CSR (Baseball Swept by Albion/Softball Splits With Trinity International)

CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR MARCH 27, 2006

Baseball Swept by Albion;
Softball Splits With Trinity International

BASEBALL
Albion 3, Calvin 1
Albion 11, Calvin 4

ALBION * A walk-off home run with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning of game one propelled the Britons of Albion to a doubleheader sweep over visiting Calvin Monday afternoon as Albion defeated the Knights by scores of 3-1 and 11-4. The sweep allowed Albion to take three games of a four-game series with the Knights who dipped to 3-11 on the year including 1-3 in conference play.

In Monday's opener at Albion's Frank Joranko Field, Calvin took a 1-0 lead on a two-out RBI single by senior Mark Tigchelaar (Grand Rapids Christian HS) in the top of the sixth inning. Calvin maintained the 1-0 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh but the Britons began a rally with a one-out walk off Calvin senior starter Andy Draayer (Denver, CO). Draayer was able to strike out the next batter but Albion's Bobby Clouse then reached base on a throwing error, placing runners on first and second. Given second life, Albion made Calvin pay as junior third baseman Derek Tracey belted a three-run walk-off homer to right, giving the Britons a stunning victory. Draayer suffered the hard-luck loss to fall to 0-2 on the year.

Albion (7-8-1 overall, 3-1 MIAA) used the momentum in game two, scoring six runs in the first two innings to build a 6-0 lead. Calvin battled back with three runs in the third on the strength of a three-run homer by junior Nick Caudle (Calvin Christian HS) and added another run in the fourth on an Albion fielding error. Albion put the game out of reach in the sixth inning, using five hits, two Calvin errors and a walk to score five runs. Senior Kyle Snoeyink (Calvin Christian HS) took the loss for Calvin to fall to 1-1 on the season.

Caudle picked up two hits in the opener while freshman Jacob Vriesman had two hits in game two.

Calvin returns to action on Thursday when it hosts Alma at 1:00 p.m. in a conference twinbill.

SOFTBALL
Trinity International 6, Calvin 2
Calvin 5, Trinity International 4

GRAND RAPIDS * A bloop single to right by freshman Lauren Scarbrough scored junior Erin Conrad from second base and allowed Calvin to gain a doubleheader split with visiting Trinity International Monday afternoon at the Gainey Athletic Complex as the Knights won game two 5-4. After winning game one 6-2, Trinity International (5-13) appeared poised to gain a doubleheader sweep as it held a 3-0 lead through four innings in game two.

Calvin (5-5) rallied with four runs in the fifth, using four hits and a key Trinity throwing error to gain a one-run lead. With one out and the bases full, Conrad (Calvin Christian HS) sent a ground ball to second base that looked like a groundout that would score one. Trinity's second baseman threw the ball into the dugout however, allowing two runs to scored and putting runners on second and third. Scarbrough then cracked a sacrifice fly to deep centerfield to tie the game and two batters later, sophomore Cori VanKoevering (Unity Christian HS) ripped a single through the right side to score Conrad.

Trinity International tied the game with a run in the sixth but in the bottom of the seventh with darkness fast approaching, Conrad lashed a double into the left-center gap and scored the game-winner on Scarbrough's blooper down the right-field line.

Senior Jeanne Cole (Mason County Eastern HS) was 3-for-4 in the game two win including her fourth double of the year. Scarbrough was 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI's.

In the opener, Calvin was limited to just three hits with Cole, Scarbrough and VanKoevering collecting one hit apiece. Trinity International collected 13 hits in game one and broke a 2-2 tie with a run in the sixth and added three more in the seventh.

Freshman Kristin Folkerts (Grand Rapids Christian HS) picked up the loss in game one and the win in game two. Folkerts is now 4-2 on the year.

Calvin returns to action on Wednesday when it hosts Aquinas in a non-conference doubleheader at 3:00 p.m.

Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Mon Mar 27 21:17:32 2006