MADISON, WISC. - A 10-5 victory over #2-seeded Kankakee Community College on Saturday at
Robin Roberts Field earned Madison College its 14th Region 4 Division II Baseball Tournament championship since 2010 and a record-setting seventh consecutive trip to the NJCAA Division II Baseball World Series in Enid, Oklahoma. The top-seeded WolfPack earned wins over all three of the teams in the tournament field to secure the program's 24th region crown and 19th national tournament appearance. Sophomore
Marcelino Edison Alonso was named the Region 4 Tournament Most Valuable Player, while
Mike Davenport collected yet another Region 4 Coach of the Year award.
Madison College built a three-run lead with a run in the second inning and two more in the third. With runners on second and third in the second,
Ryan Santi hit a sacrifice fly to center field to drive in
Tyler Butina.
Charlie Schau also tried to score on the play, but was thrown out at home to end the inning. In the third, the WolfPack loaded the bases with one out and proceeded to plate two runs with a walk and a hit by pitch of Alonso and Schau, respectively.
Kankakee Community College (46-10), who defeated #3-seed Elgin Community College by a 6-4 final in an elimination semifinal late Friday night, put together a five-run top of the fourth to take their first lead of the game at 5-3. With the bases loaded and one out against starter
Quinn Falish, the Cavaliers used a run-scoring single to get on the scoreboard. Madison College turned to another first year arm in
Chase Baker to try and limit the damage; however, two singles, a fielder's choice, and an error all added up to four more runs coming across.
The WolfPack pulled even in the fifth with a rally that started on an error by the KCC shortstop. The misplayed ground ball hit by Schau allowed
Howie Rickett to touch home for a one-run differential. A well-placed bunt single in the next at bat by freshman
Nate Novinska drove in Alonso to tie the game.
Madison College continued to push forward with a three-run sixth to regain the lead.
Beau Bloxdorf opened the frame with a hit by pitch and stole second to get into scoring position for
Jalen Gellings, who doubled to center to put the Pack on top. Two batters later, Alonso singled to left to plate Gellings. Another Kankakee Community College error off a ground ball by Schau scored Alonso to make it a three-run advantage.
The scoring closed in the bottom of the eighth with a two-out, two-run double by Novinska, scoring Rickett and Schau to the final 10-5 tally.
In the ninth, Baker earned strike outs of the first two batters to put the WolfPack out out away from the championship. After a single up the middle, sophomore
Sam Steuber was brought in to finish off the victory, and after issuing a walk to the first batter he faced, Steuber induced a game-ending ground ball to Butina at first base, who flipped it back to Steuber covering the bag to set off the celebration and dog pile.
Baker (4-1) earned the win with 5.1 innings of relief. The Mukwonago, Wisconsin, native struck out three batters and was tagged for one unearned run on six hits. Falish, a first year transfer from Michigan State University, worked 3.1 innings and allowed four runs on three hits and three walks with one strikeout.
Alonso, a native of Reedsburg, Wisconsin, was 2 for 4 with two runs scored and two runs batted in. The team's leader in hits and runs on the season registered five hits with two doubles, five RBI, and three runs scored over the last two games of the tournament en route to the MVP honors.
Novinska posted two hits and drove in a team-leading three runs, while
Chris Calico also racked up a pair of hits and scored a run. Gellings, last year's tournament MVP, finished with a hit, a run driven in, and two runs scored. Schau added one hit, one walk, one run, and one RBI. Rickett produced two runs with one hit, while Butina and Bloxdorf each finished with one hit and one run scored.
Up Next:
Madison College (43-9) will play at David Allen Memorial Ballpark in Enid, Oklahoma, for the 14th time, where they have an all-time record of 23-26. The bracket reveal will be on Tuesday, May 20 at 3:00 p.m. on the
NJCAA Network and on the
NJCAA YouTube channel. The
2025 NJCAA Division II Baseball World Series runs May 24-31, and is a 12-team, double-elimination format.
2025 NJCAA Division II Baseball World Series Information
Follow WolfPack baseball: Facebook |
Twitter
