CSR (Baseball Takes Two From Kalamazoo)

CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR MAY 8, 2008

Baseball Takes Two From Kalamazoo

BASEBALL
(written by Drew DeVries '08)
Calvin 5, Kalamazoo 1
Calvin 9, Kalamazoo 3

GRAND RAPIDS - Calvin pulled itself two games closer to an outright MIAA conference title this afternoon and set a single season record for wins in a season with a pair of victories over the visiting Hornets of Kalamazoo. The Knights won the first game behind a strong outing on the mound from junior Nate Pocock (Wayland, MA/Wayland) and used timely hitting from their lineup in the second game to complete the doubleheader sweep. Calvin remains one game behind league leading Adrian and with two conference games remaining against Kalamazoo tomorrow, the Knights can claim the MIAA title.

Today's contest also celebrated senior day in which seven Calvin seniors played in their final home games. The seniors were Mike Stob (Caledonia/South Christian), Todd La Forest (Clio/Clio), Kyle Fletcher (Fort Wayne, IN/Concordia Lutheran), Pieter Groot (Uxbridge, MA/Whitinsville Christian), Alex Marcus (Willmar, MN/Willmar Sr.), Scott Larsen (Hastings/Hastings), and Brad Brummel (Byron Center/South Christian).

The Knights got on the board first in game one when they scored a run in the second inning. After Chris Blacklidge (Comstock Park/Comstock Park) walked and then reached second on a fielder's choice, back to back wild pitches sent Blacklidge around to score.

In the third inning, Pocock faced his only trouble of the game. After giving up a run, Pocock loaded the bases with only one out. But Pocock was able to get himself out of the jam when he struck out the next batter and got a groundout to second base for the third out. Pocock finished the game allowing only two hits and one earned run while putting the Hornets down in order five of his seven innings pitched. He fanned eight Hornet batters and pitched what Calvin head coach John Sparks claimed to be one of his best games all season.

"Nate pitched really well; probably one of his better games all year," said Sparks. "He was able to put the ball right where he wanted it and was able to get a lot of easy outs. I was really proud of the way he pitched today."

After scoring another run in the third inning to reclaim the lead off a Fletcher RBI single, Calvin's bats came alive in the sixth inning. The Knights added three insurance runs in the inning with the help of four Kalamazoo errors. Drew Johnson (Boise, ID/Mountain View) came up with a key double that knocked in Jason May (Chicago/Walter Lutheran). Marcus also came around to score on a throwing error during the play. Jacob Vriesman added another run to Calvin's run total when he singled in Johnson.

With the win, Pocock improved his record to 8-1 on the year.

Kyle Cousins (Holland/Holland Christian) was on the mound for the seond game and was given early run support as Calvin again scored first crossing the plate twice in the second inning. Brummel singled Marcus in for the first run of the game and then Johnson executed the safety squeeze play that sent Marcus in to score.

But Cousins began to struggle in the third inning when a couple of hits and a wild pitch lead to three Kalamazoo runs and just like that, Calvin found itself trailing 3-2. But the Knights didn't stay behind long when their offense woke up again in the fourth inning. Johnson scored on a wild pitch and Fletcher ripped a single through the left side to score Kyle Gurzynski (Ludington/Ludington). Blacklidged doubled to left center to give the Knights their 5-3 lead.

It was in the sixth inning where Sparks felt his team really came alive. Calvin got some big hits from its seniors Fletcher and Marcus. Fletcher opened up the scoring for the inning after belting a single to center field that scored two runs. Marcus then came up later in the inning and blasted a double over the center fielder's head to send in another run. When the Hornets finally got out of the inning, the Knights had tallied four more runs en route to its 9-3 game two victory.

"Alex had a big hit that inning and so did Fletcher," said Sparks. "I thought in that game, we finally hit the ball the way we're capable of."

Despite a few rough patches for Cousins, he was able to get himself out of some jams and collected his seventh win of the season. "Kyle was able to get us out of some tough spots," said Sparks. "He kept us in the game and gave us a chance to go ahead. So I have to give him a lot of credit for the way he pitched."

Cousins went six innings giving up three runs off three hits while striking out two. He strengthened his record to 7-1 on the season. Freshman Adam VanOpstall (Grandville/Calvin Christian) closed out the seventh inning and ended the game with a strikeout.

With two games remaining on their schedule, the Knights control their own destiny that by winning both games at Kalamazoo tomorrow, they outright win the league crown. "This is kind of what we have been working for all season," said Sparks. "It feels nice to have a shot at winning the title. We're just going to have to play well tomorrow and take it one game at a time."

The Knights (30-8 overall, 21-5 MIAA) will take on the Hornets tomorrow to close out the regular season. The twinbill is scheduled to begin at 2:00 in Kalamazoo.

MIAA BASEBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 5-8-08 GAMES

Adrian 22-6
Calvin 21-5
Olivet 15-13
Hope 13-15
Tri-State 12-16
Albion 11-17
Kalamazoo 8-18
Alma 8-20

Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Thu May 8 19:46:25 2008