CSR (Calvin Sports Report For April 26, 2006, Part One)

CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR APRIL 26, 2008

WOMEN'S TENNIS

ALBION -- A bid for a share of the final MIAA championships and an automatic
bid to next week's NCAA III Tournament came up one point short for the Calvin
women's tennis team as it suffered a 5-4 defeat to the host Britons of Albion
in the MIAA Tournament Championship finals Saturday afternoon.

The victory marked Albion's second 5-4 win over Calvin this week as the
Britons also defeated the Knights by the same score Monday afternoon. Calvin
(18-6) gained the early momentum by winning two of three doubles matches.
Calvin picked up wins at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles with freshmen Kaitlin Spoelhof
(Holland Christian HS) and sophomore Jill VanVeen (Grand Rapids Christian HS)
winning at No. 2 doubles and sophomore Rachel DeGroot (Lombard, IL) and
sophomore Elisabeth Geenen (Holland Christian HS) winning at No. 3 doubles.

Albion quickly knotted the score up 3-3 by picking up wins at No. 1 and No. 3
singles with Calvin claiming a win at No. 2 singles behind the play of
Spoelhof. Calvin retook the lead 4-3 behind a win from sophomore Rachel
Strikwerda (Holland Christian HS) at No. 4 singles but the Britons (18-2)
followed with straight set wins at No. 5 and No. 6 singles to pull out the win.

Complete match results can be found on-line at:
http://www.calvin.edu/sports/wtennis/stats/2008/w426caab.htm

Complete MIAA Tournament results can be found on-line at:
http://www.albion.edu/sports/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2448&Itemid=945

Calvin was playing in its first-ever MIAA Tournament Championship final. The
Knights finish second in the final league standings with a roster consisting of
five freshmen and five sophomores.

Final MIAA Women’s Tennis Standings
1. Albion
2. Calvin
3. Hope
4. Kalamazoo
4. Saint Mary’s
6. Alma
7. Adrian
8. Tri-State
9. Olivet

MEN’S TENNIS

KALAMAZOO - Calvin gave Kalamazoo a run but could not prevent the Hornets from
claiming the MIAA Tournament championship Saturday afternoon as Kalamazoo
handed the Knights a 6-3 defeat in the MIAA tournament finals.

Calvin picked up its first point with a win at No. 1 doubles behind the tandem
of juniors Marcus Zeilstra and Steve DeMaagd (Calvin Christian HS). Zeilstra
(Oakbrook, IL) also picked up a win at No. 2 singles for the Knights while
freshman Andrew DeVlieger (Northpointe Christian HS) was a winner at No. 6
singles.

With the victory, Kalamazoo (13-8) claimed an unprecedented 70th consecutive
MIAA title. The Hornets advance to next week's NCAA III Tournament.

Complete match results can be found on-line at:
http://www.kzoo.edu/sports/mt/mt08/mtstats08/0426kzca.htm

Complete MIAA Tournament results can be found on-line at:
http://www.kzoo.edu/sports/mt/mt08/mt-miaa-08.html

Final MIAA MEN’S TENNIS STANDINGS

1. Kalamazoo
2. Calvin
3. Albion
4. Hope
5. Alma
6. Tri-State
7. Adrian

BASEBALL

OLIVET - Calvin fell out of first place in the MIAA standings as the Knights
gained a doubleheader split at Olivet Saturday afternoon, winning 9-6 and
losing 5-3. Calvin is now 14-5 in MIAA play, a half-game behind 15-5 Adrian
which took two games from Albion Saturday afternoon.

Calvin (23-6 overall) had a chance to take both games from Olivet on Saturday
but failed to protect a 3-2 lead in game two as Olivet scored three runs in the
bottom of the sixth inning to take the lead and eventually gain the win.

In the opener, Calvin took a 6-4 lead on a two-run homer by senior Alex Marcus
(Wilmar, MN) in the fifth and then scored three insurance runs in the seventh
to pull away for the win. The home run by Marcus was his fifth of the year.
Marcus went 2-for-3 with three runs batted in while sophomore Kyle Gurzynski
(Ludington HS) had three hits, sophomore Matt Schepel (Grand Rapids Christian
HS) two hits, junior Jason May (Chicago, IL) two hits and senior Pieter Groot
(Uxbridge, MA) two hits.

