MADISON, WISC. - Madison College's pursuit of an eighth consecutive trip to the NJCAA Division II World Series began with three wins this past weekend in the
Region 4 Sectional Tournament; however, it did not come with a little drama early for the top-seeded WolfPack. Following Friday's dramatic opener in which #8-seeded Highland Community College used an eighth-inning grand slam to break a tie game and secure the win, the Cougars rallied to force extra innings in game two, which Madison College eventually walked off with an 8-7 win in 12 innings. The WolfPack then kicked it into high gear and rolled to a 12-1 victory in six innings over #12-seeded Moraine Valley Community College and 11-1 in five innings over Highland to advance. The wins give the Pack an eight-game win streaking entering the
Region 4 Tournament.
Game #1 (Friday): (1) Madison College 8, (8) Highland Community College 7 (12 innings)
Madison College seemed well on their way to their first postseason victory with a 6-1 lead after five innings. Left fielder
Braylen White drove in two runs in the second with a single to right to bring in
Beau Bloxdorf and
Casey Wambach. Third baseman
Eason Hurd made it 3-0 in the third with a line drive to left that plated
Quinn Falish.
After the Cougars produced a run-scoring double in the fifth off starter
Broden Jackson, the WolfPack stacked up three more runs in the home half. First baseman
Sam Moses followed Bloxdorf's leadoff single with a two-bagger to center to regain the three-run lead, and then Wambach and
Jonah Roloff each delivered a hit to score Moses and Wambach, respectively.
Highland Community College would not back down, and cut their deficit to 6-3 in the sixth with a pair of runs as they chased Jackson from the game. Four hits and an error in the seventh allowed three more runs to score and evened the game at 6-6, while also forcing the Pack back to the bullpen as
Chase Baker replaced
Noah Musolf.
The Cougars took their first lead of the game in the eighth with a clutch two-out single with a runner on third to make it 7-6. Madison College had an answer as White opened the bottom half with a single, and made it to third on a
JJ Wolbert bunt and an HCC error. A subsequent bunt from
Nate Novinska allowed White to race in and score, tying the score at 7-7.
Madison College had a chance to walk it off in the ninth, but left the bases loaded. Both team continued to strand runners in the 10th and 11th innings. In the bottom of the 12th, the WolfPack produced back-to-back singles with one out from Bloxdorf and Moses, setting the stage for a walk-off win as Hurd dropped down a bunt single to score Bloxdorf.
The two teams combined for 37 hits in the game, with Madison College posting 19 of them. White led the way as the freshman from Brown Deer, Wisconsin, was 4 for 6 with two runs batted in and one run scored.
Thirteen of the hits came from the bottom half of the lineup. Moses, Hurd, and Roloff each had three hits. Moses added a walk, a run scored, and a RBI, while Roloff had one run driven in and Hurd added two runs batted in. Bloxdorf and Wambach each had two hits, with Bloxdorf leading the team with three runs scored and Wambach added two runs and a RBI.
Baker, a native of Mukwonago, Wisconsin, earned the win to improve to 4-0 on the season. He worked 5.1 innings in relief and limited the Cougars to one run on five hits and two walks, while striking out eight batters. Jackson also went 5.1 innings and surrendered three earned run on eight hits and two walks. He fanned six before Musolf took over and struck out four in his 1.1 innings on the hill. Musolf allowed three runs, one of which was earned, on five hits.
Game #1 (Friday): (1) Madison College 12, (12) Moraine Valley Community College 1 (6 innings)
The Madison College offense regained its form in the day's final game, breaking out for 12 runs and six extra base hits in a run-ruled victory that ended with another walk-off. The WolfPack posted three runs in the first inning, with
Braylen White once again getting the action started. He led off with a single, stole second, and advanced to third on an error, setting up fellow freshman
Jonah Roloff for a successful sacrifice fly to make it 1-0. Four batters later, sophomore shortstop
Beau Bloxdorf drove a double to wall in left to plate
Nate Novinska and
Quinn Falish for a 3-0 lead on four hits.
Moraine Valley Community College (18-36) got one run back in the second, taking advantage of a hit batter and two straight singles against starter
Tavian Shramek.
Still a two-run game in the fourth, Madison College got hot. Three hits, including two doubles, in the fourth resulted in two runs as
Eason Hurd delivered a sac fly before
JJ Wolbert doubled home another to make it 5-1.
