OAK CREEK, Wis. — MATC baseball had a solid bounce back effort during Saturday's home doubleheader against Olive-Harvey as the Stormers managed to sweep the Panthers to help end their two-game skid.

In the opener, the Stormers leaned on the strong pitching from starter Luke Klekamp, who earned the win in a complete-game effort, as they claimed a 4-0 shutout win in seven innings. As for Game 2, MATC broke a 5-5 tie in the bottom of the sixth by scoring two runs to help earn a 7-5 victory over seven innings.

"I thought we played better and coming off one of our worst days against Madison on Tuesday, it was nice to finally get back out there and get going," MATC head coach Caleb Bounds said. "...It's always a great day whenever you can go out there and earn a sweep and so I was proud of my guys there for getting us back on the winning side."

Game 1: Klekamp delivers strong outing on the bump
Sophomore right-handed pitcher Luke Klekamp has been one of MATC's most consistent arms during the 2024-25 season, but his efforts haven't been reflected in his win-loss column.

Entering Saturday, Klekamp has gone on to produce a 1-4 record over a team-high eight starts, with his last win coming in a start against Moberly Area Community College on Feb. 26.

Klekamp finally got over the hump and earned his first victory on the mound in nearly two months after tossing a complete-game shutout against the Panthers. The second-year righty fired seven scoreless innings, giving up just two hits and two walks with seven punch outs.

"It was good to finally get another win since the first game of the season," Klekamp said. "That was big for me and much needed. My team was working for me today and got me some early runs. It's easy to pitch when you get a couple of runs to work with."

Given how well Klekamp performed on the mound, MATc's offense didn't need to press at the plate. All four of their runs came over the course of the first three innings, all of which came on sacrifice-flyouts and one wild pitch.

In the first, the Stormers found themselves in a bases-loaded one-out situation after they drew three walks. Robert Crawford III then stole home on a wild pitch to put MATC on the board, 1-0. Two pitches later Cole Wissen recorded an RBI sac-fly to extend the lead to 2-0.

A leadoff double by Lucas Hernandez in the second helped lead to another run. Crawford III would later plate Hernandez on another RBI sac-fly.

Marco Falletti ripped a single up the middle to leadoff the bottom of the third. He would go on to steal second and third before tagging up on an RBI sac-fly by Wissen to put MATC up 4-0.

MATC left seven batters on base, including four that were left in scoring position between the fifth and sixth innings.

"We have to do a better job in making sure that we score on the opportunities that are given to us," Stormers head coach Caleb Bounds said. "...It's always nice to get out to a 4-0 lead and you love that, but in the fifth and sixth innings we had opportunities with runners on second and third with less than two outs and we didn't score in either inning."

STATBOOK (Game 1)
Klekamp improved to 2-4 on the mound to help lead the Stormers. Falletti and Lucas Hernandez each had two hits and one run to collectively pace the Stormers' offense. Wissen had a pair of RBIs on two flyouts. Brady Johnson and Camdin Jansen had one single apiece.



Game 2: Stormers pulls away late-game to seal two-run victory
In a back-and-forth affair, MATC managed to break a 5-5 tie in the bottom of the sixth thanks to a go-ahead RBI triple by Carlito Collins that helped the Stormers eventually claim  a 7-5 victory.

"My main approach was to just move the runner over really because we got a really good hitter behind me [Camdin Jansen]," Collins said of his clutch go-ahead RBI triple. "So I thought to just get him over, but the ball went over the outfielder's head and something good came out of it."

It all started when freshman Riley Emons recorded a leadoff single to begin the bottom of the sixth. Emons was relieved of his duties for pinch runner Robert Crawford III, who immediately advanced to second after a perfect sacrifice-bunt from Easton Morehouse. Morehouse's bunt helped set up Carlito Collins for a clutch RBI triple to put the Stormers ahead 6-5. Ensuing hitter Camdin Jansen then barreled an RBI single to plate Collins and give them a much-needed insurance run.

"That's what we needed to do earlier in the game and so I was happy we finally did it," MATC head coach Caleb Bounds said of the two-run sixth-inning. "At the end of the day, I think we had 2-3 other innings where we could have scored more and done things like that…that's what's going to win and lose you ball games whenever you can or can't execute in those big moments."

Freshman closer, Ethan Engelbrecht, put the finishing touches on the game by firing a scoreless seventh-inning. After allowing the leadoff hitter to reach on an error, Engelbrecht recorded a strikeout before getting Oliver Harvey to line out into a game-ending double play.

Engelbrecht was one of three relievers used after starter Josh Bardnt's day came to a close after tossing 4 and ⅓ innings, where he allowed five runs (four earned) on six hits while striking out six and walking two. Connor Ziman was first in relief and allowed zero runs on one hit over ⅔ innings of work. Jake Schnell also tossed one inning of relief action, giving up zero hits and zero runs with one strikeout and one walk.

"All three of those guys have thrown in a lot of big games and our expectation is when we get to them, we should be able to shut the door on our opponents," Bounds said of his bullpen in Game 2. "They did a great job at being ready and so it's back at it again tomorrow against Illinois Valley."

Most of the Stormers' offensive production came from the top of their lineup. Collins, Jansen, Marco Falletti, Brady Johnson, and Cole Wissen combined for seven of the Stormers' 11 hits, including all five of the team's RBIs.

Olive-Harvey held a 2-1 lead up until the bottom of the third inning. In the third, MATC regained the lead by plating two runs off a Johnson RBI sac-fly and a throwing error. The Stormers extended their lead to 5-2 in the fourth with an RBI single from Easton Morehouse and another defensive error by the Panthers'.

Clinging to a 5-2 lead, MATC allowed Olive-Harvey to knot things up at five runs apiece thanks to an defensive error that scored two runs and an RBI single. Shortly afterward, the Stormers pulled ahead off Collins' RBI triple in the sixth and never looked back.

STAT BOOK (Game 2) 
Jansen went 2-for-4 with a triple, RBI and a run scored to lead the Stormers at the plate. Collins added an RBI triple and a run scored. Falletti contributed two hits, one RBI and a run. Emons and Morehouse each chipped in two hits and a run. Barndt lasted 4 and ⅓ innings, allowing five runs (four earned) on six hits with six strikeouts to earn the no-decision. Schnell earned the win in relief, giving up zero runs and zero hits over one inning of work.



UP NEXT
MATC (27-19) will host Illinois Valley Sunday for another home doubleheader beginning at noon.