Schepel also scored a run in the win, building his season total to 36 and
breaking the Calvin single season record in the process, just two days after
breaking the Calvin single season record for runs batted in.

Freshman Peter Steiner (Chicago, IL) picked up the win to run his season
record to 6-0 with freshman Adam VanOpstall (Calvin Christian HS) tossing three
solid innings of relief.

In game two, Calvin took a 3-1 lead on an RBI double by Marcus and an RBI
groundout by May in the second and an RBI groundout by senior Brad Brummel
(South Christian HS) in the third.

Olivet (12-16 overall, 10-7 MIAA) came back with a run in the fifth and then
scored three times in the sixth to take a 5-3 lead. Calvin then went down in
order in the top of the seventh, allowing Olivet to pick up the victory.

May led Calvin with two hits while Schepel stole a pair of bases. Freshman
Jeff Groenewold (Chicago, IL) took the loss to fall to 1-1 on the year.

Calvin returns to action on Tuesday when it takes on Aquinas at Fifth Third
Ballpark - home of the West Michigan Whitecaps - at 5:00 p.m.

MIAA BASEBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 4-26-08 GAMES

Adrian 15-5
Calvin 14-5
Albion 11-13
Olivet 10-7
Hope 8-12
Kalamazoo 8-12
Tri-State 8-15
Alma 6-11

SOFTBALL
(written by Chaz Amidon ‘09
Case Western Reserve 7, Calvin 3
Calvin 5, Case Western Reserve 4

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Calvin softball team closed out its 2008 season by
splitting a non-conference doubleheader with Case Western Reserve at Gainey
Field, dropping the first game 7-3 while squeaking out a narrow 5-4 victory in
game two.

The Knights ended their season with a 12-23 record, finishing seventh in the
MIAA with a 5-11 mark in league games.

For first-year coach Emily Bustrum, it was a spring laden with ups and downs,
though the team managed to notch five wins in its last week-and-a-half of
play.

“It started off rough,” said Bustrum. “With all the injuries, we had
some adversity to get over before we started to focus on the regular season,
but we were able to make-due with putting players in different situations.”

After Saturday’s game one against the visiting Spartans, Calvin’s three
seniors - Jalean Makedonsky, Cori VanKoevering and Samantha Ehlert - were
honored before they played their final collegiate game, where the Knights held
off a late-game Case Western surge to pull off the win.

“All three seniors have done an amazing job,” said Bustrum. “Their heart
and dedication to the program was evident everyday that they come out and
interacted with their teammates.”

Calvin hurler Kristin Folkerts (9-18) allowed four hits and five runs in the
second inning of game one, giving way to an early 5-0 Spartan lead that would
prove insurmountable throughout. Four of those runs were unearned, though, as
Calvin committed two crucial errors in the inning.

The Knights would scratch across two runs in the third off Brittany
Moriarty’s two-RBI single to cut into Case Western’s lead, but the
Spartans’ Adriane Lewandowski belted a two-RBI triple in the sixth that
sealed the win for the visitors, 7-3.

In game two, Calvin manufactured an electrifying five-run inning in the fourth
frame that was spurred by Loren Scarbrough’s run-scoring double into deep
left field. Makedonsky ripped a two-RBI single three batters later, Jenn Vanden
Akker scored on an infield error, and VanKoevering laid down a sac bunt RBI to
cap off the inning.
After giving up four runs in the fifth inning, Calvin’s Amanda Johnson (3-5)
was pulled in favor of Folkerts, who returned to shut the door on

Case Western’s comeback efforts. Folkerts diffused a bases-loaded scenario
in the top of the seventh, sending the Knights into the offseason with a win in
their final game of the season, 5-4.

“To come out with a win in our second game is exactly how we looked to end
our season and send our seniors off,” said Bustrum.

Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Sat Apr 26 19:55:20 2008