From: Jeff Febus (jfebus@calvin.edu)
Date: Sun Mar 30 2003 - 00:16:00 EST
CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR MARCH 29, 2003
BASEBALL
ALBION -- Calvin opened its 2003 MIAA campaign in dramatic fashion, recording a 4-3 victory over Albion in 11 innings Saturday afternoon at a chilly Joranko Field.
Trailing 3-1 heading into the eighth, Calvin rallied to tie the score with two runs in the top of the eighth. Junior Terry O'Neal (Muskegon Reeths Puffer HS) opened the inning with a walk and moved to third on a double by sophomore Josh Vriesman (Denver, CO). Sophomore Kyle Neher (Midland HS) followed wiht a single through the right side to drive in O'Neal while Vriesman moved to third. Senior Arie Eppinga (Walnut Creek, CA) was then walked to load the bases. Junior Darrell Heuker (Unity Christian HS) was then hit by a pitch to drive in the game-tying run.
With the bases full and no outs, Calvin stalled as Heuker was called out at first base because of runner interferance on a batted ball by junior Aaron Griffith (Manhattan, KS), leaving the bases full. A foul out and a ground out ended Calvin's threat without further scoring.
Calvin then took the lead with a run in the top of the 11th as sophomore Tim Hansen (Ludington HS) reached base on a fielder's choice and then stole second base. With one out and runners on first and second, Vriesman sent a ground ball to the shortstop. Albion was able to get the first out at second base but a throwing error by the second baseman on an attempted double play was off line, allowing Hansen to score and Vriesman to reach base safely.
Albion then threatened in the bottom of the 11th as the Britons placed runners on first and second with a single and a Calvin error. Calvin sophomore Jim Deters (Kalamazoo Christian HS) then bore down as he retired a batter on a foul out and then picked a runner off second base. The final out was then recorded on a pop-up to Neher at second base.
The 11-inning effort by Deters marked the longest single-game pitching stint of his collegiate career and also upped his career record to 13-2 and his season record to 3-0. Deters scattered 10 Albion hits while striking out eight and walking only one. Calvin collected nine hits with Griffith leading the way with a 3-for-5 perrformance while junior Bryce Weston (Petoskey HS) had two hits including a two-out RBI double in the seventh that drove in Calvin's first run.
Saturday's contest was originally scheduled for Friday but was delayed because of rain showers in the first inning when the game began on Friday. The two teams will finish up the series with a pair of seven-inning games Monday afternoon beginning at 1:00 p.m. at Albion's Joranko Field. A link to Albion's internet broadcast will again be provided at:WWW.Calvin.edu/sports.
SOFTBALL
Calvin 16, Rose-Hulman 4
TERRA HAUTE, IN * Behind the strong right arm of sophomore pitcher Kara Van Kooten (Grace Christian/Anchorage, AK) the Knights used one big inning to dismantle Rose-Hulman 16-4. Calvin scored 12 runs on eight hits, aided in large part by three Fightin' Engineers errors in the top of the seventh inning.
After Calvin scored four runs in the top of the first inning and Rose Hulman answered with one in the bottom and that was all of the scoring until the bottom of the sixth inning. In the bottom of the sixth the Fightin' Engineers scored three that served as the equalizer, and many looked for a close finish. The Knights would have none of it as they manufactured 12 runs in the top of the seventh inning, the biggest offensive explosion of the year.
Van Kooten went the distance giving up five hits while walking two and striking out five batters. She threw 89 pitches of which 58 were strikes and improves to 2-1 on the season.
Offensively, Calvin was led by four players who collected three hits apiece, including freshman Jeanne Cole (Mason County Eastern), junior Keri Cole (Mason County Eastern), senior Sandy VanLeeuwen (Unity Christian), and senior Becky Austen (Pembroke, Ontario). VanLeeuwen had four RBI's and J. Cole and junior Trisha Balkema (Illiana Christian) each had three runs scored.
Thomas More College 11, Calvin 5
TERRA HAUTE, IN * Calvin's solid pitching and clutch hitting ran out in the last game of the Rose Hulman Softball Tournament. The Knights dropped a 11-5 decision to Thomas More College in a sloppy game that saw nine errors committed, four of which by the Knights.
Going into the top of the sixth inning Calvin was trailing only 4-3, but the same offensive explosion that saw them win the game against Rose-Hulman the Knights fell victim to. Calvin gave up six runs, three of which came off of two home runs. The Knights responded with two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, but it was not enough as the Saints went on to win 11-5.
Calvin was led by junior slugger Trisha Balkema (Illiana Christian) as she went 2-3 from the plate and played flawless in the field. Senior Sandy Van Leeuwen (Unity Christian) went 1-1 from the plat with two walks and a run scored.
Calvin improved its record to 10-5 on the season. The Knights will return to action on Wednesday, April 2 as they open the league season with a doubleheader with Hope College. Game time is 3 PM at Hope's Buys Athletic Complex.
