When a team wins 20 games in a row, it usually means they are having a successful season. A win streak that long would only be possible with quality pitching, timely hitting, solid defense, and good team chemistry.

Such is the case for the Joliet Junior College men’s baseball team. The Wolves have won 20 games in a row and are playing like one of the best teams in the country.

JJC has an overall record of 36-7, 15-1 in the N4C conference, and are currently ranked No. 1 in America according to the Ringor/NJCAA Division III baseball poll.

The Wolves have been gaining momentum throughout the season and it has resulted in some big victories. On April 17 the Wolves beat local rival Kankakee Community College 8-5. Zack Giertych was the winning pitcher and is now 3-1 on the season. TJ Stanfield had three hits on the day and Tyler Thompson and Hector Belen each added two hits.

JJC wrapped up the N4C conference championship on April 19 after completing a four-game sweep over Triton Community College.

The Wolves won the four games by a combined score of 25-8. Head coach Wayne King was very pleased with the wins over Triton.

"When we get wins over a school like Triton, those are always big wins for us," King said. "Those were really positive games for us."

Nevertheless, the winning streak couldn’t last forever. On April 22, JJC’s streak ended at 20 games with a tough loss to South Suburban College by a score of 6-3.

Going into the game against South Suburban College, JJC’s sophomore right hander Dillon Roark had only given up five earned runs in 56 innings pitched during the entire season.

Roark gave up seven hits and three earned runs in a losing effort. The hitting just wasn’t there for the Wolves against the Bulldogs. Brandon Howard had all three RBIs for JJC, en route to a three hit game, but the rest of the team couldn’t manufacture any more runs. Roark’s record dropped to 7-1 on the season.

The day after the loss to South Suburban College, JJC rebounded nicely and beat Kishwaukee College by a score of 6-0. Freshman Ryan Bethard pitched a complete game shutout to improve to 5-1 on the season. Bethard gave up 2 hits, 2 walks, and struck out nine.

Casey Colbert led the offensive charge with two hits while Howard had a two-run triple in the second inning.

Bethard is just another solid pitcher that has emerged for the Wolves. Most of JJC’s success this season has been dependent upon the pitching staff.

"We knew Dillon (Roark) would be our No. 1 and have to carry the load for the pitching staff, but we were hoping that these freshmen would step up." King said.

"Now all of sudden we have 7 or 8 pitchers that are playing well, and going into the postseason the more pitchers we have stepping up for us, the better off we are going to be."

The Wolves begin postseason play May 8-11, at Waubonsee Community College in the N4C Conference tournament. It is a six team tournament which includes JJC, Rock Valley, DuPage, Harper, Waubonsee, and Clark State Community College from Ohio.

This year’s conference tournament will be double elimination, and will require four wins to claim the conference championship. The winner of the N4C Conference Tournament will then move onto the NJCAA Division III World Series in Tyler, Texas.