CKSR (Softball Sweeps Alma/Women's Tennis Defeated by Saint Mary's/Men's Lacrosse Defeated by Hope)

CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR APRIL 23, 2014

Softball Sweeps Albion - Remains in Hunt for MIAA Tournament;
Women's Tennis Eliminated from MIAA Tournament Contention With Loss at Saint Mary's;
Men's Lacrosse Defeated by Hope in Regular Season Home Finale

SOFTBALL
Calvin 8, Albion 0
Calvin 12, Albion 3

Calvin took care of business on Wednesday afternoon, taking both ends of a doubleheader from Albion, winning game one 8-0 in five innings and game two 12-3 in six innings.

The Knights are now 21-11 overall and have hit the 20-win plateau for the first time since the 2005 season. More importantly Calvin is 9-5 in league play and can clinch a spot in the upcoming MIAA tournament with a win in either of its two games on Saturday against rival Hope.

At 11-5 in league play, Hope has clinched a spot in the MIAA Tournament. Calvin could still tie the Flying Dutch for second place in the MIAA but would need to take both games on Saturday.

Trine and Hope have clinched two of the four spots for the MIAA Tournament next week while the Knights are in a fight for one of the two remaining spots along with Olivet and Alma.

In its doubleheader sweep of Albion Wednesday afternoon, Calvin combined for 24 hits and two home runs in the pair of games.

In game one, Calvin put up a run in the second, six in the third and one more in the fifth to close out the mercy-rule win.

Sophomore Ashley Riemersma (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) doubled in a run in the second and then drove home two more in the third with a two-run RBI single. Freshman Cassidy Vlot (Chowchilla, CA/Chowchilla HS) also belted a two-run homer in the six-run surge.

In the fifth, junior Christie VanderMeer (Grandville/Grandville HS) reached base on a one-out single, stole second and then scored on an infield error to end the game.

Vlot picked up the win to improve to 9-4 on the year as she struck out two and allowed just two hits while gaining her third collegiate shutout in the process.

Junior Kelsey Pollock (Greenville/Belding HS), Vlot, senior Lina Avila (Lakewood, CA/Valley Christian HS) and Riemersma all had two hits apiece.

In game two, Calvin had to battle from behind as the Britons (2-23 overall, 1-13 MIAA) scored three unearned runs in the bottom of the first to build a 3-0 lead.

Calvin pecked away with a solo home run by Avila in the third inning - her eighth of the year. The Knights then exploded for seven runs in the top of the fifth inning and added four more in the sixth to claim the mercy-rule win.

Calvin batted around in the fifth inning with sophomore Lydia Gildea (Gobles/Gobles HS) driving in a pair of runs with a bases-loaded single.

In the sixth, junior Merin Cok (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) belted a two-run RBI double. She also made a pair of web gems on defense, snaring a shot up the middle in the second that robbed an Albion batter of a hit and then snagging an over-the-shoulder catch in foul territory in the fifth.

Senior Caitlin Callow (Muskegon/Muskegon Catholic Central HS) picked up the win for Calvin to up her season record to 12-6.

Senior Ashley Jakus (Muskegon/Muskegon Reeths-Puffer HS) had a pair of hits and a pair of stolen bases in the victory while Avila, Gildea and Riemersma all had two hits apiece.

Saturday's doubleheader with Hope is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.

Parking for the doubleheader will be limited because of a busy schedule of high school and college events at the Gainey Athletic Complex. Fans attending the Calvin-Hope softball doubleheader are asked to park in either the Prince Conference Center Parking lot on the east side of the Calvin campus or in the Church of the Servant Parking lot located off of Burton Street just south of the Calvin softball field.

A map of the Gainey Athletic Complex can be found online at: http://www.calvin.edu/map/gainey.htm

WOMEN'S TENNIS
Saint Mary's 6, Calvin 3

NOTRE DAME, IN - The Calvin women's tennis team was eliminated from MIAA Tournament contention with a 6-3 conference loss at Saint Mary's. The Knights are now 5-11 overall and 3-4 in MIAA play while Saint Mary's improves to 10-6 overall and 5-2 in the MIAA.

Doubles play proved to be pivotal in the final outcome as all three flights were hard-fought but the Knights were able to come up with only one of three points.

Junior Megan Visser (Kalamazoo/Kalamazoo Christian HS) and freshman Claire Spoelhof (Holland/Holland Christian HS) scored a solid 8-5 win at No. 1 doubles but senior Bethany Zoerhof (Holland/Holland Christian HS) and freshman Ellie Benzel (San Dimas, CA/San Dimas HS) dropped a tough 8-6 decision at two doubles and freshman Liz Turner (Audobon, PA/Delaware County Christian HS) and junior Courtney Selvius (Hudsonville/Unity Christian HS) dropped an equally tough 9-7 decision at three doubles.

In singles play, Visser continued her strong afternoon with a 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 win at number-one singles while Spoelhof was victorious 7-6, 6-4 at number-two singles.

Saint Mary's claimed the next four singles flights however - all doing so in straight set fashion.

With their singles victories, Visser and Spoelhof both improved to 4-3 in singles plays against MIAA opponents this spring.

Calvin will close out its season on Saturday when it hosts Trine at 1 p.m. at the Strikwerda Tennis Courts.

MEN'S LACROSSE
Hope 23, Calvin 3
By Mark DeHaan

The Calvin men's lacrosse team hosted the Flying Dutchmen of Hope College on Wednesday afternoon for the final home conference matchup of the year. Wednesday was also Senior Day for the Knights as Allen Bosscher (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS), Casey Harless (DeWitt/DeWitt HS), and Jon Ptashnik (New Baltimore/Anchor Bay) were recognized for Calvin.

Rival Hope got off to a strong start, and despite spirited effort from the Knights, the Flying Dutchmen worked their way to a 23-3 defeat of Calvin.

Hope played stifling defense in the opening half, holding the Knights scoreless while scoring in bunches.

At halftime, Hope led 12-0 as it held the Knights to 0-for-3 on man-up opportunities and outshot Calvin 25-15.

At the beginning of the second half, freshman Joel Schaeffer (Clarkson, MD/Annapolis Area Christian HS) scored the first goal of the game for the Knights despite being down a man.

After a three-goal response by Hope, junior Jonathan VanderLaan (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) netted another as Calvin trailed the Flying Dutchmen 15-2.

In the fourth quarter, freshman Chris Griffin (Howell/Hartland HS) added a third goal, but Hope had already built a substantial lead, and the Flying Dutchmen downed the Knights 23-3.

Hope outshot Calvin 47-35 and won the ground ball battle at 39-33 as well.

Offensively for Calvin, Schaeffer, VanderLaan, and Griffin all scored one goal apiece.

For the Flying Dutchmen, Caleb Digison had eight goals while Jacob Kamstra scored four goals and added seven assists.

"We made some mistakes early in the game, we let down a little bit, and after you let down it becomes really hard to come back from, but we're still proud of the guys for running up and down the field all game," said head coach Joel Kamstra. "The impact of our seniors is not measured in the win-loss column, but rather the culture and the work ethic they have instilled. We're definitely going to miss Casey, Al, and Jon. They've been huge for our program."

The loss drops the Knights to 2-11 and 0-5 in conference, while Hope improves to 5-8 and 2-3 in league play.

Calvin now looks forward to Saturday when the Knights will travel to Olivet for the final game of the regular season. Opening face-off is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
Received on Wed Apr 23 23:40:18 2014