CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA - The Madison College baseball team was able to jump start their season with an impromptu opener for the second straight year, taking advantage of warmer-than-usual temperatures in early-March to defeat Des Moines Area Community College by an 11-3 score at Mount Mercy University's Plaster Athletic Complex. Sophomore Marcelino Edison Alonso led the offensive explosion with his first career four-hit game as the WolfPack, ranked #8 in the NJCAA Division II Preseason Poll, rolled past the #17-ranked Bears. The win marks the first all-time against DMACC, who had taken four previous matchups during the 2008 and 2009 seasons. 

The Madison College bats got right to work, starting with second year shortstop Jalen Gellings opening the game with a triple to right. Sophomore third baseman Charlie Schau then produced the season's first run batted in with a single to the left side for a 1-0 lead. Three batters later, sophomore outfielder James Duncan reached on an error that plated Schau for a two-run advantage. Ryan Santi, a second year player back with the WolfPack after missing last season, lined a double to right to plate Alonso and Duncan to make it 4-0. Chris Calico added his named to the early RBI list as the sophomore outfielder grounded out to second to drive in Howie Rickett, and newcomer JJ Wolbert capped a big six-run first inning with a grounder through the right side that was good enough to bring in Santi.

In the second inning, the WolfPack had two runners on with one out when Duncan put the bat on the ball again for a single to right field that scored freshman Tyler Butina. Two batters later, it was Santi coming through with another run-producing hit as he singled in Alonso to make it 8-0.

With a plan to throw a different pitcher each inning, the WolfPack got through the first two frames unscathed until Des Moines Area tallied their only runs of the game in the top of the third against sophomore Carson Klaus. The Bears scored three runs on three hits, a walk, and an error. Madison College answered back in the home half with two runs. After Wolbert drew a lead off walk and Schau doubled to left, Alonso added to his big day with a line drive double to right to bring in both runs.

The day's final run was added in the fifth inning and came via the season's first home run. Butina, a first year first baseman from Jefferson, Wisconsin, crushed a solo home run to deep right to push the lead to 11-3.



Alonso, a native of Reedsburg, Wisconsin, finished 4 for 5 with two runs scored and two runs batted in. Schau and Butina each tallied two hits, scored two runs, and drove in another. Duncan was 2 for 3 with a run and a RBI, while Santi, an Oak Creek, Wisconsin, native, used his two hits to tie a career-high with three runs batted. He also scored one run. Wolbert racked up a hit, a run, and a run driven in.

On the mound, the Pack utilized ten different arms in the season's first game. Freshman Braycen Burg (1-0), a righthander from Rubicon, Wisconsin, picked up his first collegiate start and win with a scoreless first inning despite one walk. Klaus, despite giving up two earned runs, did strike out the side in his lone inning, while Mason Sherman, Carter Lund, and Nick West each had a pair of K's.

Up Next:

Madison College (1-0) will hit the road for their annual Arizona Spring Trip starting Thursday, March 13 with a split-doubleheader against Western Nebraska Community College (8-6) and host Chandler-Gilbert Community College (14-13). The WolfPack is 3-0 all-time against the Cougars, while boasting a 9-2 mark against the Coyotes. The opener against WNCC starts at 2pm CT/12pm AMT, followed by a 5pm CT/3pm AMT for the finale against CGCC. Both games can be watched and followed live via the GameChanger app. 

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