CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR APRIL 30, 2014
Women's Lacrosse Falls in MIAA Tournament Semifinals to Alma;
Baseball Sweeps Non-Conference Doubleheader at Illinois Tech;
Breanna Verkaik Receives BCAM Academic All-State Honors
BASEBALL
Calvin 10, Illinois Tech 5
Calvin 13, Illinois Tech 0
CHICAGO, IL - The Calvin baseball team traveled to Illinois Tech University on Wednesday and came away with a doubleheader sweep to improve to 23-13 on the year.
Calvin took the first game 10-5 in eight innings and then rolled to a 13-0 victory in game two.
An NCAA III provisional member school, Illinois Tech entered Wednesday's doubleheader with an overall record of 16-12-1 but the Knights were able to pound out a combined 25 hits in the doubleheader to gain the victories in both games.
In game one, Calvin fell behind 5-2 but got a run in the sixth on an RBI groundout by sophomore Michael Kamp (Homer Glen, IL/Chicago Christian HS). In the seventh, senior Matt Schepel (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) walked and two batters later freshman Colt Wolfe (Eaton Rapids/Eaton Rapids HS) belted a game-tying two-run homer - the first home run of his collegiate career.
In the eighth, Calvin scored five runs highlighted by a run-scoring double by Schepel and a two-run RBI single by sophomore Jordan VanderWall (Wyoming/South Christian HS).
Schepel was 2-for-2 including a two-run homer in the first while also drawing three walks. Wolfe and junior Grant Van Putten (Holland/Holland Christian HS) had two hits apiece while Jordan VanderWall was 3-for-5.
Sophomore Kyle Wasserberger (Spring Lake/Spring Lake HS) was credited with the win to improve to 4-0 on the year.
In game two, Calvin scored three runs in the third and six more in the fourth and never looked back from there.
Freshman infielder Austin Voigt (Brighton/Pinckney HS) had three hits to lead the charge while Schepel had two hits and five runs batted in. Van Putten and freshman Quincey Jackson (Elizabethtown, TN/Elizabethtown HS) also had two hits apiece.
Senior Louis Hill Jr. (Romulus/Romulus HS) came on in relief to gain the win as he struck out two batters in three innings of work.
Calvin will now prepare to host Adrian on Friday in a key conference doubleheader at 2 p.m.
WOMEN'S LACROSSE
Alma 15, Calvin 8
ALMA - The Calvin women's lacrosse team saw its season come to an end on Wednesday afternoon as the Knights were defeated by the host Alma Scots 15-8 in an MIAA Tournament semifinal game.
Wednesday marked Calvin's first-ever appearance in the MIAA Tournament. Calvin hung right with the Scots for most of the game but could never get over the hump and gain the lead.
Calvin (9-6) squeezed off the first four shots of the game but Alma (13-5) fired in the first four goals to take a 4-0 lead 10 minutes in.
Calvin clawed its way back as freshman Audrey Grabowski (East Grand Rapids/East Grand Rapids HS) scored to make it 4-1.
Alma went back up 5-1 but the Knights countered with four unanswered goals as freshman Emily Cefaratti (Hinsdale, IL/Hinsdale Central HS), junior Lissa Busscher (Holland/Holland Christian HS), senior Michelle Holwerda (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) and junior Karissa Reed (Greenville/Greenville HS) all scored to tie the game 5-5.
Alma countered with a goal inside the final minute of the first half to take a 6-5 halftime lead.
The Scots grabbed the early momentum in the second half with a pair of quick goals to take an 8-5 lead but goals by Grabowski and Cefarrati brought Calvin to within 8-7.
From there, Alma took control, scoring six unanswered goals to take a commanding 14-7 lead. Both teams added one additional tally with Reed scoring her second goal of the game for Calvin to bring the final score to 15-8.
"I said all along that the team that controls the middle of the field will be the team that wins the game and that's how this game played out," said Calvin women's lacrosse coach Blake Boehm. "We just didn't win enough draw controls and we didn't transition well enough to come out on top."
Calvin held a 35-28 shots at goal advantage but Alma was able to convert more than 50 percent of its shot attempts.
Cefaratti, Reed and Grabowski all had two goals apiece with Holwerda and Busscher adding one.
Holwerda had two assists to bring her season total to 35 - a new Calvin single-season record. Grabowski finished with 45 goals on the year while Cefaratti finished with 35 goals - marking the two-highest single-season goal totals in Calvin women's lacrosse history at the varsity level.
Senior goalie Lauren Spoelstra (Oakdale, NJ/Eastern Christian HS) came up with nine saves in her final game in a Calvin uniform.
Spoelstra was one of four Calvin seniors to play in their final collegiate games as Holwerda, senior defender Mary Hoogstra (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) and Christina Howell (Dexter/Washtenaw Christian Academy) all put on the Calvin jersey for the final time on Wednesday.
"Our seniors are the ones who laid the foundation for this program at the varsity level," said Boehm. "Right now we are ahead of where we originally thought we would be when we started as a varsity program last year. We are developing into a strong program and the future is bright. I want to thank our seniors for helping lead the way."
With its win over Calvin, Alma advances to the MIAA Tournament final Friday night at Adrian College to face the host Bulldogs with the winner receiving an automatic bid to the NCAA III Tournament.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Calvin College junior Breanna Verkaik has been named to the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan Academic All-State team.
The BCAM Academic All-State team pays tribute to five outstanding scholar-athletes from Michigan colleges and universities at the NCAA I, NCAA II, NCAA III, and NAIA levels. To be eligible, players have to be either a starter or an important reserve and have at least a 3.2 grade point average. The BCAM teams are selected on the basis of academic achievement, athletic accomplishments, grade point average and their coach's BCAM membership.
A native of Holland and a graduate of Holland Christian High School, Verkaik carries a 3.63 grade point average while majoring in nursing.
This winter, Verkaik was named to the All-MIAA first team. She finished the season in the top six of six different statistical categories in the MIAA.
During the season, she averaged 15.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists-per-game. She also connected on 82 percent of her free throw attempts, 54.5 percent of her field goal attempts as well as 40 percent of her tries from beyond the three-point arc. She also had 39 steals and 28 blocked shots.
In addition, she was selected to the D3hoops.com Great Lakes All-Region third team.
She is the second member of her family to receive BCAM Academic All-State honors as older sister Carissa Verkaik was a two-time recipient of the award.
She is also one of three players from the MIAA to be named to the 2013-14 BCAM Academic All-State womens' team as Brett de Bear of Albion and Megan Kelley of Hope were also so honored.
Received on Thu, 1 May 2014 03:17:05 +0000
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