OAK CREEK, Wis. - Less than 24 hours after suffering a walk-off loss to DuPage, Milwaukee Area Technical College bounced back to earn a home doubleheader sweep over Sauk Valley Community College Tuesday.

In Game 1, the Stormers edged the Skyhawks in a back-and-forth affair that saw the home team claim a 6-5 win in nine innings. Following the close win in the opener, MATC jumped out to an early 7-0 lead before taking the second game, 12-2, in six innings. The pair of victories gave MATC its sixth win over the last seven games while also improving its record to 31-20, including a 21-18 record in Region 4 play.

"It's been good to win six of the last seven games," MATC head coach Caleb Bounds said. "We would have loved to get that one back against DuPage the other day, but to win six of seven and get some momentum going forward is really good. With four games left of the regular season, you want to end on a high note and keep the momentum going. We did a good job and executed today."

Game 1:  MATC's Hernandez walks-off Sauk Valley
The opening matchup between visiting Sauk Valley and hosting MATC came down to the wire as the Stormers secured the win in walk-off fashion, winning 6-5 in extra innings. With the game knotted at five in the bottom of the ninth, freshman Lucas Hernadez clutched up for a one-out RBI single to plate Cole Wissen (leadoff single), who advanced to second on a perfectly executed sac-bunt by Carlito Collins, and walk-off the Skyhawks.

"It was a great team effort and I really thank my coaches and teammates for trusting me to come up big for us in that situation," Hernandez said. "They trusted me with the bat to get the run around and I loved it. It was a team effort and it felt great to have my teammates rush at me after I walked it off."

The walk-off hit by Hernandez in the ninth came after MATC squandered multiple scoring opportunities in each of the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings. In the fifth, the Stormers failed to plate Marco Falletti (single) from third despite having two outs to work with. Then, in the sixth, Riley Emons was thrown out trying to advance from home on what should have been an RBI single from Robert Crawford III. Luckily, MATC scored a run on a defensive error before grounding out into a fielder's choice with runners on first and second to end the sixth. The Stormers also had a two-out bases-loaded situation in the seventh, but they failed to convert.

"We showed resilience there, it was tough, and we definitely had some scoring opportunities we squandered early, but Ethan Engelbrecht did an amazing job by keeping up zeros for us and I knew we were going to score eventually," Stormers head coach Caleb Bounds said. "We did a really good job of accomplishing that there in the bottom of the ninth. Better late than never."

MATC starter Michael Merline went six innings strong, giving up five earned runs on nine hits while striking out four and walking one to earn the no-decision.

Ethan Engelbrecht pitched three innings of relief, allowing zero runs on one hit with a pair of walks and four strikeouts to earn the win. His performance proved key in the Stormers' ability to formulate a walk-off win. In the top of the seventh, Engelbrecht escaped a one-out jam with runners on second and third unscathed. He did so again in the top of the eighth after surrendering a leadoff double.

MATC trailed 3-0 up until the bottom of the fourth when the Stormers managed to plate three runs on three hits and a sac-fly. Wissen led off the fourth with a single, followed by another single from Collins and then a two-RBI single from Hernandez. Ethan Morehouse eventually plated Hernandez on a sac-fly to right field.

Both teams traded runs in each of the fifth and sixth innings before MATC was able to end the game with an RBI single in the ninth.

STAT BOOK (Game 1)
Hernandez went 2-for-4 with a team-high three RBIs to lead the Stormers at the plate. Crawford III, Falletti, and Wissen each collected two hits apiece. Brady Johnson had a single and an RBI. Morehouse chipped in a single, RBI, and a run scored. Merline earned the no-decision and Engelbrecht (4-1) picked up the win in relief.



Game 2: Stormers makes quick work of Sauk Valley to complete the series sweep
MATC's offense had little trouble scoring in Game 2 as the Stormers went on to plate runs in all but one inning during its 12-2 win over Sauk Valley in six innings.

"We did a really good job today and we executed well," MATC head coach Caleb Bounds said. "We scored in every single inning, but one. That's the sign of a really good baseball team and they did a really good job of that."

Stormers' starter Max Mueller got things started by firing a 1-2-3 top of the first before his offense plated three runs in the bottom half of the inning. Marco Falletti put MATC on the board with an RBI single that scored Lucas Hernandez (leadoff walk) to break the 0-0 tie. Camdin Jansen (single) later scored from third on a passed ball to extend the lead to 2-0 before Falletti scored on a failed pickoff attempt at first.

MATC added to its early lead in the bottom of the second after Lucas Hernandez laid down a sac-bunt, Jansen doubled to center, Cole Wissen grounded into a fielder's choice, and Carlito Collins grounded out, each scoring one run.

Ryan Quello continued the offensive onslaught in the third with an RBI single to give the Stormers an 8-0 lead. Wissen later barreled a two-run shot over the left field fence in the bottom of the fourth to make it 10-2 after the Skyhawks scored two in the top half of the inning off groundouts.

MATC wrapped things up by scoring two runs in the bottom of the sixth to cut the game short. A leadoff walk to Brady Johnson led to an RBI triple from Wissen before Leonardo Zerillo smacked a no-out RBI single that plated Wissen and walked things off via mercy rule in the sixth.

Mueller claimed the win to improve to move to 3-2 on the bump this season. He tossed four innings, allowing two earned runs on a pair of hits while striking out four and walking two.

"Mueller is a great arm that mixes his pitches well," Wissen said of his teammate. "He locates well and we always have confidence in him whenever he's going out there to start because he throws strikes and lets us play defense."

Collin Weist had two solid innings of relief, giving up no runs and two hits with a pair of punchouts.

"Weist came in and did a great job there by doing what he's done all season for us," Bounds said. "He's coming in and getting us outs, and so we just have to continue to do that and execute."

STAT BOOK (Game 2)
Wissen drove in four runs off two hits, including a two-run home run to help lead the Stormers with the sticks. Jansen added two hits, one RBI and two runs scored. Quello went 3-for-3 with one RBI and one run scored. Falletti tallied one single, one RBI and two runs. Mueller picked up the win, tossing four innings with four strikeouts.



UP NEXT
MATC (31-20) will host Wisconsin Lutheran JV for its Autism Awareness Game at 4 p.m. Wednesday. The home contest will feature one nine-inning game.