MADISON, WISC. - One day after receiving some dominant pitching performances in a key Region 4 doubleheader sweep over Kankakee Community College, the Madison College baseball team followed the same formula for a pair of home wins on Sunday against the College of Lake County at Robin Roberts Field. The #13-ranked WolfPack pushed their win streak to six straight games with wins of 6-0 and 5-2, during which the pitching staff held the Lancers without a run for 12 consecutive innings. The two wins also extend the Madison College lead in the head-to-head series to 37-8, with wins in the last six meetings.

Game #1: #13 Madison College 6, College of Lake County 0

In a game that saw Madison College slowly pull away for the win, they certainly had chances to bust the game wide open in the early innings. Sophomore Jalen Gellings led off with a single, and after a Marcelino Edison Alonso double and a hit by pitch of Tyler Butina loaded the bases, Quinn Falish drove in the game's first run with a sacrifice fly to center.

The Pack loaded the bases again in the second on two singles sandwiched around a walk of the first three batters; however, only a walk of James Duncan to force in Nate Novinska could produce a run as they left the base paths filled.

In the third, Beau Bloxdorf's two-out single drove in Chris Calico to make it 3-0. Yet, a walk of Jack Bauer and another Gellings single made it three consecutive innings with the bases loaded to end the inning.

Madison College made it 5-0 in the fourth with a two-run single by Calico, scoring Alonso and Butina after the duo reached on a walk and hit by pitch, respectively. The game's final run was tallied in the sixth when Alonso raced in from third on a wild pitch.

On the hill, starter Landon Dessart improved to 2-0 after the righthander from Union Grove, Wisconsin, scattered four hits over 5.2 innings. He walked to batters and struck out a career-high seven in his longest outing of the season. Dessart has not allowed a run through five appearances and 12-plus innings. Sam Moses came in for the final 1.1 innings and recorded a pair of K's, to go along with allowing one hit and issuing one walk.

Calico, a second year outfielder, finished with two hits, two runs batted in, and a run scored. Gellings also had two hits and scored one run. Four other had hits in the game, including Alonso and Novinska. Alonso was tops on the team with two runs scored.

Game #1: #13 Madison College 5, College of Lake County 2

Game two looked very similar to the opener, with Madison College slowly pulling away. Nate Novinska drove in JJ Wolbert in the first inning with a sacrifice fly after the latter reached on a single and advanced twice on succesful bunt plays.

The differential grew to 3-0 in the third when an error put leadoff batter Jalen Gellings aboard, and two batters later he scored on a productive ground out from Ryan Santi. Novinska followed with a double to left, driving in Marcelino Edison Alonso.

In the fourth, three singles in the first four batters added up to another run when Gellings singled on a bloop to center to allow Trace Kirchberg to race home. Then in the fifth, Novinska added to his team-lead in home runs with a solo shot to left to open the frame for a 5-0 lead. It's his fifth long ball of the season.

College of Lake County (8-17) prevented the double shutout in the sixth with two runs on three hits. 

Second year starter Ben Kasten (2-1) earned his second win of the season with six strong innings, allowing two runs, one of which was earned, on four hits and a walk. The Greenfield, Wisconsin, native fanned a season-best eight batters, one below his career-high of nine from 2023. Fellow sophomore Nick West earned his first career save with a scoreless inning in the seventh. He struck out one and gave up one hit.

Novinska powered the offense with two hits, three runs batted in, and a run scored, marking his fourth game this season with multiple hits and RBI. His five homers have come over a span of eight games. Wolbert and Gellins each had two hits and a run scored, with Gellings also driving in a run. Alonso posted a hit and a run scored as the first five batters in the lineup combined to go 7 for 17 with five RBI and four runs.



Up Next:

Madison College (16-6) remains home for a Tuesday, April 8 matchup with Region 4 rival Rock Valley College (22-6). The WolfPack has won seven in a row and boasts a 42-22 edge in the all-time series against the Golden Eagles. The single, nine-inning game will start at 2:00 p.m. at Robin Roberts Field, and will be followed with a reciprocal game on Thursday in Rockford, Illinois. The game will stream live at MadisonCollege.tv, with live stats available via the GameChanger app.

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