CKSR (Calvin Knight Sports Report for May 4, 2012)

CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR MAY 4, 2012

Women's Track and Field Title Streak Extended - Men's Streak Snapped
Baseball Splits With Hope;
Men's Tennis Falls to Kalamazoo in MIAA Tournament Finals

MEN'S AND WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD

WOMEN’S RECAP

By Mark DeHaan

The Knights opened day two with a ten point advantage over Alma in the overall
standings and looked to distance themselves from the rest of the MIAA over the
second and final day of the MIAA Championships.

Calvin got off to a strong start as a 1-2-3 finish in the 3000 meter
steeplechase extended their lead. Junior Alyssa Penning won the event with a
time of 11:03.02 while sister and freshman Kimby Penning took second in
11:36.57. Sophomore Alyssa Oram took third in a time of 11:41.34.

In the next women's event, the 4x100, the Calvin team of senior Lindsey
VanderBrug, sophomore Julie Busscher, sophomore Stephanie Bennet, and freshman
Jordyn Platt took second with a time of 50.24.

In the 1500 meter run, senior Jodi Hoekstra took first place with a time of
4:37.00, beating out Hope's Sheri McCormack by less than a second. Senior
Kaitlin Diemer came in next for the Knights with a time of 4:47.19, good for
third, while junior Kaylea Brase ran a 4:48.03 and freshman Kate Ardinger ran a
4:48.84 to take fifth and sixth.

In the 100 meter hurdles, VanderBrug and freshman Breanna Verkaik picked up
points for the Knights, as VanderBrug's time of 15.49 was good for second and
Verkaik's time of 16.78 good for fifth.
Sophomore Olivia Butler picked up a third place finish in the 400 meter dash
with a time of 59.80.
In the 100 meter dash, Calvin earned a 2-3 finish as Busscher took second in
12.48 while Bennet claimed third in 12.63.

In the 800 meter run, the Knights grabbed a 1-2 finish as Diemer took first in
2:17.79 and Brase placed second in 2:18.51, just one-hundredth of a second
ahead of the third place finished from Albion.

The 400 meter hurdles saw Calvin grab three out of the top four spots.
Sophomore Hilary Banning took second in 1:07.89 while Verkaik grabbed second in
1:08.29 and freshman Kelley Tuninga took third in 1:09.57.

Banning also took first in the triple jump and second in the long jump
yesterday.

“It was really exciting today to see all of the good performances by everybody
else around me,” said Banning. “It spurs you on – if you see someone else do
really well it motivates you and encourages you to do your best.”

Another 2-3 finish from Busscher and Bennett, this time in the 200 meter dash,
saw the Knights continued to pull away. Busscher ran a 25.51 while Bennett
clocked in at 25.68.

The 5000 meter run saw Hoekstra take her second top finish of the afternoon as
she ran an 18:09.40. Sophomore Nicole Michmerhuizen, winner of the 10000 meter
last night, was right behind Hoekstra with a time of 18:09.81.

Calvin then placed an exclamation point on the afternoon with a victory in the
final event of the day, the 4x400 meter relay. The Knight team of Bennett,
Verkaik, Butler, and Platt took first in 4:00.80, holding off Hope on the last
lap.

With their depth, Calvin claimed the MIAA Field Day title with a total team
score of 273 points. But, the Knights will share the title with Hope who won
the MIAA Jamboree last month.

“Overall, the day was great. Everyone really went out there and gave it their
best,” said Hoekstra. “We were kind of upset with how the jamboree went so we
really wanted to come back and give it all we had. I love being part of the
Calvin tradition – its something we're all extremely proud of.”

The league title is Calvin’s 23rd straight which marks the longest active
championship streak in MIAA women’s athletics history.

"We had an outstanding two days of competition," said Calvin head track and
field coach Bret Otte. "We had excellent performances all across the board. Our
women were determined to win this meet and they delivered in a big way."

MEN’S RECAP

Calvin’s streak of claiming at least a share of 18 straight MIAA titles came
to an end on Friday as the Knights finished second in the final MIAA Field Day
standings with 170 points, 36 points behind Hope which claimed its first
outright MIAA title since 1986. Last month, Hope took first place at the MIAA
Jamboree to give the Flying Dutchmen both ends of the final league title.
Calvin had also won every MIAA Field Day since 1987. Prior to this week, the
last team to win a Field Day other than Calvin was Hope in 1986.

Heading into the day, Calvin held a 31-point lead and continued to lead
through the morning prelims but Hope began to gain ground in the running events
and pulled away during a key late meet stretch with performances in the 800
meters, 400 meter hurdles and 200 meters to put the meet out of reach for
Calvin. During the afternoon, Hope combined to take first place in six running
events.

