The Madison College softball team has had a great season as it looks ahead to the NJCAA Region 4 Tournament that starts on May 4.
Thanks to a rainy weekend, the WolfPack wrapped up the season by winning a doubleheader at home against Black Hawk College on April 26. Madison College won, 3-1, and 17-13.
The team now sits at 26-11 overall, winning more than 70 percent of its games.
Offense has been a strength of the team all season long. Madison College has scored 286 runs through 35 games, while its opponents have scored just 105.
Four players have batting averages higher than .400, led by Jenna Redders who is hitting .440. She has 44 hits in 100 at-bats, including two home runs, three triples and nine doubles.
Karis Paulson has a batting average of .434, Brooke Anderson is at .432 and Mackenna Schultz is at .422. Schultz leads the team in doubles with 11.
Among the pitchers, Kendall Keik has the most victories. She has posted an 11-4 record and a 3.55 earned run average. Brooke Steinhorst has a 6-5 record and a 4.93 earned run average.
Thanks to the the spotty weather, the WolfPack had to play several games in a fairly short time.
After a 10-2 spring trip to South Carolina, the team couldn’t get back on the field until a March 29 doubleheader against Kankakee Community College.
The WolfPack split that doubleheader, winning the first game, 9-7, and falling in the second game, 7-5. The team had to wait another week to play again, when it dominated Kishwaukee College on April 6, winning 14-3 and 13-5 in a pair of five-inning games.
After a pair of close road losses to South Suburban College, a double header against College of Lake County started another winning streak. Madison College beat Lake County, 8-1 and 14-2, on April 10.
Two days later, the WolfPack went up against Joliet Junior College, playing only six innings in the first and winning, 10-2, and only five innings in the second game with a score of 13-1.
After another win against Waubonsee Community College, 11-3, the streak ended with a 4-3 loss to the visiting Chiefs.
After sweeping Dakota County Technical College, 6-0 and 9-1, Madison College faced one of its toughest opponents of the season. Bryant and Stratton College upended Madison College, 7-0 and 13-3, on April 16.
A split with Triton College on April 19 saw Madison College fall 4-3 in nine innings before posting a dominant 8-0 win. That was followed by a sweep of Highland Community College on April 20, where Madison College won, 5-3 and 18-4.
Area rival Rock Valley College came to Madison on April 23 and left with a pair of wins, but both games were extremely close. Rock Valley won the first game, 10-7, and the second game, 10-9, after eight innings.