NORMAL, ILL. - The Madison College baseball team opened the 2026 season with a trio of games against ranked teams at The Winter Classic. The WolfPack, ranked #5 in the NJCAA Division II Preseason Poll, rallied to take down #15 Parkland College by an 8-6 final in extra innings to officially kick off the new campaign on Friday at The Corn Crib. Opening day wrapped up with a 9-5 setback against #18 Kirkwood Community College, and the Pack returned Saturday to complete the weekend with a high-scoring 13-9 defeat at the hands of #4-ranked Heartland Community College.

Game #1 (Friday): #5 Madison College 8, #15 Parkland College 6 (8 innings)

After leaving two runners on in the first half inning of the season, Madison College scored the season's first run in the top of the second when freshman Braylen White tripled to center and scored on an ground out by Ian Salvesen. Three batters later, first year player Jonah Roloff singled on a ground ball to the left side to drive in JJ Wolbert for a 2-0 lead. The Cobras answered with two runs of their own in the second to pull even.

White, a native of Brown Deer, Wisconsin, continued his hot start in the third inning. Two batters after sophomore Sam Moses led off with a double, White ripped a two-bagger of his own to drive in a run. Another double in the inning by sophomore Beau Bloxdorf was enough to plate two runners as White and Wolbert each crossed for a 5-2 edge. Parkland College (5-6) again responded, hitting a two-run home run off second year starter Noah Marschke.

The Cobras took their first lead of the game in the fifth with a second two-run blast, this time off sophomore reliever Noah Musolf. Trailing 6-5 entering the final inning, Madison led off the top of the seventh with a Moses single, and after a sacrifice by Eason Hurd, White delivered yet again. His third extra base hit of the game scored Moses to even the score at 6-6 and force extra innings.

In the eighth, Moses stepped to the dish with two runners on and two away, and drive a ball to the center field wall for a two-run triple as Roloff and Matt Gruber scored to make it 8-6. Sophomore Carter Lund, who pitched out of a bases loaded jam in the bottom of the seventh, remained in and faced the minimum three batters in the eighth for the win.

Moses, a Cedarburg, Wisconsin, native, went 4 for 5 with two runs scored and two runs batted in. He established a new career-high for hits, while matched his career-best in runs scored.

White's collegiate debut was a 3 for 4 performance that included two doubles and a triple, and resulted in two runs scored and two driven in.

Roloff also produced multiple hits, going 2 for 4 with a run and a RBI. Bloxdorf tallied two runs batted and Wolbert scored twice as both players went 1 for 4 at the plate.

Marschke worked three innings and allowed four earned runs on four hits and a walk, while striking out one. Musolf followed with two innings that yielded two runs, two hits, and a walk. The righthander from Franklin, Wisconsin, also fanned five of the nine batters he faced. Mason Sherman tossed one scoreless inning with a K and two walks before Lund (1-0) took over to secure his second career victory. The native of Cambridge, Wisconsin, allowed two hits and two walks, but struck out one without giving up a run.

Madison College is 2-4 all-time against Parkland College.

Game #2 (Friday): #18 Kirkwood Community College 9, #5 Madison College 5

Madison College trailed early in the day's second game, giving up a run on an error in the first inning and two runs via the long ball in the second inning against second year starting pitcher Chase Baker. The WolfPack, however, answered with three runs of their own in the top of third inning. A walk and a double put two runners in scoring position with one away for Beau Bloxdorf, who got the Pack on the board with a sacrifice fly to right that plated Ian Salvesen. A triple by Braylen White - his second of the day and fourth extra base hit - drove in freshman Chase Maika, and Nate Novinska capped the frame with a run-scoring single down the third base line to tie the game.

The Eagles (5-5) regained their three-run lead immediate going ahead 6-3 with a RBI double and a two-run homer against sophomore righthander Landon Dessart. The deficit grew to 7-4 in the bottom of the fourth before the WolfPack punched back in the fifth. Novinska, who hit eight home runs as a freshman in 2025, smashed the WolfPack's first homer of the season with a two-run shot to left that scored Bloxdorf.

Madison College surrendered another two-run home run in the sixth, but managed to load the bases with two hits and a walk in the seventh with two outs. Unfortunately, Sam Moses struck out swinging to end the game.

Novinska, a native of Verona, Wisconsin, finished 2 for 3 with a home run and a walk, drove in three runs, and scored another. Bloxdorf and White each had a hit, scored a run, and drove in another, while Maika produced a hit and a run scored.

On the mound, Baker struck out five batters in his opening two innings, while also giving up three runs, two of which were earned, on a hit and a walk. Dessart (0-1) was credited with the loss after allowing three earned runs on five hits and a walk in just two-thirds of an inning. Casey Wambach struck out the only batter he faced, and Broden Jackson recorded a career-high six strikeouts in three innings. He also allowed three runs, two earned, with three hits and two hit batters.

Madison College is 5-2 all-time against KCC.



Game #3 (Saturday): #4 Heartland Community College 13, #5 Madison College 9

The finale of the tournament against the host Hawks saw the home team storm out to a 13-0 lead. Heartland Community College (5-5) scored one run in the first before exploding for four runs in the second. They added three more in the third for an eight run advantage before plating two in the fourth. Three more in the fifth inning had HCC eyeing a run-ruled victory before the WolfPack offense came to life.

Madison College used a Nate Novinska double and a Sam Moses singles to get on the board in the top of the sixth to make it 13-1.

An inning later, the WolfPack got back in the game with a seven-run seventh that featured four hits, two free passes, an error, and a wild pitch. Freshman Casey Wambach, a native of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, led off the frame with his first collegiate home run, a solo shot to make it 13-2. After an error allowed another run to score, Ian Salvesen drew a bases loaded walk to get within 13-4. Chase Maika followed with a two-run single on a line drive to right and Wambach continued the big inning with a double to the right field corner that plated one more for a 13-7 score. A wild pitch to Noah Fitzgerald brought in Matt Gruber to pull the Pack within five runs.

The WolfPack was able to plate one additional run in the ninth as Wambach's impressive game ended with a single up the middle to drive in Gruber, capping the scoring at 13-9.

Wambach posted a career-best 4 for 5 effort at the plate with three runs batted in and one run scored. Moses was right behind with a 3 for 3 day and one RBI. Novinska also produced multiple hits, going 2 for 3 to score one run. Maika had a hit and two runs driven in, while Gruber added a hit and scored twice. JJ Wolbert produced a hit, a run, and a run batted in.

Madison College used nine pitchers in the game, five of which made their collegiate pitching debuts. Adison Tevz (0-1) took the loss after giving up a run on a hit and a walk, while also striking out two. Tavian Shramek and Aaron Ploszay also recorded two strikeouts.

The WolfPack, who had beaten the Hawks at the NJCAA Division II World Series last season, boasts a 4-3 record all-time against HCC, including three wins in Enid, Oklahoma.



Up Next:

Madison College (1-3) returns to action on March 12 when they open their annual Arizona Spring Trip with a doubleheader at Glendale Community College (15-6). The Gauchos own a 13-3 lead all-time over the WolfPack, including wins in seven straight meetings. The doubleheader opens a nine-day, 11-game trip to the desert. First pitch in Glendale, Arizona, is set for 2:00 p.m. CT/noon APT and can be streamed and followed live via the GameChanger app.

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