CKSR (Calvin Knight Weekend Sports Wrap for April 6, 2014)

CALVIN KNIGHT WEEKEND SPORTS WRAP FOR APRIL 6, 2014

MEN'S AND WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD

WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD

EAST LANSING - A group of Calvin distance runners had an inspiring set of performances at the Spartan Invitational hosted by Michigan State University on Saturday.

The afternoon was highlighted by Calvin's performance in the 5,000 meters as senior Nicole Michmerhuizen (Holland/Holland Christian HS) took second in a time of 17:06.66. Her time places her in the top six on the current outdoor national performance list.

Michmerhuizen was part of a powerful pack of Calvin runners in the event as junior Sarah Danner (Watkins Glen, NY/Charles Dickerson HS) was fourth (17:51.79), junior Kimby Penning (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) fifth (17:53.25), junior Kate Ardinger (Elmhurst, IL/Timothy Christian HS) sixth (17:59.79) and junior Paige McGahan (Brighton/Brighton HS) seventh (18:02.13).

In the 3,000 meter steeplechase, senior Alyssa Oram (Cheboygan/Home Schooled) took fourth in a strong time of 11:34.24 while sophomore McKenzie Diemer (Caledonia/South Christian HS) was sixth in a time of 11:47.52.

In the 800 meters, senior Rebekah Folkema (Renfrew, ON/Renfrew Collegiate Institute) had a stellar showing, taking fifth in a season-best time of 2:19.05. Senior Olivia Butler (Grant/Grant HS) also had a strong time in taking eighth in the race, clocking in at 2:21.19.

Calvin will now prepare for the MIAA Jamboree next Saturday at Alma College.

MEN'S TRACK AND FIELD

EAST LANSING - Despite cold conditions, Calvin's distance runners had a strong showing at the Spartan Invitational Saturday afternoon at Michigan State University.

The highlight of the day came in the 5,000 meters as sophomore Ethan Anderson (Stillwater, MN/Stillwater HS) dropped his PR by nearly 20 seconds, taking seventh in a time of 15:04.00.

Junior Steven Haagsma (Grandville/Calvin Christian HS) also had a smooth race, placing ninth in a time of 15:09.40 while senior Philip Spitzer (Kingsley/Buckley HS) was close behind in 10th with a time of 15:15.58.

Trucking in behind them were junior Josh Ferguson (Naperville, IL/Neuqua Valley HS) in 15th (15:32.15) and sophomore Jeff Meitler (New Berlin, WI/Milwaukee Lutheran HS) in 16th (15:33.66).

In the 1500 meters, senior Stephen Tubergen (Mount Prospect, IL/John Hersey HS) had a season-best time of 4:06.73. Sophomore Andre Otte (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) also had a season-best time in the event, clocking in at 4:09.76 while sophomore Matt Oram (Toledo, OH/Toledo Christian HS) came in at 4:10.80.

Calvin will now prepare for the MIAA Jamboree next Saturday at Alma College.

BASEBALL
Calvin 5, Olivet 1
Olivet 2, Calvin 1

OLIVET - Calvin split a conference doubleheader at Olivet on Saturday, taking the opener 5-1 and falling in the nightcap 2-1. Calvin takes three of four in the conference series with the split.

In the opener, Calvin scored five runs in the top of the sixth to stake senior lefthander Cory Laster (Ludington/Ludington HS) to a 5-0 lead. Olivet scored a run in the bottom half of the inning but did not score again as Calvin senior Jeff Victor (Holland/Holland Christian HS) came on in relief in the seventh to slam the door shut, retiring the first three batters he faced.

Junior Grant Van Putten (Holland/Holland Christian HS) went 2-for-4 in the win for the Knights, scoring a run, driving in a run and swiping a pair of bases. Sophomore Jalen Bouma (Ann Arbor/Ann Arbor Huron HS) drove in two runs with a single while junior Ben Wohl (Canton/Plymouth HS) also drive in a run with a single.

Laster (2-2) picked up the win, striking out five and walking three.

In game two, Calvin went without a hit until the sixth inning against Olivet starter David Hernandez. Olivet.

Calvin was able to take a 1-0 lead in the first as Van Putten reached base on an error, stole second and third and scored on a squeeze bunt.

Olivet countered with two runs in the bottom of the first however, using three hits and two walks to take a 2-1 lead.

Calvin (10-9 overall, 5-6 MIAA) threatened to tie the game in the sixth and seventh but could not do so. In the sixth, Schepel was stranded at third with two outs. In the seventh, senior Jack Jorgenson (Milwaukee, WI/Milwauke Lutheran HS) led off with a single, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by sophomore J.R. Frederick (Valparaiso, IN/Chesterton HS) and later advanced to third but like Schepel, was stranded with two outs.

Senior Grant VanderWall (Wyoming/South Christian HS) took the loss to fall to 0-3 on the year. Sophomore Kyle Wasserberger (Spring Lake/Spring Lake HS) also pitched two innings of shutout relief for the Knights.

Calvin will turn around on Monday and travel to Kalamazoo for a makeup game against Kalamazoo College scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m.

SOFTBALL
Calvin 9, Finlandia 5
Calvin 8, Finlandia 3

By John Leerar

CALEDONIA - The Calvin women's softball team won both games of a doubleheader against the visiting Lions of Finlandia University Saturday night. The games were played at Davenport's Farmers Athletic Complex.

In the first game, Finlandia took advantage of two Calvin errors to take a 2-0 lead. Calvin got one back in the bottom of the second, but Finlandia responded with two more in the next half-inning to lead the Knights 4-1 after three.

Calvin scored eight runs in the next three innings, including a five-run 6th sparked by a two-run homer by Senior Lina Avila (Lakewood, CA/Valley Christian).

