CKSR (Calvin Saturday Sports Report for April 14, 2012)

CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR APRIL 14, 2012
 
Track and Field Teams Defeated By Hope at MIAA Jamboree;
Softball Sweeps Kalamazoo - Runs Win Streak to Four Games;
Baseball Swept in Four Game Series by Adrian
Men's Tennis Closes out Weekend With Win Over Oberlin
 
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD
 
ALBION - The Calvin men's and women's track and field teams face an uphill
climb in a quest to continue MIAA Championship streaks. Both teams took second
place behind rival Hope at the MIAA Jamboree Saturday at Albion College. In
the men's meet, Hope took first place with 898 points to Calvin's 784. On the
women's side, Hope edged Calvin with 910.5 points, 13 points ahead of Calvin's
total of 897.5 points.
 
The MIAA Jamboree is worth one-half of the final MIAA crown. The remaining
half consists of the results of the MIAA Field Day. Calvin will host the MIAA
Field Day May 3 and 4. Heading into this season, the Calvin men's track and
field team has captured at least a share of 18 consecutive MIAA titles. On the
women's side, Calvin has captured at least a share of 22 consecutive MIAA
titles. The women's streak is the longest active championship streak in MIAA
women's athletics history.
 
Heading down the final stretch of Saturday's MIAA Jamboree, the Calvin women's
team held a 22-point lead but Hope overcame the Knights with strong
performances in the field events. In the pole vault, Hope picked up 2.5 points
to edge closer and then sealed the win by outscoring Calvin 52-37 in the
javelin and 34-13 in the discus. Combined, the Hope women outscored Calvin
144-90 in the four throwing events (shot put, discus, javelin and hammer
throw).
 
The Calvin women's team was not without several sterling individual
performances however.
 
Senior Jodi Hoekstra (Homer Glen, IL/Chicago Christian HS) was a
double-winner, winning the 1,500 meters (4:33.62) and 5,000 meters (17:48.87).
Her time in the 1500 meters was a career-best and is also the top time in the
country this spring in NCAA III women's track and field.
 
In the 10,000 meters, sophomore Nicole Michmerhuizen (Holland/Holland
Christian HS) took first place with a career-best time of 36:21.37. Her time is
the second-fastest time in NCAA III women's track and field this year.
 
In the 3,000 meter steeplechase, junior Alyssa Penning (Grand Rapids/Grand
Rapids Christian HS) took first place with a season-best time of 10:59.44. That
time in the third-best in the country this spring.
 
In the women's triple jump, sophomore Hilary Banning (Whitinsville,
MA/Whitinsville Christian HS) took first place with a huge career-best mark of
36-9 1/2. Her jump is the second-best triple jump in NCAA III women's (outdoor)
track and field this year.
 
The Verkaik sisters also combined for wins as freshman Breanna Verkaik
(Holland/Holland Christian HS) won the 800 meters with a season-best time of
2:17.48 while junior Carissa Verkaik (Holland/Holland Christian HS) won the
high jump with a jump of 5-4 1/4.
 
Sophomore sprinters Julie Busscher (Hudsonville/Unity Christian HS) and
Stephanie Bennett (Rockford, IL/Christian Life Center) also had strong
afternoons with Busscher taking second in the 100 meters (12.87) and 200 meters
(26.29) while Bennett was third in the 100 meters (13.04) and 200 meters
(26.35).
 
Calvin also won both relays as its 4x100 meter relay team of Busscher,
Bennett, senior Lindsay VanderBrug (Elmhurst, IL/Timothy Christian HS) and
freshman Amy Sybesma (Ceritos, CA/Valley Christian HS) clocked a season-best
time of 49.88 while its 4x400 meter relay team of Busscher, Bennett, junior
Kaylea Brase (Lino Lakes, MN/Centennial HS) and sophomore Olivia Butler
(Grant/Grant HS) came in with a season-best time of 3:59.94.
 
On the men's side, Calvin had strong performances from its distance runners.
 
In the men's 10,000 meters, junior Job Christiansen (New Ipswich, NH/Mascenic
Regional HS) took first place with a season-best time of 31:33.14. Senior Nick
Kramer (Dyer, IN/Illiana Christian HS) led a 1-2-3 Calvin sweep in the 5,000
meters as Kramer was first (14:39.64), senior Dan Kerr (Petoskey/Petoskey HS)
second (14:45.45) and sophomore Sam Kerk (Hartland, WI/Lake County Lutheran HS)
third (14:39.64).
 
Junior Matt VanderRoest also won the 3,000 meter steeplechase with a time of
9:14.20 that ranks as the top time in the country in the event this spring. In
the 1,500 meters, junior Greg Whittle (Galesburg, IL/Galesburg HS) took first
place with a season-best time of 3:55.01 while Kerk was third in a season-best
time of 3:56.62.
 
