MONTAGUE – The Montague baseball team had a rough start this spring, losing its first three games.

The Wildcats faced some tough teams in that early stretch, including Mona Shores, now 11-2 and ranked 10th in the state in Division 1.

But Montague’s rough start was not unexpected, and the team gained a lot from the experience, according to Coach Kevin Buchberger.

That was obvious on Wednesday, when the Wildcats swept a doubleheader from Oakridge, improving their record to 8-0 in West Michigan Conference play and extending their winning streak to six games.

“We schedule tough competition,” said Coach Buchberger, whose team is 8-5 overall. “We want to play the best. Those games helped us figure out what we needed to work on.

“The other teams in our conference are more of what we can handle. Our kids have stayed the course and bought into the program. To play your best, you’ve got to play the best schools.”

Montague was slow to get going in the opener before rallying for an 8-1 victory.

Oakridge took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third before Montague ripped the game open with six runs in the bottom of the inning.

The Wildcats added two more runs, one in the fourth and one in the sixth.

Tate Stine tallied two hits and an RBI for Montague, and Kade Johnson had a two-run double. Nick Moss also landed two hits.

Johnson pitched the win, allowing four hits and striking out seven batters in a complete-game effort.

The Wildcats completed the sweep in Game 2 with a 6-1 win.

They took an early lead when a single from Colton Blankstrom brought Moss home, giving Montague a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Two innings later, Moss scored on a single by Aidan Buchberger, and Buchberger crossed the plate on a hit by Tugg Nichols.

Montague took a 4-0 lead in the fourth on an RBI hit by Chase Gowell.

Nichols tallied his second RBI with a single in the fifth inning. In the seventh, Johnson brought home another runner to put the Wildcats ahead 6-0.

Oakridge scored its lone run in the seventh inning.

“Oakridge is historically a very good program,” Coach Buchberger said. “They go to the state quarterfinals almost every year, so it was a big night for us. We’re not taking anybody lightly this year, so we came out and we played two great games of baseball.”

Blankstrom, Nichols, Gowell, Aidan Buchberger and Owen Petersen each landed two hits in the second game, with Nichols totaling two RBIs.

Blankstrom pitched the win in the second game, allowing six hits and two walks while striking out seven. He found himself in a jam when Montague loaded the bases in the fourth inning, but with some great defense the Wildcats kept the Eagles from crossing the plate.

Oakridge scored its lone run in the seventh inning.

“Colton pitched a heck of a game for us,” said Coach Buchberger. “He’s a great pitcher and he has a great defense behind him. He did a phenomenal job getting out of that jam in the fourth inning.”

The Wildcats will host Grand Haven in a doubleheader on Saturday, in another matchup against a good team from a bigger school.

“I think we turned a page tonight,” Buchberger said. “They were good games overall tonight. Things are looking good for us.”