MEN'S TENNIS
ADRIAN -- Calvin opened its MIAA campaign with a 9-0 victory at Adrian Saturday afternoon to improve to 8-2 overall. Calvin is back in action on Wednesday when it hosts Hope at 3:00 p.m.
Singles
#1 Kevin Van Haitsma def. Kohsiroh Harada (AC) 7-6 (7-5) 6-1
#2 Rafael Siebenschein def. Greg Dalida (AC) 6-1, 6-2
#3 Tom Zeilstra def. Dana Wood (AC) 6-2, 6-2
#4 Jon Miedema def. Jeremy Carroll (AC) 6-1, 6-0
#5 Nate Kraai def. Kyle Schultz (AC) 6-2, 6-1
#6 David Bratt def. Derrick Jauss (AC) 6-1, 6-2
Doubles
#1 Van Haitsma/Siebenschein def. Wood/Harada (AC) 8-5
#2 Zeilstra/Ryan De Nooyer def. Dalida/Carroll (AC) 8-4
#3 Miedema/Kraai def. Schultz/Mike Taveirne (AC) 8-3
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD
Calvin's track and field weekend opened on a record-breaking note on Friday evening as senior Joel Klooster (Chatham, ON) shattered his own school record in the 10,000 meters at the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, California. Running in a field fo Division I runners, the Chatham Christian High School graduate blazed his way to an NCAA III automatic qualifying time of 29:36.82 that lopped nearly six seconds off his school record set last spring. Klooster's time is also the eighth-fastest 10,000 meter time recorded in NCAA III Track and Field history and is the fastest 10K time in NCAA III Track and Field this spring.
On Saturday, Calvin fought through frigid temperatures and periodic snow flurries at the Grand Rapids Invitational to post a number of strong performances.
Calvin's top performances of the afternoon came in the women's shot put competition as junior Katie Corner (Grand Rapids Catholic Central HS) shattered the school record with a strong NCAA III provisional qualifying throw of 43-3, marking the second time in a week that the school record had falled. A week ago, senior Liz Frens (Grand Rapids Christian HS) had established a new record with a throw of 42-1 at the Emory Invitational. Another previous record holder -- senior Mandy VanDenBosch (Grand Rapids Christian HS) also came up with a career-best and NCAA III provisional qualifying effort in the shot put Saturday as she took second with a throw of 42-7 1/4. Corner, VanDenBosch and Frens are all now up on the NCAA III provisional qualifying list in the shot put just two weeks into the outdoor season.
Corner also captured first place in the discus with a strong NCAA III provisional qualifying performance of 147-5.
On the men's side, Calvin sophomore Nate Meckes (Westland Lutheran HS) had a huge afternoon, taking first in the shot put (52-3 1/4) and discus (162-0). His throw in the discus was a career-best. Both efforts were NCAA III provisional qualifying marks. Senior Nick VanderPlas (McBain Christian HS) also had an NCAA III provisional qualifying throw in the shot put as he took second with a mark of 50-4 1/2.
Other first place performances for the Calvin men included:
*Senior Steve Abbring (Highland, IN) in the 400 meters (50.78).
*Sophomore Chris Friebel (Shelby, OH) in the 200 meters (23.03).
*Junior Hendrik Kok (Lynden, WA) in the 1,500 meters (3:58.86).
*Freshman Jordan Kohl (Crete, Nebraska) in the 110 high hurdles (17.27).
*Freshman Jason Koning (South Christian HS) in the pole vault (13-0).
*Senior Ben Talsma (Western Michigan Christian HS) in the long jump (18-1 1/2).
Other first place performances for the Calvin women included:
*Senior Annie VanderLaan (Grand Rapids Christian HS) in the 100 meter hurdles (14.80) and 200 meters (26.62). Her time in the 100 meter hurdles was a season-best and an NCAA III provisional qualifying time.
*Sophomore Sue Abbring (Highland, IN) in the 100 meters (12.87).
*Freshman Johanna Hellenga (Mattawan HS) in the 800 meters (2:28.45).
*Junior Sarah Hastings (Traverse City Central HS) in the 1,500 meters (4:51.32).
*Junior Jessie Lair (Southfield Christian HS) in the 3,000 meters (10:24.12).
*Senior Tami VerMeulen (Holland Christian HS) in the 5,000 meters (18:13.42, career-best).
*Sophomore Laura Hamilton (Downers Grove, IL) in the 400 meter hurdles (1:07.01).
*Freshman Kim Vanderzee (Shoreline, WA) in the high jump (5-0).
*Freshman Missy Smith (Grand Rapids Christian HS) in the pole vault (10-1).
*Junior Sarah Weeda (Manhattan, MT) in the long jump (16-9 1/4).
Both Calvin track and field teams are back in action next Saturday when they host Alma in MIAA dual meets scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.4 : Sun Mar 30 2003 - 00:17:28 EST