In the field events, sophomore Matt Christians (Grand Rapids/South Christian
HS) took first place with a career-best jump of 6-8 3/4 that places him second
on the NCAA III performance list.
 
Junior Aaron Meckes (Bay City/Saginaw Valley Lutheran HS) also won the shot
put (51-7) and discus (159-8). His throw in the discus was a season-best and
places him second on the NCAA III list. In addition, sophomore Evert Geerlings
(Kentwood/East Kentwood HS) took first place in the pole vault with a vault of
14-0 while senior Justin Kremers (West Chicago, IL/Wheaton Academy) won the
javelin with a thorw of 165-5.
 
Both Calvin teams return to action next Saturday at a meet hosted by Grand
Valley State.
 
SOFTBALL
Calvin 10, Kalamazoo 1
Calvin 9, Kalamazoo 0
 
By Mark DeHaan
 
Coming off a pair of wins against non-conference opponent Trinity Christian
College, the Knights were looking to keep their momentum rolling against
Kalamazoo College as they hosted the Hornets on an overcast Saturday afternoon.
Calvin kept the momentum rolling, sweeping the Hornets, winning by scores of
10-1 and 9-0.
 
After a quick 1-2-3 inning in game one from the Calvin defense, the Knights
offense got off to a roaring start in the bottom of the first. Freshman
Christie VanderMeer led off the game with a triple for the Knights. Up next,
freshman Merin Cok hit a sacrifice fly to center field to bring in VanderMeer.
Seior Marie Prins and sophomore Lina Avila then walked for Calvin before a
single by freshman Catherine Hilbrands loaded the bases. Up next for Calvin was
junior Hannah DeWeerd. DeWeerd, struggling on the year from the plate, hit the
first ball she saw over the left fence for a grand slam to give Calvin the 5-0
lead. The Knights left the first inning with the 5-0 lead.
 
In the second, Calvin added another run as VanderMeer led off with another
triple, her second of the game. Cok added another RBI as a single up the middle
brought in VanderMeer.
 
Avila, pitching for Calvin, did not give up her first hit of the game until
the fourth inning, when Kalamazoo’s Querubin Dubois led off with a double.
Dubois was brought in on a double by the next hitter as the Hornets cut the
deficit to 5-1.
 
In the bottom of the fourth, Calvin responded with a run as a pair of doubles,
first by Prins, then by Avila, brought in Prins to score.
 
Calvin added a run in the fifth on an RBI double by freshman Trista Brownlee
to push their advantage to 8-1.
 
Looking for the mercy rule win, Avila came up to bat in the bottom of the
sixth with Prins on first. Avila hit the first pitch over the right center
field fence for the walk-off home run, giving Calvin the 10-1 victory. The home
run was her eighth of the season.
 
Avila earned the win in the circle for Calvin, allowing just three hits,
striking out three and giving up only one run.
 
Leading Calvin on offense was DeWeerd, who went 2-for-3 with a double, a home
run and four RBI. Avila also went 2-for-3 with two runs scored, three RBI, and
a home run. Merin Cok added two RBI for Calvin while VanderMeer was 2-for-4
with two runs scored.
 
In the second game, both teams were scoreless before Calvin grabbed a run in
the third inning off an RBI double by Avila that brought in Cok.
 
In the fourth, the Knights added three more runs, all with two outs, to extend
their lead to 4-0.
Two more runs in the fifth inning, both on a two-run RBI double down the left
field line by Brownlee, pushed the Calvin advantage to 6-0.
 
Meanwhile, in the circle, Brownlee was pitching a nearly flawless game.
Brownlee did not give up her first hit until the fourth inning, and through
five innings of worked, had only faced the minimum amount of batters as two
inning-ending double plays helped her cause.
 
In the top of the sixth, a Prins home run to left field started off the
scoring before the Hornets pitching got wild. Calvin brought in two more runs
in the sixth to take the 9-0 lead.
 
Calvin then got three quick outs in the bottom of the sixth, earning the 9-0
victory and their second mercy-rule win of the afternoon.
 
In the circle, Brownlee allowed two hits, gave up one walk and struck out four
while only facing one batter over the minimum through six innings.
 
On offense, Hilbrands led the Knights at 3-for-4 with two runs scored. Prins
went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored while Cok also went 2-for-4 with two
runs scored.
 
“Four wins in a row is huge. It’s great for our confidence,” said Head Coach
Sharon DeKleine. “We played great defense, we made plays when we had to and we
hit the ball well.”
 
