Madison College’s softball team might not win the North Central Community College Conference title this season, but the WolfPack has shown it can hold its own with national powerhouse Rock Valley College.
The two teams have played two doubleheaders against each other this season, and Madison College won a game each time.
Most recently, Madison College lost to Rock Valley College, 1-0, before winning, 8-7, in eight innings.
Due to Madison College’s earlier conference loss to College of DuPage, Rock Valley leads the conference standings with a 7-1 record while Madison College is second at 6-2.
For Madison College to claim a share of the conference title, they will have to win both games against Milwaukee Area Technical College and hope the College of DuPage can take at least one game from Rock Valley in their doubleheader on May 4.
No matter what happens, though, Madison College has shown what it can do against a six-time defending national champion.
Rock Valley scored the only run in the opening game of the April 26 doubleheader, scoring on two hits in the top of the sixth inning.
Madison College nearly scored in the bottom of the sixth inning after getting a runner to third base with no one out. But a line-drive double play and a strike out ended the scoring threat.
Casey Fountain pitched a strong game, but still took the loss. She held Rock Valley to one run on four hits and struck out 12 batters.
The second game of the doubleheader saw both teams pound out 10 hits. Madison College scored a run in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game and another in the bottom of the eight to win.
Brianna Brandner scored the winning run after hitting a two-out single in the bottom of the eighth inning and stealing second base. After a walk, Maddie Kvatek singled to right field to score Brander.
Lauren Steien pitched the win, going five innings in relief and allowing four runs on seven hits. Katie Joten led the offense with three hits and two runs scored.
Madison College is now 36-5 overall and is on a nine-game winning streak. The WolfPack has eight games remaining before the NJCAA Region 4 Tournament begins on May 11.