CSR (Baseball Takes Two from Alma/Softball Falls to Tri-State/Men's Tennis Wins)

From: Jeffrey Febus <jfebus@calvin.edu>
Date: Wed Apr 02 2008 - 21:57:04 EDT

CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR APRIL 2, 2008

Baseball Takes Two From Alma;
Softball Swept by Tri-State;
Men's Tennis Opens MIAA Campaign With Win Over Tri-State

BASEBALL
Calvin 7, Alma 3
Calvin 1, Alma 0

Calvin freshmen pitchers Peter Steiner (Chicago, IL/ Glenbrook South) and
Keith Spoelstra (Oakland, NJ/ Eastern Christian) matched senior pitchers Nate
Pocock (Wayland, MA/ Wayland) and Kyle Cousins (Holland/ Holland Christian) to
remain perfect on the year as Calvin swept a twin-bill from third place Alma
College Wednesday at Calvin.
Calvin also remains perfect and a top the league standings with a 4-0 in the
MIAA and are 12-1 overall.

“The guys have really bought into what we’re trying to do and that’s
always nice,” said first-year head coach John Sparks. “Today the second
game especially wasn’t the prettiest of games; but I guess the good news is
that we’re finding a way to win even when we don’t play that well.”

Steiner gave up one earned run and scattered four hits over six innings to
advance to 2-0 in the first game. Spoelstra went the distance for the shutout
in the nightcap, scattering six hits while striking out four and walking
three.

“Pitching coach Matt Vriesinga has done a great job with the pitchers,”
said first year head coach John Sparks. “Pocock and Cousins have both pitched
well, but then there’s Peter and Keith who have just improved so much since
we started in early February. It’s a tribute to them and it’s a tribute to
Vriesinga because he’s worked really hard with those guys.”

Calvin’s league best offense backed Steiner with plenty of offense in the
first game. Jacob Vriesman (Denver, CO/ Denver Christian), Cousins, who was the
designated hitter, and Matt Schepel (Grand Rapids/ Grand Rapids Christian) all
had extra base hits to start the bottom of the first as Calvin jumped out to a
3-0 lead.

The Knights added three more runs in the third as Chris Blacklidge (Comstock
Park/ Comstock Park) tripled home Schepel and Kyle Fletcher (Fort Wayne, IN/
Concordia Lutheran). Schepel crushed a home run to straight away center field
in the fourth. Schepel finished two for two with two RBIs and three runs
scored. Calvin’s three through six hitters: Schepel, Fletcher and Blacklidge
combined to go four for eight with five runs and four RBIs.

Joe Thiry was the losing pitcher for the Scots giving up seven earned runs on
nine hits and struck out six. Todd LaForest relieved Steiner in the seventh and
walked one and gave up one run.

In the nightcap, Wade Slavik dueled with Spoelstra who struck out four in the
first two innings until the Knights got on the board in the fifth inning. Mike
Stob (Caledonia/ South Christian) led off the inning with a walk. Drew Johnson
(Boise, ID/ Mountain View) moved Stob to second with a sacrifice bunt. After
Vriesman lined out, Kyle Gurzynski (Ludington/ Ludington) took a two out 3-2
pitch to right field for an RBI single to put the Knights on top.

“Kyle did a great job,” said Sparks. “[Alma’s pitcher] was throwing
mainly breaking balls and he just stayed on one. He works really hard and
it’s just good to see him have some success. That’s been one of the nice
things about our team at this point in the year. It seems like whoever we put
in the lineup has stepped up at various times and it hasn’t just been one or
two guys carrying the load.”

Spoelstra went the distance to advance to 2-0. “I’m really proud of
Keith,” said Sparks. “Both he and Peter hung in there in some tough
situations which is tough for freshman. But they were poised and that’s good
to see.”

SOFTBALL
Tri-State 9, Calvin 0
Tri-State 8, Calvin 0

KENTWOOD -- Calvin dropped both ends of a doubleheader to visiting Tri-State
University Wednesday afternoon at the Gainey Athletic Complex with the Thunder
winning both games by mercy rule. In the opener, Tri-State stopped Calvin in
six innings by a 9-0 score and then shut out Calvin 8-0 in five innings in the
nightcap.

In the opener, Tri-State broke open a tight game with six runs in the top of
the sixth inning with five of the six runs unearned. The Thunder (14-2 overall,
2-0 MIAA) came up with 12 hits in the win including five hits in the pivotal
sixth.

Calvin (4-12 overall, 0-4 MIAA) had three hits in the loss with senior Cori
VanKoevering (Unity Christian HS) collecting two singles. Junior Kristin
Folkerts (Grand Rapids Christian HS) took the loss, striking out two and
walking four.

In game two, Tri-State again struck big in the latter innings, scoring four
runs in the fourth and two in the fifth to close out the win. Tri-State had 10
hits while Calvin had one. Calvin's lone hit came from sophomore Whisper Miller
(Reed City HS).

Sophomore Mandy Johnson (Northpointe Christian HS) took the loss for Calvin.

The Knights return to action on Friday, hosting Hope at 3:30 p.m. at the
Gainey Athletic Complex.

MEN'S TENNIS
Calvin 9, Tri-State 0

KENTWOOD -- Calvin cruised to a 9-0 victory over visiting Tri-State Wednesday
afternoon at the Gainey Athletic Complex to bump its season record to 5-3 and
its league mark to 1-0. Calvin returns to action on Friday when it hosts Grand
Rapids Community College (2:30 pm) and Alma (5:00 pm) with both matches slated
to be played at the MVP Sportsplex in Rockford.

Calvin College 9, Tri-State University 0
Apr 02, 2008 at Kentwood, MI

Singles competition
1. Marcus Zeilstra (CALVINM) def. Brett Becker (TSU-M) 6-1, 6-3
2. Steve DeMaagd (CALVINM) def. Nicholas Garstha (TSU-M) 6-2, 6-2
3. Mike Goorhouse (CALVINM) def. Tim Buchmeir (TSU-M) 6-2, 6-2
4. Matthew De Vlieger (CALVINM) def. Issa Salsa (TSU-M) 6-3, 6-0
5. Andrew De Vlieger (CALVINM) def. Mario Bonardi (TSU-M) 6-1, 6-2
6. Andrew Rescorla (CALVINM) def. Bryan Roth (TSU-M) 6-2, 6-1

Doubles competition
1. Marcus Zeilstra/Steve DeMaagd (CALVINM) def. Brett Becker/Bryan Roth
(TSU-M) 8-4
2. Matthew De Vlieger/Andrew Rescorla (CALVINM) def. Nicholas Garstha/Tim
Buchmeir (TSU-M) 8-3
3. Mike Goorhouse/Nick Steenstra (CALVINM) def. Issa Salsa/Mario Bonardi
(TSU-M) 8-2

Match Notes
Tri-State University 5-3, 0-1 MIAA
Calvin College 5-3, 1-0 MIAA; Regional ranking #12

Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Wed Apr 2 21:58:48 2008

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