The Calvin sweep moves its record to 9-15 overall and 2-4 in MIAA play. The
Hornets drop to 2-20 and 1-9 in conference. Calvin is next in action on Tuesday
when they will travel to Olivet to play the Comets with the doubleheader
starting at 3:30 pm.
 
BASEBALL
Adrian 8, Calvin 2
Adrian 10, Calvin 3
 
By Andrew Knot
 
The Knights lost the first end of Saturday’s doubleheader against conference
power Adrian by a score of 8-2.
 
In spite of the lopsided final score, the Knights controlled a majority of the
game. Sophomore Jeff Victor was on the mound for Calvin and, through his 5.2
innings, Victor had the Bulldog bats on their heels.
 
In the second inning, senior Scott Tipton and junior Ben Cok executed a
hit-and-run to perfection to put the Knights on the board. Tipton slapped a
single up the middle to bring Cok, who had just previously stolen second,
around the bases. At the conclusion of two innings, Calvin led by a score of
1-0.
 
The Knights also threatened in the third. After two singles to start the
inning, Calvin had runners on second and third with just one out. Mike Fuller
then attempted to bunt Dan Miedema in from home, but Miedema was thrown out at
the plate by a step to keep the Knights from scoring.
 
From there, Victor continued to work through the Bulldog order. It wasn’t
until the top of the sixth inning that Adrian threatened.
 
The Bulldogs put two runners on, affecting the end of the day for Victor, who
left the game with the potential for a winning result. But a walk, an error and
two additional hits surrendered the lead. Calvin trailed 5-1 after the top half
of the sixth.
 
The Knights then went down in order in the sixth, priming Adrian for another
big inning. In the top of the seventh, the Bulldogs added three more runs by
way of some thrifty base running.
 
Cok started the bottom of the seventh with some promise. Cok led off with a
double down the left field line. He then stole third. The Knights were able to
bring him home after Kyle Spoelma hit a sacrifice fly, but Calvin did no
further damage, and the game ended by a score of 8-2.
 
After a complete game, Adrian pitcher Eric Schmidt earned the victory. Corey
Laster took the loss for the Knights.
 
The victory improved Adrian’s league-leading record to 20-6 overall and 13-2
in the MIAA. Calvin drops to 10-15 and 5-11 in conference.
 

Two big innings proved Calvin’s undoing as the Knights dropped a 10-3 result
at the hands of conference leader Adrian on Saturday.
 
Adrian’s bats got started in the second inning, when the Bulldogs put five
runs on the board. Mike Herzog knocked a bases clearing double to left field to
score three. Sam Fischer then tripled to bring Herzog around. Finally, Andrew
DeLuca sacrificed to score Fischer.
 
Calvin was able to get a run back in the bottom of the inning when senior Jake
Van Alten doubled to score Spencer Schuiling. Later, in the fourth, the Knights
capitalized on a string of Adrian errors to score another run.
 
But the Bulldogs put up another big number in the sixth. Dom Pompey smacked a
single to right field that scored two and R.J. Rios added another RBI as Adrian
went on to score four. Though the Knights gained a run in the bottom of the
inning, Adrian led 9-3 at the end of the inning. Adrian scored once more in the
top of the seventh, and Calvin went down in order to conclude the game at
10-3.
 
Austin Buchmayer earned a win for the Bulldogs for his four innings, allowing
only one earned run. Nate Schepers was given the loss for the Knights.
 
With the win, Adrian stays atop the MIAA with a 21-6 overall record and a 14-2
mark in conference. The loss moves Calvin to 10-16 and 5-11 in conference.
 
MEN'S TENNIS
Calvin 5, Oberlin 1
 
OBERLIN, OH - The Calvin men’s tennis team improved to 7-7 on the year with a
5-1 victory over Oberlin College Saturday morning at the MIAA/North Coast
Challenge. The match was played indoors because of inclement weather and was
played to decision because of time constraints.
 
Calvin took two of the three doubles points with juniors Preston Phillips and
Philip Reinken winning 8-2 at No. 1 doubles and senior Vashan Wright and junior
Jarrod Brower winning 9-8 at No. 3 doubles. Calvin then clinched the wins with
victories at No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 singles. Phillips was a 6-0, 6-2 winner at
No. 2 singles, Reinken a 6-3, 6-7, 6-3 winner at No. 3 singles and Peterson a
6-2, 6-4 winner at No. 4 singles.
 
Phillips and Reinken are now 6-2 together in doubles action while Peterson
upped his season singles mark to 10-5. Phillips also hit the double-digit mark
for singles wins this year, improving his season mark to 10-7.
 
Calvin is back in action on Tuesday when it travels to Adrian for a 4 p.m.
match.
Received on Sat, 14 Apr 2012 21:25:14 -0400