Madison repeats as Region IV champions

MADISON, WISC. - The three other remaining teams in the Region IV Division II Baseball Tournament each had their crack at the defending champions, and in the end, top-seeded Madison College survived the test and continued their reign atop the region. The WolfPack shutout third-seeded Black Hawk College 9-0 to claim their second straight title and their eighth in ten years since joining the region. As a result, Madison College will make its 14th appearance in a NJCAA baseball national tournament and their ninth trip to the NJCAA Division II World Series.

Sophomore Troy Hickey worked a no-hitter into the fifth inning before leaving the game in the eight and picking up the win in a combined two-hit shutout of the Braves (24-19). The WolfPack broke open a 3-0 game with three runs in the fifth. Second year infielder Marquis Reuter, who finished with five RBI, capped the offensive effort with a three-run homer in the eight to put the game away and earn Region IV Tournament Most Valuable Player honors. Coach Mike Davenport took home his eighth Region IV Coach of the Year award.

The top-seeded WolfPack began the weekend with an 11-5 win over fourth-seeded Moraine Valley Community College (20-25) despite trailing 4-0 early. Sophomore outfielder Adam LaRock hit a pair of three-run home runs to put away the Cyclones. In a rematch of last year's title game, Madison College again erased an early deficit of 4-1 to outlast second-seeded McHenry County College (40-13) thanks to a five run fifth inining and a three-run sixth in the semifinal victory. 

Madison College (40-9) advances to the 2019 NJCAA Division II World Series in Enid, Oklahoma, from May 25-June1. The WolfPack finished fifth in the 2018 national tournament and have not won a national title since a three-peat from 1995-97 at the Division III level.

(Photo courtesy of Madison College Athletics)