 1-0. Jenna Redders brought in Schultz with a sacrifice fly. The Trojans registered their first run in the second with a RBI-double. 

The top of the fourth produced some fireworks for Madison College, starting with a double by Brooke Steinhorst to open the frame. Two batters later, Karis Paulson belted the first pitch of her at-bat beyond the center field wall for a two-run blast to make it 4-1. It's her team-leading third homer of the year. Three batters later, Remington came through with a two-out single, and an error on the play by the pitcher allowed Rylee Rogers to score from second to give the Pack a four-run advantage.



The differential reached five runs in the fifth with Brooke Anderson following a Steinhorst double with a single to center. A rough bottom of the sixth for Kendall Weik in the circle resulted in a three-run home run to cut the Madison lead to 6-4. However, the WolfPack found themselves with another big scoring opportunity in the seventh when a single, a walk, and an error loaded the bases with no outs. Redders stole home and pinch runner Lillie Pluer scored on a passed ball to make it 8-4. A run-producing ground out by Remington pushed the lead to five, and Schultz make it 11-4 with a two-out single through the left side to plate Aldrich and Paulson.

Despite another run for Triton College in the seventh, Weik (14-4) finished out the win with a strikeout to send the WolfPack into the quarterfinal tournament championship. The freshman from Fifield, Wisconsin, struck out three over seven innings and allowed five runs, only four of which were earned, on seven hits.

Remington, a native of Elkhorn, Wisconsin, racked up another three-hit game, going 3 for 5 with a run scored and one batted in. Schultz drove in a team-high three runs and scored another as one of three players with two hits. Paulson finished 1 for 3 with two runs scored and two driven in.

Game #3: (5) Madison College 6, (4) Triton College 3

Triton College eliminated Milwaukee Tech with a 4-0 win to set up a rematch for the right to advance to the Region 4 Tournament. Playing as the home team, the WolfPack struck first in the bottom of the first inning. Abbey Remington drew a leadoff walk, and then joined fellow freshman Ava Stahl in a sprint around the bases when the Trojans pitcher fielded Stahl's bunt and threw it into the right field corner to make it 2-0.

A pair of single in the second put Triton on the board, and a two-run homer off Weik in the third gave the Trojans a 3-2 advantage. The lead was short-lived as the WolfPack generated a run in the bottom half to tie the game at 3-3. Remington opened the frame with an infield single, stole second, advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt, and scored when Mackenna Schultz grounded out to second.

The game remained tied until the bottom of the fifth when three straight singles filled the base paths for Madison College. Schultz, a native of Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, produced a clutch double down the right field line to score Rylee Rogers and Remington for a 5-3 lead. Jenna Redders followed with a single to left to bring Stahl home and provide a three-run cushion.



Weik (15-4) took care of the rest, stranding a pair of runners in scoring position in the sixth and keeping the tying run in the batters box in the seventh. The first year righthander was credited with three earned runs on seven hits and four walks. Weik struck out one batter en route to her fourth straight win and 15th of the season, moving her into a tie for third most in a single season in team history.

Remington went 2 for 2 with a walk and scored three runs. She finished the weekend 8 for 11 (.727) with six runs scored and three driven in, and has hit safely in 17 of her last 18 games played. Redders was the only other player with multiple hits, going 2 for 3 with a RBI. 

Schultz drove in a team-leading three runs and was 1 for 3 at the dish.

Up Next:

The Madison College (29-11) will be one of four teams competing at the newly-formatted Region 4 Division II Midwest District Tournament, hosted by Black Hawk College in Moline, Illinois. The WolfPack will being with a semifinal against #1-seed Rock Valley College (29-13), while #2-seed Bryant & Stratton College (37-5) will square off with #3-seed Kankakee Community College (42-6). Madison College is 19-49 all-time against the Golden Eagles, who swept a close doubleheader in Madison on April 23. First pitch is scheduled for noon and can be watched and followed live via GameChanger.

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