CALVIN KNIGHT WEEKEND SPORTS WRAP FOR APRIL 27, 20114 (Part One)
BASEBALL
Calvin 2, Trine 0
Trine 11, Calvin 7
By John Leerar
The Calvin baseball team faced off against the Thunder of Trine University in a conference twinbill Saturday afternoon. The Knights were coming off a doubleheader sweep of the Thunder Thursday night. Calvin was also looking to secure a spot in the MIAA Tournament, needing one win to do so. Calvin clinched its tournament berth, winning game one 2-0 before dropping the nightcap 11-7.
The game was scoreless until the bottom of the second, when the Knights loaded the bases and were able to get a run on an infield single by sophomore Travis Kraai (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) to lead the game 1-0.
Calvin added another run to their lead in the bottom of the fifth when junior Grant Van Putten (Holland/Holland Christian HS) drove a sacrifice fly to center, bringing the score to 2-0.
The Thunder brought the tying run to the plate in the top of the seventh, but were unable to score and the Knights came away with the game one victory 2-0.
Senior Cory Laster (Ludington/Ludington HS) earned his fifth win of the season, striking out two in a complete game one-hit shutout.
"We had a great pitching performance from Cory [Laster], said head coach John Sparks. "We did enough offensively to get the win."
In game two, Trine struck first with a run in the top of the first. Calvin responded in the bottom of the inning with and RBI single to right by sophomore Jalen Bouma (Ann Arbor/Huron HS).
Trine scored seven runs on seven hits in the top of the second, then scored three more in the third to lead 11-1.
Calvin cut into the Trine lead in the following innings. In the third, freshman Colt Wolfe (Eaton Rapids/Eaton Rapids HS) drove in a run on a single. A double by Grant Van Putten and a triple by senior Matt Schepel (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) added a couple more runs, and then Schepel scored on an overthrow to bring the score to 11-5 in favor of Trine.
In the bottom of the fifth, a single by Travis Kraai added another run for the Knights.
Calvin scored once more in the bottom of the seventh, but it was not enough as the Knights fell 11-7 in Game 2.
Senior Grant VanderWall (Wyoming/South Christian HS) took the loss for the Knights, dropping his record to 1-5.
"Their bats came alive in the second game," said Sparks. "You can't expect to give up seven runs in an inning and win. We took three out of four [from Trine] though, which is what we wanted to do."
After today, the Knight's record stands at 21-13, 15-9 in the MIAA.
The Knights return to action on Wednesday, when they travel to Illinois Tech to play a non-conference doubleheader.
SOFTBALL
By Mark DeHaan
Hope 6, Calvin 2
Hope 4, Calvin 0
Looking to claim a spot in the MIAA Tournament, the Calvin softball team hosted the rival Flying Dutch of Hope College on Saturday afternoon. Calvin claimed a tournament spot despite dropping both ends of a doubleheader with Hope.
The Knights came into the day in third place in conference at 9-5, but still needed to take at least one game from Hope, which came in at 11-3, in order to secure a place in the four-team league tournament.
It was also Senior Day for Calvin. Janelle Agren, Lina Avila, Caitlin Callow, and Ashley Jakus were all recognized before the game.
Calvin collected 15 hits in the two games, but despite their success at the plate, could not turn base runners into runs, falling in both games by scores of 6-2 and 4-0. Although Calvin lost both contests, the Knights were aided by a Saint Mary's win over Alma, a loss by the Scots which allowed the Knights to earn a berth in the MIAA Tournament.
In game one, Hope got onto the board first in the top of the first inning with a RBI double. The Flying Dutch added an insurance run in the third, again on a RBI double.
The Knights got on the board in the bottom of the fourth. Senior Lina Avila led off the inning with a double, and was moved over on a sac bunt from junior Merin Cok. A single by sophomore Lydia Gildea then brought in Avila, but Calvin's offense was held to just the one run and the Knights trailed 2-1 after four.
In the fifth, Avila was on the giving end of another run for the Knights, using her third hit of the ball game to bring in senior Ashley Jakus for a RBI single and the 2-2 tie.
The Flying Dutch responded in the top of the sixth, capitalizing on a few defensive miscues by the Knights to score a pair of runs and take a 4-2 lead.
Adding two more runs in the seventh to take a 6-2 lead, Hope then held off Calvin despite allowing two base-runners in the bottom of the seventh, and the Flying Dutch claimed a 6-2 win in game one.
Avila was 3-for-3 with one RBI and a run scored, while Jakus and Pollock each hit 2-for-3 in game one. Freshman Cassidy Vlot took the loss in the circle, pitching 7.0 innings, striking out nine and giving up four earned runs.
For Hope, Peyton Wells was 3-for-3 with two RBI and a run scored.
In the second game, Hope played strong defense in holding the Knights scoreless. One run in the third and three in the fifth proved to be more than enough offense as the Flying Dutch took game two 4-0.
In game two, seven different players registered a hit for the Knights. Senior pitcher Caitlin Callow allowed two runs in 5.0 innings, scattering four hits and striking out four.
Hope's Julie Sobieski was 1-for-2 with two RBI, while Autumn Anderson had two runs scored on 1-for-2 hitting.
"We qualified for the tournament because of everything we've done this season up to today. While we're disappointed with the results today, the entire season is still successful and we go into next week with a chance at an upset," said head coach Tim Syrek. "The thing about these seniors is they all bring something distinctively different to our team. They've made my job easy in my first year, but I'm going to ask them this week to get better and not be satisfied with where they're at."
Despite losing both games, Calvin clinched a spot in the MIAA tournament with an Alma loss to Saint Mary's. The Knights finish the regular season 21-13 overall and 9-7 in league play, while Hope finishes 21-14 and 13-3 in conference play.
Calvin's appearance in the MIAA Tournament will be its first since 2005. The 21-win total is also the highest total since 2005.
The Knights now look forward to Thursday when they will travel to Trine University where all four tournament teams will play in the conference tournament.
Calvin will open tournament play against Trine on Thursday at 1 p.m.
Received on Sun Apr 27 14:45:43 2014
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