Calvin had several sterling performances on Friday led by junior Aaron Meckes
who picked up his second league title in as many days with a first place throw
of 152-2 in the discus. Sophomore Ben deWall Malefyt also had a big effort,
taking third place with a career-best throw of 149-6. Sophomore Matt Christians
also picked up a morning field day title on Friday, winning the high jump with
a mark of 6-6.

In the afternoon, junior Matt Vander Roest picked up a league title in the
3,000 meter steeplechase, winning with a time of 9:31.81. Calvin’s lone win
after that point was in the 5,000 meters as senior Nick Kramer won with a time
of 14:56.67 while sophomore Sam Kerk was second (15:32.56). Kerk also claimed
second in the 1,500 meters with a time of 3:59.00.

“I have to tip my cap to Hope,” said Calvin head track coach Bret Otte. “They
were the better team and had a great afternoon. We gave it everything we had
and we had several excellent performances. It just wasn’t enough. ”

BASEBALL
Hope 4, Calvin 3
Calvin 1, Hope 0
By Andrew Knot

GAME ONE RECAP

The Knights fell just short in a tightly contested first game of Friday’s game
one against rival Hope.
 
Making his first start after combining on complete a no-hitter with Nate
Schepers last week, Joe Lambers took the mound for the Knights. With Lambers
pitching, the Dutchmen went down in order in the first inning.
 
In the bottom half of the inning, leadoff hitter Grant Van Putten got on base
after a Hope error. After advancing to second, Van Putten scored off another
error to give the Knights a 1-0 lead.
 
From there, both Lambers and his counterpart, Adam Clements, continued to
thrive on the mound. Clements and Lambers combined for 19 strikeouts in the
game, holding the score at 1-0 until the fourth inning.
 
After a couple of infield singles and a hit batsmen, the Dutchmen loaded the
bases in the fourth. The Knights were able to get an out at the plate to keep
the Dutchmen off the board. But Hope scored soon after that. Ty Peterson drew a
walk and then TJ Klein knocked a double down the left field line to score two.
After Eric Dawson added another RBI, Hope led 4-1.
 
The Knights would add a run in the bottom of the fifth when Scott Tipton hit a
single to left center, scoring Van Putten. Hope took a 4-2 lead into the
seventh inning.
 
Van Putten drew a lead off walk in the top of the seventh. After advancing to
second, Van Putten and Tyler Tos executed a double steal, but only Van Putten
would cross the plate. The Knights fell by a score of 4-3.
 
The result advances Hope’s record to 20-17 overall and 16-9 in conference.
Adam Clements’ record improved to 6-1 and Lambers record dropped to 4-5.

GAME TWO RECAP

The Knights took the second game of a Friday’s doubleheader with Hope, winning
by a score of 1-0. Pitcher Grant VanderWall and third basemen Ben Cok played
the heroes for the Knights.
 
VanderWall and Danny Detmar, who started the game for the Dutchmen, were each
dominant on the mound, conceding only two hits through the first three innings.

 
With one out in the bottom of the fourth, Ben Cok drilled a homerun to left,
putting the Knights on top by a score of 1-0. The homer energized the Knights’
biggest crowd of the season and swung momentum Calvin’s way.
 
The lone run was all that VanderWall would need. The sophomore peppered the
strike zone all afternoon, striking out four and allowing only three hits.
 
VanderWall was also helped by some impressive defensive efforts. In the second
inning, Ben Wohl robbed Chris Blair of a base hit. Moving away from first base,
Wohl stabbed a grounder with the backhand and whipped a throw to first in time
to record the out.
 
But the Dutchmen did manage to put a runner on in the seventh. Jon Ponte drew
a leadoff walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch, but that was as far as
he would get. VanderWall retired the next three batters to conclude the game at
1-0.
 
With the win, Calvin’s seniors made their final appearance at Calvin Field a
victorious one. The Knights’ record improved to 15-23 and 9-17 in conference.
VanderWall earned a win and improved his record to 4-5.
 
“I’m proud of our guys,” said Coach John Sparks after the game. “We had two
great pitching performances and played our two best defensive games of the
season.”
 
As for the seniors, Sparks was glad to see them end their careers at home on a
good note.
 
“This win means a lot to our seniors. It’s a nice way to finish at home,” he
said.

MEN’S TENNIS
Kalamazoo 5, Calvin 1

The 2012 season came to an end for the Calvin men’s tennis team Friday
afternoon at Stowe Stadium as the Knights dropped a 5-1 decision to Kalamazoo
in the MIAA Tournament Championship final. Calvin concludes its season with an
overall record of 11-9.

Calvin’s lone point came at No. 1 doubles as the tandem of juniors Philip
Reinken and Preston Phillips won by a 9-8 score. Kalamazoo led 2-1 after
doubles play and then claimed wins at No. 5, No. 3 and No. 1 singles to close
out the win in a match played to decision.

Friday’s match marked the second straight year that Calvin has advanced to the
MIAA Tournament Final in men’s tennis.
Received on Fri, 04 May 2012 20:04:30 -0400