CSR (Baseball In Spring Break Losing Skid)

CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR MARCH 22, 2006

BASEBALL ROUNDUP FOR MARCH 21 & 22

MESA, AZ * The struggles continue for the Calvin College baseball team. The Knights dipped to 1-7 on the year with a pair of defeats to Midwest Lutheran College (NE) Wednesday morning. The Knights have now dropped four straight games after falling to Albright College (PA) 5-0 and 11-10 on Tuesday.

In its opener with Midland Lutheran (17-9) on Wednesday, Calvin suffered a 17-8 defeat as the Warriors chased Calvin starter Justin Roza (Burlington, ON) in the fourth inning. Midland Lutheran led 10-1 but the Knights rallied with seven runs in the bottom of the fourth to close to within 10-8. The Warriors answered back with six runs in the fifth and one more in the sixth to put the game out of reach. Midland Lutheran finished the game with 18 hits while Calvin had 14. The Knights also committed four errors in the loss. Roza (0-1) took the loss for Calvin, walking one and striking out one in 3.2 innings of work. Seniors Mike Aggen (Evergreen Park, IL) and Tyler VanEps (Denver, CO) collected three hits apiece for Calvin in defeat.

In game two, Calvin dropped a 5-1 decision. The Knights took a 1-0 lead on a two-out RBI single by senior Kyle Hollemans (East Kentwood HS) in the bottom of the fourth but Midland Lutheran answered with three runs in the top of the fifth and added two more in the sixth to provide the final margin of victory.

Calvin collected only three hits in the loss and committed three errors which led to a pair of unearned runs. Senior Tim Stoeffler (St. Joseph) was a bright spot in the loss, throwing three shutout innings with freshman Nate Pocock (Wayland, MA) pitching the next three innings and taking the defeat. VanEps tossed a scoreless seventh inning in relief.

In its 5-0 loss to Albright on Tuesday, Calvin was able to muster only four hits while Albright banged out 12 hits including a pair of extra-base knocks. Freshman Kyle Cousins (Holland Christian HS) had a solid effort in his first collegiate start, scattering 12 hits, striking out three and walking one in 6.2 innings of work. Sophomore Mike Stob (South Christian HS) also tossed a third of an inning in relief.

Calvin then dropped a wild 11-10 contest in a game that featured 21 hits, 10 walks and nine errors. Calvin trailed 5-0 but came back with five runs in the top of the fourth. Albright scored five runs in the bottom of the sixth to build 10-5 lead with Calvin coming back to tie the game with five runs in the top of the seventh with senior Mark Tigchelaar (Grand Rapids Christian HS) completing the rally with a two-out two-run RBI single. Albright scored the winning run in the bottom of the seventh however, stringing a hit, a sacrifice bunt and an RBI single together for the final blow. Tigchelaar and senior Kyle Snoeyink (Calvin Christian HS) collected two hits apiece for Calvin in defeat. Senior Ben Buikema (Lakewood HS) took the loss, allowing nine runs in 5.1 innings of work with senior Joel Bont (Calvin Christian HS) and Stob coming on in relief. Stob took the loss to fall to 0-1 on the year.

Calvin closes out its trip to Arizona on Thursday when it faces Thomas College (MA) in a doubleheader scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. The Knights are then slated to host Albion on Saturday in a conference doubleheader scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m.

Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Wed Mar 22 22:10:18 2006