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Posted: Jun 15, 2022

Madison College earns first Div. II runner-up, Oakton ousted after three games in Div. III tournament

(Image courtesy of Madison College Athletics)
(Image courtesy of Madison College Athletics)

ENID, OKLA. & GREENEVILLE, TENN. - Two Region 4 programs who have won baseball national championships before both fell short of adding to their championship history, with Madison College finishing runner-up at the 2022 NJCAA Division II Baseball World Series and Oakton Community College faltering in the loser's bracket at the 2022 NJCAA Division III Baseball World Series. The WolfPack broke through the semifinal round for the first time ever in the Division II tournament, and despite leading the championship best-of-three series one-game-to-none, ultimately lost to Pearl River Community College by a 7-2 final in the decision third game in Oklahoma on June 4. The Owls went 1-2 in Tennessee.

Madison College, which won Division III national titles in 1995, 1996, and 1997, was making it's 11th overall appearance at the Division II event, including its tenth in the last 13 years and fourth consecutive. Four-run first and eighth innings in their tournament opener sent the second-seeded WolfPack to a 10-6 win over tenth-seeded Mercer County Community College, and a second straight come-from-behind effort handed the Pack a 13-8 decision over third-seeded Heartland Community College. Into the national semifinals for the fifth time since 2010, Madison College broke through with a narrow 3-1 contest over Mercer County, thanks to Zach Storbakken two-hit, two-RBI game that included one of his three home runs in the tournament.

A best-of-three series against top-seeded Pearl River Community College started with a bang, as the Pack jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the second inning of Game 1, and eventually went on to win 11-4. Game 2 flipped heavily in favor of the Wildcats, who dominated in a 19-1 rout to force the winner-take-all Game 3. Storbakken struck again with a two-run homer in the first inning to give Madison College the early lead, which they maintained into the sixth inning thanks to starting pitcher Jacob Wilde. Unfortunately, he and the rest of the WolfPack arms couldn't keep the powerful PRCC bats down, as they tallied seven unanswered runs over the final four innings to claim their first championship. (Box Score | NJCAA Story) Madison College's Zach Storbakken, Brady Jurgella, and Jake Nelson were all named to the NJCAA Division II All-Tournament Team. The WolfPack went 49-11 for the second most wins in a season in school history.

Oakton Community College, which won the 2018 national championship, was back in Tennessee for the fourth straight season. The Owls seventh-seeded Owls opened with a 5-2 victory over second-seeded RCSJ-Gloucester. Kyle Moore went the distance and allowed just two runs on nine hits, while centerfielder Brendan Holloway recorded three hits, two runs scored, and two runs batted in. A second round matchup with sixth-seeded Herkimer ended in heartbreaking fashion. After trailiing 5-0 through five innings, Oakton scored eight runs over the next four innings to tie the game at 8-8 heading to the bottom of the ninth, where the eventual national champions walked off with a 9-8 win. An elimination game against eighth-seeded St. Cloud Tech ended in seven innings with an 11-3 setback to end the Owls season with a 34-28-1 record. Kyle Moore was named to the NJCAA Division III All-Tournament Team.