May 10, 2002
Knust & Austen Named to Verizon Academic All-District IV Softball Teams
GRAND RAPIDS, MI - Two members of the Calvin College softball team have
received Verizon Academic All-District IV honors in the college division. Named
to the Verizon Academic All-District IV first team in softball is senior
Susannah Knust while junior Becky Austen has been named to the second team.
Knust now advances to the national ballot and is eligible for Verizon Academic
All-America consideration. The college division of the Verizon Academic
All-America program includes NCAA II, NCAA III and NAIA schools. The Verizon
Academic All-District and All-America teams are selected by the College Sports
Information Director's Association of America (CoSIDA). To be eligible for
nomination, a player must be a starter or a key reserve with a minimum
cumulative GPA of 3.20.
A four-year starter at the designated player position on the Calvin softball
team, Knust is receiving Verizon Academic All-District honors for the third
straight year as she was named to the All-District IV second team in 2000 and in
2001. Knust will graduate from Calvin on May 18 with a double-major of
education and Spanish. A Grandville native and a graduate of Grandville High
School, Knust carries a 3.67 grade point average and is a three-time member of
the MIAA Academic Honor Roll and a seven-time member of the Calvin Dean's
List. At Calvin, Knust has been active in community service and recently helped
coordinate a Calvin service project at a Grand Rapids mission store called In
His Image.
On the softball diamond, Knust served as a team captain during the 2002 season
and was recently named to the All-MIAA 2nd team for a second straight year. She
also received All-MIAA 1st team accolades in 2000 and Great Lakes All-Region 3rd
team honors in 1999. Over the course of her career, Knust posted a .310 batting
average, collecting 123 hits in 395 trips to the plate. Of the 123 career hits,
23 were of the extra-base variety.
Austen is receiving Verizon Academic All-District IV honors for the first time.
She hails from Pembroke, Ontario, and is a graduate of Fellewes (ON) High
School. Austen carries a 3.66 grade point average and carries a major of
exercise science with an emphasis in athletic training. Austen is a two-time
member of the MIAA Academic Honor Roll and is a five-time member of the Calvin
Dean's List.
As a Calvin student, Austen has served as a student athletic trainer and has
also been a three-year member of the Calvin softball team. Austen spent her
first year of collegiate ball at shortstop and the past two years has served as
a starter at second base. This spring, Austen batted .289 with 23 RBI's and 16
runs scored.
SANDS & KNUST RECEIVE ALL-MIAA SOFTBALL HONORS
Two members of the Calvin College softball team have received All-MIAA honors
as freshman Laurel Sands has been named to the All-MIAA 1st team and senior
Susannah Knust to the All-MIAA 2nd team.
A native of Belmont and a graduate of Rockford High School, Sands recently
completed a standout first year of collegiate softball as she batted .345 at the
plate along with 31 runs scored, 25 RBI's and 11 extra-base hits. Five of her
extra-base hits were home runs, allowing Sands to set a new Calvin single-season
home run record. She also compiled a team-leading slugging percentage of .540
while also leading the Knights in runs batted in.
A third baseman, Sands batted .400 in conference games to rank fifth in the
MIAA batting race. She also led the MIAA in home runs (4) while finishing
second in total bases (29) and slugging percentage (.725) and third in RBI's
(11).
Knust hails from Grandville and is a graduate of Grandville High School. A
four-year starter at the designated player position, Knust batted .277 overall
this spring with 17 RBI's and 11 runs scored. In conference play, she batted
.286 with five RBI's and five runs scored. Knust is making her second
straight appearance on the All-MIAA 2nd team.
Also receiving honorable mention recognition from the MIAA coaches from Calvin
are junior Trisha Balkema, sophomore Keri Cole and freshman Rachelle Heyboer.
Balkema is from Highland, Indiana, and a graduate of Illiana Christian High
School. A shortstop, Balkema batted .296 this year with 21 runs scored and nine
RBI's. Cole is from Fountain and is a graduate of Mason County Eastern High
School. A left-handed pitcher who started at first base when not pitching, Cole
was named MIAA Player of the Week once this year. At the plate, she finished
with a .340 batting average and drove in 18 runs and scored 14 times. On the
mound, she fashioned a 7-6 record with a 3.88 ERA.. Heyboer is from Fremont and
is a graduate of Fremont High School. A right-hander, Heyboer was Calvin's
number-one pitcher in the starting rotation as she compiled an 11-9 record with
a 2.33 ERA. Heyboer also struck out 65 batters while walking just 16. During
the year, she was named MIAA Pitcher of the Week once after throwing
back-to-back no-hitters, the second of which came in a 4-0 conference victory
over Olivet.
Calvin finished the 2002 softball campaign with a 20-17 overall record while
finishing fourth in the final MIAA standings. During the MIAA regular season,
Calvin recorded a fourth place mark of 7-7 which advanced the Knights into the
MIAA Tournament for the first time since 1999. Calvin opened the MIAA
Tournament with a 1-0 upset win over eventual league champion Alma before
falling to Hope and then Alma in the next two games. The MIAA Tournament
victory over Alma allowed the Knights to reach the 20-win plateau for the first
time since 1998.
-end-
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