MOLINE, Ill. — Milwaukee Area Technical College baseball came up short in both games of Saturday's Region 4 doubleheader at Black Hawk College, falling 10–5 in seven innings and 9–8 in extras to close a tough afternoon on the road. The back‑to‑back losses dropped the Stormers to 6–12 overall, 2–10 away from home, and extended their skid to three straight.
MATC battled throughout the day, erasing early deficits in both contests, but late‑inning swings and a walk‑off fielder's choice ultimately tilted the two‑game series toward the Braves.
"We played a couple of hard‑fought games against Black Hawk," MATC head coach
Caleb Bounds said. "In Game 1, we just didn't throw enough strikes, and they were able to capitalize. In Game 2, we made a great comeback by scoring six in the sixth to tie it. Then in the seventh, we worked to load the bases, and you tip your cap to their pitcher for getting a couple of big strikeouts to end the threat. Overall, we played good baseball — we were just on the wrong end of a great game."
Game 1: Black Hawk 10, MATC 5 (7 innings)
MATC opened the doubleheader with one of its stronger starts of the month, building a 4–1 lead before Black Hawk rallied to pull even and then surged ahead with back‑to‑back three‑run innings on the way to a 10–5 win.
Ace Jacob Lequia set the tone early, working three scoreless innings while allowing just one hit despite three walks. The Stormers struck first in the fourth when
Hayden Fellows turned on a pitch and launched a solo homer to left, his third of the season, giving MATC a 1–0 lead.
The bottom half of the inning shifted momentum. Lequia allowed a leadoff single and two walks to load the bases, then hit the next batter to force in the tying run. A fielder's choice made it 2–1, and a two‑run single extended the deficit to 4–1 before Lequia ended the inning with a pair of strikeouts. He finished with four earned runs on three hits, six walks, and three strikeouts over four innings.
MATC responded in the fifth.
Carson Sieler walked and
Brady Johnson reached on an error, setting up
Jaiden Jung, who crushed a three‑run homer to left to tie the game 4–4.
Black Hawk answered in the bottom half against reliever
Trey Jones, who allowed a leadoff walk and a single before an RBI fielder's choice put the Braves back in front. After a strikeout and popout, an intentional walk loaded the bases, followed by a hit‑by‑pitch and another walk that stretched the margin to 7–4.
Johnson brought MATC within 7–5 in the sixth with an RBI groundout, but Black Hawk countered again with a leadoff homer and later added two more runs on a Stormers defensive error to make it 10–5.
MATC went down in order in the seventh, striking out three times to close the opener.
Fellows and Jung paced the offense, each homering in the loss, with Jung driving in a team‑high three runs. The Stormers added singles from Sieler,
Payten Jibben,
Gavin Garnica,
Blake Bugher, and Johnson.
On the mound, Lequia took the loss. Jones worked 0.2 innings with three earned runs on one hit.
Connor Ziman followed with one inning of relief, allowing three runs (one earned) on four hits with one strikeout and no walks, while
Bralen Mitcham recorded the final out of the sixth in a clean 0.1‑inning appearance.
Game 2: Black Hawk 9, MATC 8 (8 innings)
Game 2 turned into a back‑and‑forth battle decided by a single play. MATC rallied from an early 8–2 deficit, flipped the momentum with a six‑run sixth inning, and nearly took the lead in the seventh before Black Hawk escaped a bases‑loaded, two‑out jam with a strikeout. The Braves ultimately walked it off in the bottom of the eighth on a fielder's choice.
Black Hawk opened with four runs in the first inning on three hits, a walk, an RBI groundout and a passed ball. MATC answered in the second when
Brady Johnson ripped an RBI triple to score
Blake Bugher, who had singled to lead off.
Tyler Lee followed with a sacrifice fly to center to make it 4–2.
Starter
Ethan Engelbrecht ran into trouble in the second, allowing a leadoff walk before recording an out on a sacrifice‑bunt attempt. He then surrendered back‑to‑back home runs, pushing the deficit to 7–2.
Isaiah Head entered in relief and immediately gave up a leadoff double, which later scored on an RBI single to make it 8–2.
Both teams generated chances over the next few innings, but neither broke through until MATC's explosive sixth. Bugher opened the inning with a double, followed by a groundout and a walk.
Austin Arnold singled home a run to make it 8–3. After a strikeout,
Jaiden Jung was hit by a pitch to load the bases with two outs.
Hayden Fellows drove in a run on a fielder's choice, and one batter later
Payten Jibben crushed a grand slam to right field, tying the game 8–8.
Zakary Vanlerberghe delivered a clean 1‑2‑3 inning in the bottom of the sixth. MATC threatened again in the seventh when Bugher walked to lead off, but a fielder's choice erased him at second. After a groundout, Arnold walked and
Easton Stewart was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Jung, who struck out looking to end the inning.
MATC went down in order in the eighth before Jibben, who had moved to the mound, worked a scoreless seventh and returned for the eighth. A walk and a single set up the decisive moment: with one out and the bases loaded, a sharp ground ball produced only the out at second, allowing the winning run to score on a walk‑off fielder's choice.
Jung led MATC at the plate, going 3‑for‑4 with a run scored. Johnson added two hits, including an RBI triple, while Bugher collected two hits and scored twice.
Jibben took the loss in relief, allowing one earned run on one hit with two walks and a strikeout over 1.2 innings. Vanlerberghe and Head also contributed out of the bullpen. Engelbrecht lasted 1.1 innings in the start, allowing seven runs (six earned) on five hits and two walks with two strikeouts.
UP NEXT
MATC (6–12) returns home Tuesday for a nine‑inning Region 4 matchup against Bryant & Stratton College, with first pitch set for 2 p.m. in Oak Creek.
