MADISON, WISC. - The Madison College softball team ended a seven-game losing streak on Tuesday with a split of a Region 4 doubleheader against in-state rival Bryant & Stratton College at Robert D. Goodman Softball Field. The Bobcats took the opener by a 10-5 final before freshman Raegen Schwarz came through with a clutch fourth-inning hit to give the WolfPack a 4-3 victory in the finale. The split leaves the all-time series at 11-7 in favor of the Pack.

Game #1: Bryant & Stratton College 10, Madison College 5

The first four-and-a-half innings of the day's opener belonged to Bryant & Stratton College, who took a 3-0 lead in the second inning. The Bobcats used a run-scoring single to go up 1-0 before scoring two more runs with two outs, thanks to an error and a line drive single to center. The visitors busted the game open in the fifth, scoring six more runs, with all coming with two outs on the board and courtesy of five hits and a walk.

With the threat of a shortened game due to run-rule, the WolfPack finally broke through with three runs in the bottom of the fifth. After the first two batters were retired, Rylee Rogers and Raegen Schwarz both singles. Sophomore Brooke Steinhorst stepped to the plate, already with a walk and a hit against her former high school teammate and current BSC pitcher, Holly Lowenburg. Steinhorst roped a line drive down the left field line to score Rogers, and an errant throw from the left fielder to try and throw out Schwarz at home also allowed Steinhorst to complete her trek around the bases for a three-run inning.

Bryant & Stratton College tacked on another two-out run in the sixth to make it 10-3, but the WolfPack continued to put the pressure on. Singles by Jeneya Marquez Perez and Ava Stahl put two runners on with two outs for Schwarz, who doubled them both in with a line drive to deep center to make it 10-5. Unfortunately, the home team stranded two runners in that frame and went 1-2-3 in the seventh to end the game. 

Steinhorst finished 3 for 3 with a walk, two runs batted in, and a run scored. The Poynette, Wisconsin, native, owns four 3-hit games this season. Schwarz also drove in two runs and scored one as she went 2 for 3. Five others each registered a hit, including Rogers and Stahl, who scored two runs and one run, respectively. 

Pitcher Kendall Weik (7-5) suffered her fourth straight loss after allowing eight earned runs on 13 hits, nine walks, and a hit batter. She struck out five in her seven innings of work.



Game #2: Madison College 4, Bryant & Stratton College 3

Madison College fed off the energy of scoring some late runs in the opener, and got right to work in the nightcap. After leaving the bases stranded in the second, they plated two runs in the third. Sophomore Rylee Rogers opened with a triple to center, and then jogged in on a two-bagger by Raegen Schwarz for a 1-0 lead. Two batters later, and with two outs recorded, Brooke Anderson singled to keep the inning alive for Kendall Weik. The sophomore drove a run-scoring triple to the left field corner to make it 2-0.

Bryant & Stratton College (22-11) answered with a two-out, two-run double to even the score in the next half inning. However, WolfPack freshmen Hanna Stremkowski and Jeneya Marquez Perez each singled to start the bottom of the fourth. After a sac bunt and a ground out, Schwarz was up and the Appleton, Wisconsin, native, drilled a double to the right center field wall to give the home team a 4-2 advantage.



Bryant & Stratton College did score yet another two-out run in the fifth, but pitcher Brooke Steinhorst was able to strand the tying run at third, work a 1-2-3 inning in the sixth, and strand another potential tying run at second in the seventh. Steinhorst (7-5) ended a three-game losing streak with seven innings in the circle, limiting the Bobcats to three runs on eight hits and two free passes. She did fan three batters.

Schwarz tallied two hits and three runs batted in for her 13th multi-hit game of the season, as well as her sixth game with at least three RBI. She now leads the team with a .446 average, 37 hits, and 36 runs driven in.

Weik was 2 for 2 with one RBI, while Rogers, Anderson, Stremkowski, and Marquez Perez each had a hit and scored a run.

Up Next: 

Madison College (17-10) heads to Triton College (24-6) on Friday, April 18 for a Region 4 twin bill in River Grove, Illinois. The WolfPack own a 30-17 edge in the all-time series, with wins in six of the last seven meetings. Game times are set for 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. Watch and follow live via the GameChanger app.

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