MADISON, WISC. - Saturday's Region 4 doubleheader between Madison College and Triton College was completely secondary to the celebration of Gary "Big Dog" Breneman's 50 years of service to the college and the athletic department. Following a pre-game tailgate, Breneman, a 1991 Madison College Athletic Hall of Fame Inductee, threw out a ceremonial first pitch and watched a new, one-of-its-kind Big Dog's Count aces and deuces scoreboard was unveiled at Robin Roberts Field. Afterwards, the #5-ranked WolfPack increased their current win streak to 12 straight games with scores of 9-2 and 5-1. Madison College, which also beat the Trojans 13-3 in eight innings on March 25, is 33-21 in the all-time series.

Game #1: #5 Madison College 9, Triton College 2

Madison College secured an early lead in the day's first game, with freshman Tyler Butina driving in fellow first year Nate Novinska with a double to left. Novinska was then on the business end of the run-producing in the second inning, mashing a three-run home run to left to make it 4-0. The native of Verona, Wisconsin, leads the team with eight home runs on the season.

The Trojans got on the scoreboard in the top of the third inning with a successful sacrifice bunt; however, Madison College answered right back with two more runs in the bottom half. With two outs, freshman Quinn Falish lined a double to deep center to drive in James Duncan, and Chris Calico's single to left was enough for Falish to race around and score for a 6-1 advantage.

An error by third baseman Charlie Schau allowed Triton College to make it a 6-2 score in the fifth inning. And it remained that way until the bottom of the sixth when back-to-back two-out singles by Calico and Novinska expanded the lead to seven. Calico drove in Beau Bloxdorf with a single to center, and Novinska added to his RBI total with a two-run base knock to left to plate Duncan and Sam Moses. 

Starter Ben Kasten (4-1) held the Trojans to two ones, one of which was earned, on four hits and three walks over his five innings on the hill. He struck out four batters before Ben Ketelsen and Carson Klaus each entered in relief and tossed a scoreless inning. Ketelsen recorded one strikeout, while Klaus had two K's.

Novinska finished 3 for 5 with five with five runs batted in and two runs scored. He now boasts four games with three hits, and seven contests with at least three RBI. 

Calico, a native of West Salem, Wisconsin, also produced three hits and drove in a pair of runs. He owns seven multi-hit games this season.

Duncan led the team with three runs scored, and Falish finished with a hit, a walk, a run, and a run batted in.



Game #2: #5 Madison College 5, Triton College 1

The first five hitters of the Madison College batting order dominated the second game with Triton College (8-27), combining for ten hits, five runs, and three runs batted in. After the Trojans engineered a run in the top of the first with a run-scoring single, the WolfPack used three hits and a walk to make it a 2-1 game after one inning. Jalen Gellings led off with a double and promptly scored on Beau Bloxdorf's line drive single to left. After a walk and a perfect bunt single by Ryan Santi loaded the bases, Bloxdorf scored on a double play ball off the bat of Howie Rickett.

Rickett eventually picked up that RBI in the third as he again stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs. The former Waunakee HS athlete grounded a single back up the middle to plate Bloxdorf for a 3-1 lead.

The game's final two runs came in the bottom of the fifth. Santi drove in Bloxdorf with a liner to right, and after a walk of Rickett packed the base paths, Sam Moses drew another free pass and forced in Nate Novinska for a 5-1 advantage. 

Novinska finished 3 for 3 with a walk and a run scored. On the day, the first year player was 6 for 8 with a homer, five RBI, and three runs scored.

Bloxdorf tallied two hits, a team-high three runs, and a RBI. Gellings and Santi both had two hits, with the former scoring a run and the latter driving in one.

First year righthander Braycen Burg (2-1) earned his second win of the year with five strong innings. He struck out a career-best four batters and allowed just one run on five hits. Landon Dessart and Chase Baker each tossed a scoreless inning in relief, and combined to strike out two more batters and allow just one hit and two walks.
 
Up Next:

Madison College (28-7) heads east on Tuesday, April 22 for a Region 4 and in-state rivalry doubleheader at Milwaukee Area Technical College (25-17). The WolfPack have dominated the all-time series with the Stormers, owning a 100-16 lead. Game times in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, are set for 2:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. Watch and follow live via the GameChanger app.

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