CSR (Baseball Splits With Hope/Jon Kuiper Tied for First Place at Heidelberg Spring Collegiate Classic)

CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR APRIL 1, 2010
 
Baseball Splits with Hope;
Jon Kuiper Tied for First Place at Heidelberg Spring Collegiate Classic
 
BASEBALL
Hope 10, Calvin 9
Calvin 7, Hope 4
 
The Calvin baseball team split a doubleheader with rival Hope Thursday afternoon at Calvin Field, falling 10-9 in the opener and coming back to win game two 7-4.
 
Junior Peter Steiner (Chicago, IL) ran his career record to 3-0 against Hope with the game two win as he tossed a complete-game victory. Senior Kyle Gurzyski (Ludington HS) went 3-for-3 in game two with a triple while junior Andrew Bosma (Holland Christian HS) went 2-for-4 with a solo home run.
 
Calvin grabbed an early 3-1 lead in the game two victory with a three-run first inning keyed by a run-scoring triple from Gurzynski, a run-scoring double by Bosma and a run-scoring double by freshman Ben Cok (Grand Rapids Christian HS). Calvin scored three more times in the second with Gurzynski driving in yet another run with a single. Calvin and Hope traded runs in the fourth inning with Bosma ripping his first collegiate round-tripper in the bottom of the fourth to give Calvin a 7-2 lead. Hope (12-4 overall, 5-1 MIAA) scored two runs in the top of the sixth on a two-run homer to right by Wyatt Curry but the Flying Dutchmen did not score again as Steiner stranded two runners in the top of the seventh with the tying run at the plate.
 
Steiner struck out three and walked three while scattering seven hits.
 
In game one, Hope rallied back from an 8-6 deficit with a three-run sixth inning. Hope had 13 hits and Calvin 10 in game one. Cok and senior Rob Kool (Grand Rapids Christian HS) had two hits apiece in game one. Junior Cody Batchelor (Durango, CO took the loss in relief of starter Ben Sietsema (Northpointe Christian HS).
 
The contest featured several momentum shifts with Hope scoring two runs in the top of the third and Calvin (5-9 overall, 2-4 MIAA) responding with three runs in the bottom of the third with sophomore Jake VanAlten (Holland Christian HS) ripping an RBI double, freshman Tyler Tos (Walnut Creek, CA) rapping an RBI single and Gurzynski lifting a sacrifice fly to center.
 
Calvin added a run in the fourth on a safety squeeze bunt by Kool that plated Steiner who led off the inning with a walk. Hope came right back however with four runs in the top of the fifth, chasing Sietsema from the mound as the Flying Dutchmen collected five hits in the inning.
 
The Knights regained the lead however with four runs of their own in the bottom of the fifth with sophomore Tyler Berger (Grand Rapids Christian HS) belting an RBI double in the uprising. Trailing 8-6, Hope scored three runs in the top of the sixth to regain the lead. The Flying Dutchmen then scored an important insurance run in the top of the seventh which proved to be the deciding run as Calvin scored in the bottom of the seventh as Cok drove in a run with a soft looping single to center that brought home Bosma from third. With runners at first and third and only one out, Calvin appeared in prime position to tie the contest but Hope relief pitcher Jordan Carrigan extinguished the threat with a strikeout and pop-up to second base.
 
Hope finished the wild affair with 13 hits while Calvin rapped out 10 hits.
 
The two teams are scheduled to complete their four-game series on Saturday with a doubleheader at Hope's Boeve Stadium scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.
 
MIAA BASEBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 4-1-10 GAMES
 
Hope 5-1
Alma 3-1
Adrian 4-2
Trine 3-3
Albion 2-2
Calvin 2-4
Kalamazoo 2-4
Olivet 1-5
 
MEN'S GOLF
 
TIFFIN, OH - Calvin College senior Jon Kuiper of Grand Rapids Christian High School continued his quest to qualify individually for the NCAA III Men's Golf Championships in May with a strong individual performance on day one of the Heidelberg Spring Collegiate Classic Thursday afternoon. Kuiper fired a first day total of 73 strokes to finish in a three-way tie for first place. The 36-hole tournament is scheduled to be completed on Friday afternoon at the Mohawk Golf and Country Club.
 
Kuiper is playing in a series of spring tournaments in an attempt to qualify individually for the NCAA III Men's Golf Tournament. This past fall, Kuiper took second in the final MIAA individual standings with an average of 74.0 strokes-per-round in eight league competitions.
 
Last weekend, Kuiper tied for 11th at the Muskingum Invitational with a two-day total of 152 strokes (78-74).
 
Individuals that qualify for the NCAA III Men's Golf Tournament are from teams that did not qualify. As the MIAA champion this fall, Hope earned the league's automatic team bid to the NCAA III Men's Golf Championships scheduled to be held May 11-14 at the Hershey Links and Hershey Country Club in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
 
For a feature story on Jon Kuiper and his younger brother Ben from this past fall, please visit the Calvin Web site at: http://www.calvin.edu/publications/knight/2010/winter/mgolf.htm
Received on Thu Apr 1 23:42:39 2010