CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR APRIL 28, 2009
Men's Tennis Defeats Albion in MIAA Regular Season Finale;
Softball Swept by Olivet in Season Finale;
Baseball Drops Non-Conference Game to Aquinas
MEN'S TENNIS
Calvin 8, Albion 1
ALBION -- Calvin closed out its MIAA regular season campaign with an 8-1 win
at Albion Tuesday afternoon. The Knights are now 14-6 overall and conclude the
MIAA regular season at 4-2. The Knights will be the third seed for the MIAA
Tournament and will face sixth-seeded Trine in a first round MIAA Tournament
match at 8:00 a.m. Hope will serve as host of this year's MIAA Tournament with
outdoor play scheduled to take place at Holland Christian High School.
For more on the MIAA Tournament, please visit the Hope website at:
http://www.hope.edu/pr/athletics/miaamtetournament.html
In its victory over Albion Tuesday, Calvin swept all three doubles flights and
then received singles victories from senior Marcus Zeilstra (No. 1 singles),
senior Steve DeMaagd (No. 2 singles), senior Nick Steenstra (No. 4 singles),
sophomore Andrew DeVlieger (No. 5 singles) and senior Andrew Rescorla (No. 6
singles).
CALVIN-ALBION BOX SCORE:
http://www.calvin.edu/sports/mens/tennis/results/2009/caalbion.htm
SOFTBALL
Olivet 6, Calvin 3
Olivet 8, Calvin 0
KENTWOOD -- Calvin dropped both ends of a doubleheader with Olivet on Tuesday,
falling 6-3 and 8-0. Tuesday's twinbill was picked up in the fourth inning of
game one as the game began last Saturday and was then suspended until Tuesday
because of rain.
Calvin (4-29, 0-14 MIAA) trailed 3-0 in game one but scored two runs in the
bottom of the fifth as junior Whisper Miller (Reed City HS) singled and scored
on a double by senior Jenn Vanden Akker (Grand Rapids Christian HS) with
VandenAkker then scoring on a single by senior Loren Scarbrough (Antioch, IL).
Olivet (23-11, 5-7 MIAA) came back with three runs in the top of the seventh
inning to build a 6-2 lead. The Knights did add one run in the bottom half on a
run-scoring double by freshman Marie Prins (Unity Christian HS) that plated
Miller who had singled.
Miller went 3-for-3 in the loss while Scarbrough had a pair of hits. Sophomore
Malissa Van Rooyen (Beamsville, ON) also had a double for the Knights.
In game two, Olivet scored five runs in the first, belting a three-run homer
and a two-run homer. The Comets then scored a run in the third and two in the
sixth to complete the sweep. Olivet outhit Calvin 10-3 with Miller, Jenn Vanden
Akker and Van Rooyen each collecting a hit.
Senior Kristin Folkerts (Grand Rapids Christian HS) took the loss in both
games to conclude her collegiate career. Tuesday's twinbill also marked the
final collegiate games for Jenn Vanden Akker, Brittany Moriarity (Muskegon Mona
Shores HS) and Scarbrough.
FINAL 2009 MIAA SOFTBALL REGULAR SEASON STANDINGS
Trine 12-2
Adrian 11-3
Alma 11-3
Hope 8-6
Saint Mary's 6-8
Olivet 5-9
Albion 3-11
Calvin 0-14
BASEBALL
Aquinas 10, Calvin 4
By Chaz Amidon
GRAND RAPIDS-Jockeying for position in the MIAA, the Knights have their sights
set on Olivet and Adrian-not Aquinas, their cross-town rival in the WHAC.
And even though Tuesday’s loss to the Saints didn’t affect Calvin’s hunt
for the league title, it felt like it.
The Knights squandered a 4-1 lead and gave up a nine-run eighth inning to the
Saints, who, after beating Calvin 5-3 in last year’s meeting at Fifth-Third
Ballpark, notched a 10-4 win at Calvin Field.
“I don’t know how many times we’ve lost to them now in the last few
years, but that’s something we’d like to change for sure,” said Calvin
head coach John Sparks.
Calvin has, in fact, dropped nine straight games to Aquinas, dating back to
the 2002 season. Sparks is just 0-2 against the Saints, and seniors like Nate
Pocock (Wayland, MA/Wayland) have lost all three match-ups since 2006, the year
Aquinas recorded a 24-7 victory over the Knights.
“I’ve been here a while and I haven’t beaten these guys,” said
Pocock.
With the bases loaded in the seventh, Pocock belted a three-run double to give
Calvin a 4-1 lead in a game where the Knights compiled five hits throughout.
Pocock was one of only two players on either team to turn in a multi-hit
outing, going 2-for-3.
But Aquinas responded in the eighth by cycling through 15 batters, scoring
nine unanswered runs-all while stringing together five hits. Peter Steiner
(Chicago, IL/Glenbrook South) relieved Joe Lambers (Grosse Point/Grosse Point
South) and lasted just two-thirds of the innings before Keith Spoelstra
(Oakland, NJ/Eastern Christian) replaced him on the mound.
The Saints used four RBI-singles and a pair of run-scoring groundouts to pave
the way for Aquinas’ Bryan Carey (1-3), who hurled for two scoreless innings
to close out the game.
“We’ve struggled with having big games offensively and giving up big
innings defensively,” said Sparks.
The Knights shuffled through six pitchers throughout. Zach Thomas (Bradenton,
FL/Bradenton Christian) received a no-decision in his fourth start of the year.
He gave up just one unearned run in four innings of work.
Thomas (1-0), Derick Vargas (Hialeah, FL/American Senior High) and Jeff
Groenewold (Chicago, IL/Timothy Christian) held Aquinas scoreless during their
time on the mound.
Calvin (15-15, 12-6) is currently two games behind second-place Olivet in the
MIAA standings. The Knights will take on the Comets in a four-game series this
weekend that will likely cement the second-place position before Calvin
finishes its season series with Adrian next Monday.
“Step one is to try to take over second place, and we have a chance to do
that with Olivet,” said Sparks. “It’s a battle for second place this
weekend. Step two is we’ve got Adrian this Monday. We’ll take it one step
at a time and see what happens.”
Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Tue Apr 28 21:59:43 2009
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