CKSR (Calvin Knight Sports Report for March 29, 2012)

CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR MARCH 29, 2012

Baseball Drops Both Ends of Doubleheader With Olivet;
Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving Highlight Video Now Online;
Track and Field Teams Crack Outdoor National Rankings

BASEBALL
By Andrew Knot

Calvin Olivet Baseball Game 1 Recap
 
Quiet bats plagued the Knights as they fell by a score of 4-3 in the first
game of Thursday’s doubleheader against Olivet.
 
Jay Magro, Olivet’s starter, set the tone early for the Comets as he mowed
through Calvin’s batting order in the game’s early going.
 
Then, in the second inning, the Comets’ bats caught up to their pitching.
Andrew Brawley hit a towering double to left field, one of three on the
afternoon, to earn a stand-up leadoff double. Soon thereafter, Justin Pitt
knocked a single to left field, scoring Brawley. After a fielder’s choice and
two Calvin errors, the Comets had an early 3-0 lead.
 
Magro continued to have his way on the mound as Calvin did not score until the
sixth inning. As in the fifth, Magro walked Calvin’s leadoff batter, putting
Jake Van Alten on first. He then stole second. Ben Cok drove in Van Alten with
a single to left field, but the Knights’ rally ended with a double play.
 
Then, in the seventh, the Comets gained a run of insurance off Brawley’s third
and final double. The Knights entered the seventh inning trailing by three
runs.
 
Once again, the Knights drew a leadoff walk. Ben Guilfoyle took first based
and later scored after a couple errors from the Comets. Ben Wohl then flew out
to right field, which allowed Spoelma to tag up and score. But Calvin’s
comeback bid fell short as Austin Evenhouse popped out to the second basemen.
 
Calvin managed just three hits, and Magro walked away with a complete game
victory, advancing his record to 2-0. With the Loss, Calvin’s Joe Lambers
dropped to 3-2.
 
Calvin Olivet Baseball Game 2 Recap
 
Just like in the first game, a lack of offensive production hurt the Knights
in the second game as they fell to Olivet by a score of 3-2.
 
Once again, the Comets got on the scoreboard in the second inning, relying on
some critical Calvin errors in the process. Two throwing errors scored Olivet’s
Andrew Engle and advanced Joel Peters to third. Peters then scored on a wild
pitch, and the Comets exited the inning with a 2-0 advantage.
 
Calvin’s bats continued the silence of the first game. Jake Van Alten’s first
innint single remained the Knight’s only base hit until the seventh inning.
Olivet had added a run in the sixth, so Calvin now trailed by three runs.
 
Once more similar to the first game, the Knights were able to generate some
offense in the game’s final inning. Ben Cok led off with a single. The
subsequent batter, Scott Tipton, flared a single to shallow right field, moving
Cok to third. Johnathan Van Byssum grounded out but scored Cok and Steve
VanderMolen hit into a fielder’s choice but scored Tipton. Calvin trailed by
just a run with a runner in scoring position but, with two outs, Ben Wohl
struck out swinging to conclude the game.
 
After the games, Calvin Manager John Sparks called for more offensive and
defensive consistency from his team.
 
“We need to have that [seventh inning] approach the entire game,” Sparks said
of his team’s attitude at the plate. “And we have to avoid the big inning
defensively.”
 
The Knights struck out nine times and had only four hits in the game.
 
Olivet’s Sean Alexander received the win, moving his record to 3-0. Calvin’s
Grant VanderWall pitched a complete game, but the loss drops his record to 0-2.

 
The Knights are now 7-9 overall and 2-4 in the MIAA.
 
 
MEN’S AND WOMEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING

Last month the Calvin men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams competed at
the MIAA Championships in Holland. The Calvin women’s team recorded 803.5
points to capture its eighth consecutive MIAA title.

Meanwhile the Calvin men’s team recorded a school-record 635 points and
captured four individual league titles. Calvin student videographer Mike
Zaagman has produced a highlight video of the final three days of competition
at the league meet.

The video can be found online at: http://vimeo.com/39249743

MEN’S AND WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD

The first set of Division III Top 25 computer rankings for outdoor track and
field have been released by the United States Track and Field Coaches
Association and both Calvin teams are in the top 25.

On the men’s side, Calvin is ranked sixth. On the women’s side, Calvin is
ranked 24th. Both teams will compete at the Grand Rapids Open on Saturday at
Houseman Field with Aquinas College serving as host.

The latest national rankings can be found online at:
http://www.ustfccca.org/rankings/division-iii-rankings
Received on Thu Mar 29 19:58:23 2012