OAK CREEK, Wis. — MATC baseball turned in one of its most complete home performances of the season Saturday, sweeping Moraine Valley 7–1 and 5–1 to improve to 12–14 overall and 6–4 at home.

The Stormers leaned on strong starting pitching, timely hitting and error-free defense throughout the doubleheader, highlighted by a breakout performance from two‑way standout Payten Jibben in the opener and a 10‑hit effort in the nightcap. MATC controlled both games from the early innings on, setting the tone for a confident, well-rounded sweep.

"It was great to earn the sweep, that's exactly what we needed," MATC head coach Caleb Bounds said. "I thought the boys did a great job in all facets of the game. We had great defense, clutch offense, and our pitching did a really good job throwing strikeouts, competing in the zone and allowing our defense to not just sit there and watch walks. Everyone played good baseball."

Game 1: MATC 7, Moraine Valley 1
MATC backed a strong outing from starting pitcher Payten Jibben with timely offense and error‑free defense, pulling away early in a 7–1 win to open Saturday's doubleheader.

Jibben worked through traffic in the early innings and delivered his best start of the season, earning his first collegiate win after throwing 5 innings and allowing one earned run on four hits, with six strikeouts and four walks. He escaped a bases‑loaded jam in the first and stranded two more in the third, using a strikeout and a running catch by left fielder Tyler Lee to keep Moraine Valley off the board.

"It feels good to earn my first win, and it was nice to be able to go five innings and only give up one run," Jibben said. "A lot of previous outings I was giving up three to four runs, and I was kind of putting my offense in pressure situations, so it was nice to go today and also help myself out at the plate."

MATC broke through in the second when Brady Johnson ripped a two‑run double into the right‑center gap for a 2–0 lead. The Stormers doubled the margin in the third as Jaiden Jung opened the inning with a double, followed by a Jibben single. After a groundout by Lee scored Jung, Jibben later stole home to make it 4–0.

"The guys have been doing a really good job at the top of our order, and whenever we have guys in scoring position, we were able to execute today," Bounds said. "That's the difference between winning and losing ballgames a lot of the time — being able to execute, especially early on and getting a couple of runs there to start the day."

Moraine Valley scored its lone run in the fourth on an RBI triple, but MATC answered immediately. In the fifth, Sieler and Jung opened with back‑to‑back singles before a Jibben fielder's choice plated Sieler for a 5–1 lead. Jibben later capped his two‑way performance in the sixth with a two‑out, two‑run single after the Stormers loaded the bases on two singles and a walk.

Relievers Connor Ziman and Max Nottingham closed the door with two scoreless innings. Ziman delivered a perfect sixth with one strikeout, and Nottingham worked around two hits in the seventh to seal the win.

MATC finished with 7 runs on 8 hits, leaving seven runners on base with zero defensive errors. Moraine Valley totaled one run on seven hits and stranded ten.

Jibben led the Stormers at the plate, going 2‑for‑4 with three RBIs and one run scored. Johnson added a two‑run double, while Sieler and Jung each recorded two hits, with Sieler scoring twice.

Game 2: MATC 5, Moraine Valley 1
MATC completed the sweep behind another strong pitching effort and a three‑hit day from leadoff hitter Carson Sieler, pulling away late for a 5–1 win in the nightcap.

Starter Manny Sostra set the tone early, working out of two scoring threats across his two scoreless innings. He stranded a runner on second with two outs in the first and pitched around another runner in scoring position in the second, finishing with two strikeouts, two hits allowed, and one walk.

Reliever Jerry Vasek followed with three shutout innings, including a 1‑2‑3 third and a key escape in the fourth after Moraine Valley moved a runner to third with one out. Vasek allowed three hits and three walks while striking out two. Nolan Litkowiec closed the final two frames, using a lineout double play and a strikeout to erase a no‑out jam in the sixth before allowing one run in the seventh.

"As a pitcher, you are going to have to deal with tough situations, and it's how you handle those situations of adversity," Bounds said. "I thought all three of our pitchers did a great job today. They've been working hard, and I thought we did a really good job executing big pitches in key situations to make sure we kept the lead."

MATC opened the scoring in the second when Sieler punched a two‑run single into left with two outs and the bases loaded, following a walk to Easton Morehouse and singles by Tyler Lee and Easton Stewart. The Stormers added to the lead in the fourth as Payten Jibben drove an RBI triple into left field to score Lucas Hernandez, who had singled earlier in the inning.

Sieler struck again in the sixth, ripping an RBI triple after a leadoff single by Hernandez to make it 4–0. Brady Johnson added a sacrifice fly to right to score Sieler for a 5–0 advantage.

"We kind of got back to the basics there," Bounds said. "On a day like today where the wind was howling in, you really have to work the line drives and keep the ball low. We were able to get a couple extra‑base hits out of it, but we had much better approaches and swings in the zone early in the count trying to do damage."

Moraine Valley broke the shutout with three straight singles in the seventh, then drew a walk to load the bases with two outs before Litkowiec induced a game‑ending flyout to third.

Sieler led the Stormers' offense, going 3‑for‑4 with three RBIs, a triple and one run scored. Jibben added a double, two walks and an RBI, while Morehouse reached all three times with a single and two walks. Hernandez finished 2‑for‑3 with two runs scored.

"Our team just really flipped a switch today, and so I've got to give credit to my team," Sieler said. "It's just the energy all around. It makes all of us feel better throughout the whole entire game."

Both teams stranded nine runners, with MATC totaling 10 hits and Moraine Valley finishing with eight.