Finlandia scored one more run in the 7th, but it was not enough as the Knights were triumphant by a score of 9-5.

Earning the complete-game victory for Calvin was Freshman Cassidy Vlot (Chowchila, CA/Chowchilla). She surrendered two earned runs on six hits to earn her 7th win of the year.

The second game began with Calvin scoring four unanswered runs in the first two innings. Finlandia answered with three runs in the top of the 3rd to pull within one, 4-3.

The Knights widened the gap in the bottom of the 5th with a four-run inning on the strength of back-to-back solo home runs by senior Janelle Agren (Cadillac/Cadillac) and sophomore Lydia Goldea (Gobles/Gobles).

No more scoring occurred, and Calvin went home victorious 8-3.

Senior Caitlin Callow (Muskegon/Muskegon Catholic Central) got the complete-game win, giving up only 1 earned run on four hits. This was Callow's 5th win of the season.

With the wins, the Knights improve to 12-5 on the year. Calvin is back in action on Monday when it hosts Aquinas in a non-conference doubleheader at 3:30 p.m. at the Gainey Athletic Complex.

WOMEN'S LACROSSE
Adrian 17, Calvin 6
By Mark DeHaan

The Knights women's lacrosse team hosted the Adrian Bulldogs on a sunny Saturday afternoon at East Grand Rapids High School's Memorial Field.

At the beginning of the season, Adrian was picked to finish first in the MIAA while the Knights were picked to finish fifth. Both teams entered Saturday's matchup with 1-0 conference records,

but it was the Bulldogs that kept their perfect league record by the end of the game as a 17-6 decision went in Adrian's favor.

Playing on her high school field, freshman Audrey Grabowski (East Grand Rapids/East Grand Rapis HS) scored the first two goals for the Knights, and junior Lissa Busscher (Holland/Holland Christian HS) added another as Calvin took an early 3-1 lead.

Five straight goals from the Bulldogs put them up 6-3, but a response by Grabowski with 17:22 to go cut the Knights deficit to 6-4.

Over the remainder of the half, Adrian scored four more goals while shutting out the Knights to take a 10-4 advantage into the break.

The Bulldogs continued their unanswered goal streak out of the break, taking a 15-4 lead before a goal from senior Michelle Holwerda (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) ended the streak, bring the score to 15-5.

Over the remaining 7:27 of the second half, Adrian added a pair of goals while freshman Caroline Schneemann (Farmington/Farmington HS) scored one of her own for Calvin, and the Knights fell 17-6.

The Knights were outshot 37-19, while Adrian also held a 23-22 advantage in ground balls.

Grabowski led the Knights with three goals, while Busscher, Holwerda, and Schneeman each scored one.

For Adrian, Hannah Early had seven goals while Maddie Dugan, Brianna Plester, and TaShina Salas each scored three.

"I was really happy with the way our team came out, getting on the board first and getting the first couple goals," said head coach Blake Boehm. "Adrian is a great team, they have great athletes and they know how to work the ball. I'm really enthused with the way we came out."

The Knights now look forward to Tuesday when they will travel to Olivet to face the Comets, with face-off set to start at 6:00 p.m.

MEN'S LACROSSE
Baldwin-Wallace 17, Calvin 9
By Mark DeHaan

The Calvin men's lacrosse team played its final non-conference matchup of the season on Saturday, hosting the Yellow Jackets of Baldwin Wallace University at East Grand Rapids High School.

The Knights hung with the Yellow Jackets through a quarter and a half, tying the game at 5-5, but Baldwin Wallace's depth proved too much as it outscored Calvin 12-4 the remainder of the contest to defeat the Knights 17-9.

The Yellow Jackets opened up the scoring just over a minute and a half into the contest. Senior Tim Marco responded for Calvin to tie the game midway through the first quarter.

The remainder of the quarter saw Baldwin Wallace net three goals to take a 4-1 lead at the quarter break.

After an opening goal for the Yellow Jackets in the second quarter, Marco began to show his offensive skill with four straight goals to rally the Knights and knot the game up at 5-5 with 4:18 remaining in the half.

Baldwin Wallace responded to build a three goal lead by the end of the half and take an 8-5 advantage into the break.

The Yellow Jackets continued their offensive run at the beginning of the third quarter, scoring four straight goals to open the half and push their lead to 12-5. Freshman Andrew Haan and Marco responded with a pair of goals, cutting the deficit to 12-7 at the end of the third.

The opening seven minutes of the fourth quarter then put the game out of reach for the Knights, as Baldwin Wallace scored five goals to build a double-digit lead at 17-7. Calvin scored the final two goals of the contest, with freshmen Joel Schaefer and Chris Griffin each finding the back of the net, to bring the final score to 17-9.

The Yellow Jackets outshot the Knights 45-29 for the contest. The teams were even on ground balls at 36 apiece, while Baldwin Wallace won 16-of-29 face-offs.

Marco finished with six goals and an assist for Calvin, while Haan, Schaefer, and Griffin each added one goal.

Vinny Carson led the Yellow Jackets offensively with five goals and six assists. Devon Henry chipped in three goals and an assist while Shane Rakish scored three goals and added an assist.

"We went down 5-1, got back into the game and tied it up at 5-5, chipping away at it the whole time. I'm proud of the guys for running up and down the field the whole time," said head coach Joel Kamstra.

"We're really proud of hanging in with a team like this. We continue to encourage them, play as hard as you possibly can and control the things that you can control."

The Knights fall to 2-6 with the loss while Baldwin Wallace improves to 5-3. Calvin now looks forward to a pair of conference games next week, both at home. The Knights play Albion on Wednesday with opening face-off at 4:00 p.m., and Trine on Saturday, with the weekend contest scheduled to start at 1:00 p.m.
Received on Sun Apr 6 17:51:24 2014