CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR MAY 7, 2014
Baseball Defeats Hope 5-2 in MIAA Tournament First Round Game;
Five Members of Calvin Baseball Team Receive All-MIAA Honors;
Track and Field Athletes Compete at Aquinas College Twilight Invitational
BASEBALL
Calvin 5, Hope 2
By Mark DeHaan
Hosting an MIAA Tournament game for the first time in the two-year history of the tournament, the Knights baseball team welcomed rival Hope College to Calvin field for a the first-round, nine-inning contest.
Despite falling to the Flying Dutchmen in all four of their regular season match-ups, it was the Knights who earned a win on Wednesday, defeating Hope 5-2 behind a complete game pitching performance from senior Cory Laster (Ludington/Ludington HS).
Calvin (27-14) advances to the winner's bracket final on Thursday to face host Adrian at noon at Adrian's Nicolay Field.
The Flying Dutchmen got the scoring going early as a RBI single by senior Josh Kranz in the top of the first gave the visitors a 1-0 lead.
The Knights responded in the bottom of the second. With the bases loaded, senior Kyle Spoelma (Grand Rapids/South Christian HS) hit a double into right field which scored junior Peter Cupery (Holland/Holland Christian HS) and sophomore Jalen Bouma (Ann Arbor/Ann Arbor Huron HS) as Calvin gained a 2-1 advantage.
The Knights added an insurance run in the bottom of the fourth as Cupery scored on a wild pitch.
In the bottom of the fifth, Cupery was on the giving end of another run as he hit a soft line drive over the head of the third baseman that brought junior Ben Wohl (Canton/Plymouth HS) in to score, putting the Calvin lead at 4-1.
Wohl scored again in the sixth, coming across home plate due to an error by the Hope defense.
The Flying Dutchmen got a run back in the eighth as senior Tim Bodine doubled and later scored on an error, but Laster sat Hope down 1-2-3 in the ninth to earn the complete game and a 5-2 victory for the Knights.
Cupery went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and one RBI while Bouma was 3-for-4 with one run scored. Wohl went 2-for-4 with two runs scored. On the hill, Laster pitched 9.0 innings, scattering five hits and allowing just one earned run, upping his season record to 7-2.
For Hope, Currey Thomas pitched 8.0 innings, giving up 10 hits and allowing four earned runs. Offensively, Bodine was 2-for-4 with one run scored.
"Cory threw really well, weathered the first two innings, then settled in. I thought we hit the ball really well today, so I was really pleased with our approach at the plate," said head coach John Sparks.
"We've gradually gotten better throughout the year, and we've played our best baseball the last couple weeks, and it's nice to see that carry over into the tournament."
To follow Friday's game with Adrian via video and live stats visit the Adrian website at: https://adrian.prestosports.com/sports/m-basebl/2013-14/miaa_tournament_central
MORE BASEBALL
Five members of the Calvin baseball team have received All-MIAA honors.
Named to the All-MIAA first team from Calvin are seniors Cory Laster and Matt Schepel and junior Grant Van Putten while senior Kyle Spoelma and sophomore Jalen Bouma have been named to the All-MIAA second team.
Schepel and Van Putten are receiving All-MIAA first team honors for the second time while Laster is receiving the honor for the first time.
An outfielder, Schepel is from Grand Rapids and is a graduate of Grand Rapids Christian High School. Schepel finished tied for third in the MIAA batting race at .392 while finishing tied for third in doubles (9), tied for second in triples (3) and fifth in total bases (49). He was named the MIAA Position Player of the Week once during the season.
Calvin's centerfielder over the last three years, Van Putten is from Holland and is a graduate of Holland Christian High School. In conference games, Van Putten batted .350 and led the league in stolen bases with 21 while finishing second in runs scored (27). He also commited just one error in 44 fielding chances in the outfield for a .977 fielding percentage.
Laster is from Ludington. He is a graduate of Ludington High School. A lefthander, Laster moved into Calvin's starting rotation this year and thrived, compiling a 6-1 record with one save and a 2.85 earned run average. A two-time MIAA Pitcher of the Week, Laster tossed a pair of shutout victories in conference play.
A native of Ann Arbor and a graduate of Ann Arbor Huron High School, Bouma is receiving All-MIAA second team honors for the second consecutive year. Calvin's starting shortstop, Bouma batted .311 in league play with 19 runs batted in and eight runs scored. He also swiped four bases and walked eight times.
A catcher, Spoelma is receiving All-MIAA second team accolades for the first time. A native of Grand Rapids and a graduate of Grand Rapids South Christian High School, Spoelma batted .319 in league play with five doubles and nine runs scored. He also had a .989 fielding percentage behind the plate.
Calvin finished the 2014 MIAA regular season with a conference record of 18-10 that was good for second place. The Knights were picked to finish fourth in the MIAA preseason coaches' poll. Calvin will host rival Hope on Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. in a first round MIAA Tournament game at Calvin Field.
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD
A group of throwers from the Calvin men's and women's track and field teams competed at the Aquinas College Twilight Invitational at Houseman Field Wednesday night.
On the men's side, sophomore Eric Jipping (Canton/Plymouth Christian HS) took fourth with a throw of 49-1 3/4. Senior Ben de Waal Malefyt (Midland Park, NJ/Eastern Christian HS) was seventh with a throw of 155-6 while freshman Erick Holder (Marian, IN/Eastbrook HS) had a season-best throw of 153-4 in the javelin that was good for fourth place.
On the women's side, senior Lauren Madden (Orland Park, IL/Chicago Christian HS) won the women's javelin with a season-best throw of 124-0.
Sophomore Stacie Mead (Grand Rapids/Forest Hills Northern HS) also had a strong day, tossing the discus 104-11 and the shot put 37-4 1/2. Her throw in the shot was a career-best.
Calvin's teams will now prepare to compete at last-chance competions hosted by Grand Valley State Friday and Saturday.
Received on Wed May 7 23:36:42 2014
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