CSR (Baseball Swept by Hope/Softball Swept by Alma)

CALVIN SPORTS REPORT (PART TWO) FOR APRIL 29, 2006

Baseball Swept by Hope;
Softball Swept by Alma

BASEBALL
Hope 10, Calvin 9
Hope 9, Calvin 1

HOLLAND * Hope completed a four-game sweep of Calvin with a pair of victories Saturday afternoon at the Buys Athletic Complex, defeating the Knights 10-9 and 9-1.

Saturday's opener was a wild see-saw affair that saw the Knights (14-22 overall, 12-12 MIAA) draw first blood on an RBI single by senior Tyler VanEps (Denver, CO) in the top of the first but then see Hope (23-13 overall, 18-6 MIAA) build a 5-1 lead with two runs in the bottom of the first and three more in the fourth.

Calvin clawed back with three runs in the top of the fifth with all three runs coming on bases-loaded walks. Hope responded with five runs in bottom half of the inning however to build a 10-4 lead. But the Knights were not done and battled back with five runs in the top of the seventh to close to within one at 10-9. Senior Kyle Hollemans (East Kentwood HS) had a key blow in the inning with a two-run doubles to left-center. With runners at first and third, the Knights were unable to generate the tying run as the game ended on an infield pop-up.

Senior Tim Stoeffler (St. Joseph/GR Community College) took the loss to fall to 2-5 on the year with senior Joel Bont (Calvin Christian HS) throwing 1.1 innings of relief. VanEps went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI while five other Calvin players had base hits. VanEps and freshman Jacob Vriesman (Denver, CO) both scored two runs for the Knights which collected nine walks off of four Hope pitchers.

Nate Brandsen (5-2) got the win for Hope while Mike Rodgers got the save.

In game two, Hope jumped on Calvin starter Kyle Cousins (3-3) for five runs in the first inning to build a 5-0 lead. A key error in the inning led to a pair of unearned runs and prolonged the Hope uprising. Hope added a single run in the fourth and three in the sixth with Calvin's only run coming in the fifth on an RBI double to centerfield by freshman Jason May (Chicago, IL/Walter Lutheran HS). Calvin picked up six hits in the loss with May collecting two.

Despite the pair of defeats, Calvin remains in fourth place in the MIAA standings, one game ahead of fifth place Alma. The Knights have a four-game series with Tri-State left to play and will open the series with a doubleheader at Tri-State on Friday, May 5 at 2:00 p.m.

MIAA BASEBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 4-29-06 GAMES

Adrian 20-4
Hope 18-6
Albion 17-7
Calvin 12-12
Alma 11-13
Kalamazoo 9-15
Olivet 8-16
Tri-State 1-23

SOFTBALL
Alma 5, Calvin 3
Alma 2, Calvin 0

ALMA * Calvin closed out its 2006 campaign with a pair of losses to defending MIAA champion Alma on Saturday, falling by scores of 5-3 and 2-0. Calvin finishes the year with an overall record of 13-21 and an MIAA mark of 5-11 which places the Knights in seventh place in the final league standings.

In Saturday's opener, Alma built a 4-0 lead with a run in the first and three in the third. Calvin closed to within a run with three in the fourth, using four hits and an Alma error. Junior Chandra Fynaardt (Pella, IA) and freshman Mallory Scholten (Grand Rapids Christian HS) both had RBI singles in the inning. Alma added an insurance run in the fifth and kept Calvin off the scoreboard the rest of the way.

Freshman Kristin Folkerts (Grand Rapids Christian HS) took the loss to dip to 10-9 on the year as she struck out four and walked one. Fynaardt was 2-for-2 for Calvin in defeat.

In game two, Calvin managed just two hits and was unable to take advantage of four Alma errors. The Scots (23-11 overall, 12-4 MIAA) scored singles runs in the second and sixth innings. Picking up hits for Calvin were senior Jeanne Cole (Mason County Eastern HS) and Scholten.

Junior Ruth Anna Spooner (Twin Falls, ID) pitched a fine game, striking out five and walking two but suffered the loss to fall to 3-12 on the year. Folkerts pitched the final two innings and struck out two without a walk.

With the sweep, Alma clinched the No. 2 seed for next week's four-team MIAA Tournament which will be hosted by Hope and also include third seeded St. Mary's and fourth-seeded Olivet.

FINAL MIAA REGULAR SEASON STANDINGS

Hope 15-1
Alma 12-4
St. Mary's 11-5
Olivet 10-6
Albion 8-8
Tri-State 7-9
Calvin 5-11
Adrian 3-13
Kalamazoo 1-15

Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Sat Apr 29 19:38:51 2006