CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR APRIL 7, 2008
Baseball Sweeps Hope - Remains in First Place of MIAA Standings;
Women's Tennis Clips Olivet - Remains Unbeaten in MIAA Competition
BASEBALL
Calvin 10, Hope 3
Calvin 6, Hope 3
HOLLAND -- Calvin completed its first season sweep of Hope since 2002 by taking two games from the Flying Dutchmen Monday afternoon at Hope's Boeve Stadium, winning by scores of 10-3 and 6-3.
An eight-run outburst in the second inning propelled Calvin to a 10-3 victory in game one. The rally came with Calvin leading 2-1 with two outs in the second inning and no one on base. Sophomore Andrew Johnson (Boise, ID) ignited the rally by reaching base on an error. Moments later, Johnson was brought home with a double by junior Jacob Vriesman (Denver, CO). Sophomore Matt Schepel (Grand Rapids Christian HS), senior Kyle Fletcher (Fort Wayne, IN) and junior Chris Blacklidge (Comstock Park HS) followed with back-to-back-to-back RBI singles. Junior Jason May (Chicago, IL) then loaded the bases after being hit by a pitch and senior Alex Marcus (Wilmar, MN) followed with a grand-slam homer to right-center, giving Calvin a 10-1 lead.
Hope added single runs in the third and sixth innings but got no more as the Knights picked up their first win since 2005. Freshman Peter Steiner (Chicago, IL) picked up the win as he lasted into the sixth inning, striking out four and walking three while scattering seven hits. Steiner is now 3-0 on the year. He was relieved by freshman Adam VanOpstal (Calvin Christian HS) who came on to throw the final 1.2 innings for the Knights, limiting Hope to just one hit.
In game two, Calvin (16-1 overall, 8-0 MIAA) got on the board first with a two-run homer to right by Schepel in the top of the third inning. The home run was Schepel's team-leading fifth of the spring. Calvin picked up another run on an RBI single by Vriesman in the fifth and then built a 5-0 lead on a two-run homer to right by Marcus. Hope (5-13 overall, 3-5 MIAA) answered with two runs in the bottom of the sixth but Calvin came back with a run in the top of the seventh on an run-scoring single by Schepel. Hope picked up one additional run in the bottom of the seventh but stranded a runner with two outs to end the game.
Freshman Keith Spoelstra (Oakland, NJ) tossed his second consecutive complete-game victory for the Knights to run his record to 3-0 on the year. Spoelstra struck out two and walked four while allowing only six hits.
Schepel finished the afternoon by going 4-for-7 with four runs batted in while Marcus was 3-for-7 with six runs batted in. Blacklidge was also 3-for-6 with three runs batted in while Vriesman was also 4-for-7 on the afternoon.
At 16-1 overall, Calvin is off the best start in school history. In defeating Hope twice on Monday, Calvin gained a season series sweep over Hope for the first time since the 2002 season. Calvin also defeated Hope 2-1 and 4-0 earlier this spring.
Calvin now holds a two-game lead over 6-2 Olivet and Adrian in the MIAA standings. The Knights return to action on Tuesday when they host nationally-ranked Grand Valley State, ranked ninth in the most-recent Division II Top-25 poll. Tuesday's game is scheduled to begin at 4:00 p.m. at Calvin Field.
For a three-minute audio interview with Calvin head coach John Sparks talking about Monday's doubleheader with Hope and upcoming week ahead, please visit the Calvin web site at: http://www.calvin.edu/sports/audio/Interviews08/JohnSparks040708.mp3
MIAA BASEBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 4-7-08 GAMES
Calvin 8-0
Adrian 6-2
Olivet 6-2
Albion 5-7
Hope 3-5
Alma 3-5
Tri-State 3-9
Kalamazoo 2-6
WOMEN'S TENNIS
Calvin 9, Olivet 0
ROCKFORD -- The Calvin women's tennis team improved to 12-3 on the year as well as 3-0 in MIAA competition with a 9-0 win over visiting Olivet Monday afternon at the MVP Fitness Center.
Picking up singles victories for Calvin were freshman Melissa Oosterhouse (Grand Rapids Christian HS), freshman Kaitlin Spoelhof (Holland Christian HS), sophomore Elisabeth Geenen (Grand Rapids Christian HS), sophomore Rachel Strikwerda (Holland Christian HS), freshman Michelle Busscher (Western Michigan Christian HS) and sophomore Kelsey Bushhouse (Wheaton, IL).
Oosterhouse is now 12-2 in singles play this year while Geenen is 11-4. Strikwerda is 9-4, Busscher 9-5, Spoelhof 8-6 and Bushhouse 5-7.
In doubles action, Oosterhouse and Strikwerda were winners at No. 1 doubles, Spoelhof and sophomore Jill VanVeen (Grand Rapids Christian HS) winners at No. 2 doubles and Geenen and sophomore Rachel DeGroot (Lombard, IL) winners at No. 3 doubles.
Calvin returns to action on Wednesday when it travels to Tri-State for a 3:00 p.m. conference match.
Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Mon Apr 7 23:54:03 2008
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