MALTA, ILL. - In their first Region 4 doubleheader of the 2026 season, the Madison College softball team picked up a pair of wins with a road sweep of Kishwaukee College on Wednesday. The WolfPack rolled to a 10-1 win in six innings in the opener, then took advantage of a wild pitch in the sixth inning to break a tie score for a 5-4 decision in the finale. Sophomore pitcher Lauryn Etienne recorded a career-high in strikeouts for the second consecutive start. The wins improve the Pack's head-to-head win streak over the Kougars to 23 in a row and boasts Madison's lead in the all-time series to 28-15.

Game #1: Madison College 10, Kishwaukee College 0 (6 innings)

The day's first game was a scoreless battle for the first four innings, due in large part to the pitching prowess of Lauryn Etienne. The second year arm mowed through the Kishwaukee lineup by striking out the side in the first and second innings. She added another in the third and two in the fourth.

Madison College broke the scoring drought for both teams in the fifth with a two-out rally. After back-to-back singles by first baseman Bertina Dodge and shortstop Sadie Svendsen, first year leftfielder Kelsen Meverden drove a triple to the wall in right to score pinch runner Jeneya Marquez Perez and Svendsen for a 2-0 lead. 

The Kougars answered in the home half with a run on a double and an error to cut their deficit in half; however, the score exploded in favor of the WolfPack in the top of the sixth. An error and a single had two runners on and in scoring position for sophomore Hanna Stremkowski, who delivered a two-RBI single to center. Two batters later, Svendsen singled in Stremkowski, and then Meverden picked up two runs batted in with a base knock to left that brought in Dodge and Svendsen. With a six-run cushion, the Pack kept their foot on the gas with three more runs as Raegen Schwarz singled in Meverden and Hayden Schabel double to deep center to plate two as Cassie Coffey and Schwarz crossed home for a 10-1 lead. 

A 1-2-3 inning by Etienne in the sixth ended the game via run rule as the righthander recorded 11 strikeouts to set a new career-high after setting down ten in her previous outing. She was credited with one unearned run on five hits and a walk. Through four starts this season, the native of Oregon, Wisconsin, boasts a 0.78 earned run average and 31 strikeouts. 

Svendsen, a Huntley, Illinois, native, recorded her second 4 for 4 game of the season and is 10 for her last 11 at the plate. She scored two runs and drove in another. Meverden was right behind Svendsen in the lineup and went 2 for 4 with a career-best four runs batted in and a run scored, while Schabel registered two hits and two RBI. Schwarz racked up a two runs scored and a run driven in, and Stremkowski picked up two RBI with a run scored.



Game #2: Madison College 5, Kishwaukee College 4

Madison College and Kishwaukee College (11-7) each scored in the opening inning of game two, with the WolfPack putting up two runs in the top half. Freshman catcher Cassie Coffey doubled on a line drive to left to bring in Kelsen Meverden, and then scored herself on a successful groundout by Raegan Schwarz. 

The Kougars responded with a three-run home half, taking advantage of three hits, two errors, and a wild pitch by starter Gretta Lewis.

Still down a run in the fifth, Madison opened with back-to-back singles from rightfielder Bailey Mester and second baseman Shelby Brooks, and then got a run-scoring sacrifice fly from Meverden and another RBI-double by Meverden to go in front 4-3. A triple and a sac fly by the first two Kishwaukee batters in the bottom of the fifth evened the score at 5-5.

Freshman shortstop Aubrey Juga stepped up for the WolfPack in the sixth inning. She reached with a leadoff double to left and then advanced to third on a wild pitch. Another wild pitch two throws later allowed Juga to race in and score the go-ahead run.

Even though the Pack stranded two more runners in the sixth and one in the seventh, Lewis was able to pitch around a Kougars double in their half of the sixth and an error on the leadoff batter in the seventh to close out the win. The righty from Holladay, Utah, improved to 3-1 after throwing all seven innings and allowing just one earned run on seven hits, while also striking out four batters.

Coffey, a native of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, went 3 for 4 with two runs batted in and a run scored to lead the offense. Mester also came through with multiple hits as the former Belmont HS athlete was 2 for 2 with a walk and scored a run. Meverden finished with a hit, a run, and a RBI.

Up Next: 

Madison College (8-4) was scheduled to play Rock Valley College on Friday, March 27 for the home opener; however, expected cold temperatures have postponed the doubleheader to Monday, March 30. Before then, the WolfPack will travel to South Holland, Illinois, on Sunday, March 29 to take on South Suburban College (5-7) in a Region 4 twin bill. They lead the all-time series with the Bulldogs by a 13-7 tally. First pitch is set for noon, with live stats and video available via the GameChanger app.

Monday's games against the #5-ranked Golden Eagles (24-2) will begin at 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. at Robert D. Goodman Softball Field. The WolfPack has lost 14 straight games to RVC, who leads the all-time series 52-19. The games will be streamed live at MadisonCollege.tv, with live stats via the GameChanger app.

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