In the fifth, sophomore
Sam Moses came up with two on and one away, and drove a 2-1 offering to deep right for a three-run homer and an 8-1 advantage. The home run marked his fourth of the season.
Two singles and a walk loaded the bases with no outs in the home half of the sixth, and a wild pitch brought Wolbert home. A sac fly by Novinska scored White and pushed the lead to nine runs. The final tally came with one might swing on a 1-1 pitch to Falish, which he crushed over the wall in left for a walk-off, two-run homer to end the game via run-rule. It was Falish's fifth homer of the season.
Falish, a native of De Pere, Wisconsin, led the team with three runs scored as he was 2 for 4 with two runs batted in. Moses, a Cedarburg, Wisconsin, native, was tops with three runs driven in on a 2 for 3 effort with two runs scored. White and Novinska each had two hits and scored twice, with Novinska also picking up a RBI. Wolbert finished with two hits, a run, and a run batted in.
Shramek, a righthanded freshmen from Blair, Wisconsin, scattered eight Cyclones hits over six innings, allowing just one run and striking out four as he remained undefeated on the season at 5-0.
The WolfPack is 8-1 all-time against MVCC, with the two most recent wins coming in postseason play.
Game #1 (Saturday): (1) Madison College 11, (8) Highland Community College 1 (5 innings)
Madison College and Highland Community College (24-24) met again on Saturday to decide who advances to the Region 4 Tournament. The WolfPack, who needed just one win thanks to their 12-inning victory on Friday, wasted little time in securing a five-inning, run-ruled victory that took just 90 minutes.
After a scoreless first inning, Madison College went ahead 3-0 in the second. Designated hitter
Casey Wambach doubled home
Sam Moses, and
Eason Hurd came through with a sacrifice fly to plate
Beau Bloxdorf. A wild pitch later in the frame allowed Wambach to score.
In the third, the WolfPack played some long ball as
Nate Novinska and
Quinn Falish hit back-to-back solo home runs to make it 5-0. Novinska leads the team with eight homers, while Falish owns six after hitting two in as many days.
Madison College put the game out of reach with a six-run fourth inning. Hurd drove in another run with another sacrifice fly before
Jonah Roloff singled in Wolbert. After Novinska delivered a run-scoring single to plate
Braylen White, Moses smashed the team's fifth home run in two games with a three-run bomb to left for an 11-0 lead. He boasts five home runs this season and two in back-to-back days.
Sophomore southpaw
Noah Marschke (5-0) completed the win despite giving up a win in the fifth after three walks and a wild pitch. He then retired three straight batters to strand two runners as he also remained perfect on the season. The Stevens Point, Wisconsin, native, struck out ten batters for his second double-digit K game of the season. Over five innings, he limited the Cougars to a run on two hits, four walks, and one hit batter.
Novinska, a former Verona Area HS athlete, finished with two hits, two runs scored, and two runs batted in. Bloxdorf also had a pair of hits and scored once.
Moses was tops with three runs batted in as part of a 1 for 3 game with two runs scored. Wambach crossed home two times and drove in another run on one hit. Falish and Roloff each had a hit, a run, and a run batted in, while Hurd drove in two runs as he was 0 for 0 at the plate.
The WolfPack is 53-8 all-time against the Cougars, including a 4-1 mark this season and an 11-2 record in postseason meetings.
Up Next:
Madison College (42-10) advances to and will host the
Region 4 Tournament for the seventh consecutive season and ninth time overall. The top-seeded WolfPack will open against #7-seed Bryant & Stratton College (34-20), who upset #2-seeded Black Hawk College in the sectional tournament. The team's split a doubleheader in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, on March 30 this season, and the Pack boasts a 14-5 all-time lead over the Bobcats, including a win in last year's postseason. First pitch is set for 9:00 a.m at
Robin Roberts Field, followed by a noon contest between #3-seeded Rock Valley College (36-16) and #4-seeded Kankakee Community College (35-19). Madison College is 44-23 all-time against the Golden Eagles, with a win in their lone postseason contest. The WolfPack is also 34-20 against the Cavaliers all-time, which includes a 15-4 mark in the postseason. All games will be streamed live at
MadisonCollege.tv.
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