OAK CREEK, Wis. — Milwaukee Area Technical College baseball split its Saturday doubleheader with College of DuPage, falling 4–2 in eight innings in the opener before responding with a dominant 9–0 victory in Game 2 at the Oak Creek Campus.

Saturday showed two very different versions of the Stormers. Game 1 slipped away after a late defensive error and a missed opportunity with the bases loaded, but MATC answered with a commanding performance in Game 2, outhitting DuPage 12–1 behind Isaiah Head's complete‑game one‑hitter. The Stormers used a pair of four‑run innings to take control and showcase their resilience.

"That's the response you want," MATC head coach Caleb Bounds said. "A lot of teams could shut down after a tough, heartbreaking loss in Game 1 and come out flat, but we started from the first inning. Putting up a four‑spot right away was huge, and Head was doing his thing today. He commanded the zone and was really efficient."

Game 1: DuPage 4, Stormers 2 (8 innings)
MATC created scoring chances throughout the opener but couldn't overcome a pair of late miscues, falling 4–2 in eight innings. The Stormers scored first, twice delivered with two‑out hitting, and loaded the bases in extra innings, but DuPage capitalized on the game's pivotal mistake and held on.

"I thought we played really well defensively until the late blunder in the outfield," MATC head coach Caleb Bounds said. "That's unfortunate, but the problem is it's not always just that one play. It's the fact that you have opportunities earlier on to cash in a run or two that can change the complexity of the game or if we had gone out of that third inning when they scored the two runs and kept it at one. Unfortunately, we had a wild pitch."

The Stormers struck early. With two outs in the first, Blake Bugher ripped an RBI double into the gap to put MATC on the board. Freshman right‑hander Ethan Engelbrecht followed with a sharp second inning, erasing a leadoff walk by starting a rundown on a backpick to first. He faced the minimum in the frame and finished his three‑inning start with two earned runs on two hits, three walks and five strikeouts.

DuPage answered in the third, manufacturing both of its runs with two outs. A single and a walk set up a soft RBI blooper to tie the game, and a wild pitch moments later pushed the visitors ahead 2–1.

MATC responded in the fifth. With two outs and two strikes, Easton Morehouse punched a game‑tying RBI single up the middle to even the score at 2–2. The sophomore reached base three times, adding two walks to his two‑out knock.

From there, Zakary Vanlerberghe kept the Stormers in it. The freshman right‑hander delivered five strong innings of relief, allowing two unearned runs on two hits with one walk and two strikeouts. He worked efficiently through traffic and carried the tie into extras.

The turning point came in the eighth. After a routine first out, a fly ball dropped in right field, and an errant throw toward third allowed DuPage to put runners on the corners. Vanlerberghe briefly steadied the inning by knocking down a sharp comebacker and converting the out at first, but with two outs and runners on second and third, DuPage delivered a two‑run double to left for a 4–2 lead.

MATC had its best chance in the bottom half. Three straight walks loaded the bases with no outs, setting up a prime opportunity to extend the game. But the Stormers couldn't cash in, striking out three consecutive times to end the opener.

"That's a tough one to swallow, knowing we were a base hit away from tying it," Bounds said. "You put another runner in scoring position and you're one more ball in play from winning a game."

"That's been our issue this year — not being able to clutch up with runners in scoring position with less than two outs," Bounds added. "It's happened over and over again, and unfortunately it happened again today."

Hayden Fellows led the offense with a 2‑for‑4 performance. Carson Sieler added a single, a walk and a run scored, while Bugher's RBI double and Morehouse's two‑out RBI single accounted for MATC's scoring.

Game 2: Stormers 9, DuPage 0
MATC answered the extra‑inning loss with its most complete performance of the weekend, rolling to a 9–0 win behind a 12‑hit attack and a dominant one‑hit shutout from Isaiah Head. The Stormers struck early, added on late and controlled every inning to secure the split.

MATC exploded for four runs in the first. After a strikeout to open the inning, Jaiden Jung and Carson Sieler singled, and Hayden Fellows doubled home the first run. Blake Bugher walked to load the bases, and after a second strikeout, Gavin Garnica lined a two‑RBI single to center to make it 3–0. Garnica then intentionally got into a rundown between first and second, allowing Bugher to score from third before being tagged out to end the inning.

Head took the early lead and delivered his best outing of the season. The freshman right‑hander retired the first seven batters he faced and carried a no‑hit bid into the third before an infield single broke it up. He immediately induced a double play to erase the baserunner and keep the inning clean. The only other DuPage hitter to reach base came on a leadoff hit‑by‑pitch in the fourth, but Head stranded him and continued to cruise, finishing a complete‑game one‑hitter with zero walks and three strikeouts while facing just two batters over the minimum.

"I credit my defense behind me today because I only struck out three guys in seven innings," Head said. "The infield probably got 15 ground balls, and the bats were there for me from our offense."

"It was a lot of the sinker," Head added. "I throw a sinker to induce ground balls, and today it worked perfectly with how great the defense played behind me."

He also didn't hide his edge entering the start.

"I was pissed off coming into Game 2 based on the banter from Game 1," Head said of his mentality. "I wanted to set the tone right away."

The Stormers broke the game open in the fifth. Austin Arnold singled to start the inning, and with one out, Jung launched a two‑run homer to left to extend the lead to 6–0. Later in the frame, Tyler Lee added a two‑out, two‑RBI single to push the margin to 8–0.

"I just saw a slider middle‑middle and said, 'Let's swing at it,'" Jung said of his eighth homer of the season. "Hopefully the barrel catches it — and it did."

MATC added one more in the sixth when Arnold doubled and scored on a two‑out RBI single from Fellows.

The Stormers finished 6‑for‑12 with runners in scoring position, a needed breakthrough after the missed chances that defined the opener.

Sieler anchored the offense, finishing 3‑for‑3 with three singles and two runs scored, reaching base in all four plate appearances. Jung added a 2‑for‑4 performance with a two‑run homer as part of the four‑run fifth inning. Fellows continued his strong stretch at the plate, going 2‑for‑3 with a double, two RBIs and two runs scored. Arnold turned in a perfect 3‑for‑3 day with two singles, a double and two runs scored, sparking both of MATC's multi‑run innings. Lee and Garnica each added a single and two RBIs.