CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR APRIL 21, 2015
WOMEN'S LACROSSE
Calvin 16, Kalamazoo 9
By Mark DeHaan
With a big game against rival Hope College looming on Thursday, the Calvin women's lacrosse team hosted Kalamazoo College on Tuesday. The Knights entered at 5-0 in the MIAA and in first place, while Kalamazoo was 2-3 in league play, good for sixth in the standings.
Calvin held a 7-3 lead at the break, but a run by the Hornets in the second half drew the visitors within two goals. Sophomore Emily Cefaratti then stepped up, netting three straight goals to boost the Knights lead back to five. Calvin then cruised to a 16-9 victory.
In the first half, the teams battled back and forth as the game saw three ties in the opening 20 minutes.
A goal from Emily Cefaratti with 8:11 remaining then put the Knights ahead 4-3.
Cefaratti scored two more goals in the remaining time of the half, while junior Carolyn Forbes added another, and Calvin went into halftime with a 7-3 advantage.
The Knights outshot the Hornets 15-5 in the first half, also forcing Kalamazoo into 12 turnovers. Calvin was 9-for-9 on first half clear attempts and also held a 22-11 ground ball advantage.
In the second half, senior Karissa Reed netted the first goal of the period to bring the score to 8-3.
The Hornets then went on a 4-1 run over the next ten minutes to bring the score to 9-7 with 20:35 to go.
After six scoreless minutes, Emily Cefaratti netted three goals in five minutes for Calvin, the final one coming in a man-down situation, to push the Knights lead up to 12-7.
Calvin then received goals from Reed, Forbes, freshman Amanda Davio, and freshman Emma Hall in the remaining time to claim a 16-9 win.
The Knights outshot the Hornets 30-16 for the game while also holding a 35-25 ground ball advantage by game's end. Calvin forced its opposition in 19 turnovers while only committing 10.
Individually, Cefaratti scored eight goals and collected five ground balls to lead the Knights. Reed added three goals, one assist, and led Calvin with eight ground balls. Forbes and Davio each scored two goals, with Davio contributing one assist.
"The difference for us was our defense really started to pressure them on ball, and we slid well to stop their dodgers," said head coach Blake Boehm. "On the opposite side of the ball, we were finding space, and Emily had a great game as did the rest of our offense."
Calvin returns to action on Thursday, hosting rival Hope College in a 1-2 conference contest. The Knights, now 6-0 in the MIAA and 9-5 overall, sit in first place, while Hope, at 6-6 overall and 5-1 in the league, is tied for second with Albion.
"(Your record) doesn't matter when it comes to the Calvin-Hope game, it's going to be a dog-fight all the way through," said Boehm. "We have to take tomorrow and prepare for them, then come out on Thursday ready to go and focused on our objectives."
The Knights and Flying Dutch are slated to face-off at 5:00 p.m.
BASEBALL
Calvin 6, Alma 5
Calvin 2, Alma 1
Calvin completed a four-game series sweep of Alma Tuesday afternoon, taking both ends of a doubleheader from the Scots, winning by scores of 6-5 and 2-1. The Knights are now 15-15 overall and in third place in the MIAA standings with a 12-8 conference record.
In game one, Calvin saw a 3-0 lead vanish as Alma rallied for five runs in the top of the fourth.
Calvin closed to within one on a sacrifice fly by sophomore Pat Avila in the bottom of the fifth and in the bottom of the seventh mounted a game-winning rally.
Senior Peter Cupery ignited the rally with a lead-off single and moved to third on a one-out single by freshman Nick Steigenga. Senior Ben Wohl then belted a first-pitch single down the left-field line that scored Cupery with the game-tying run and sent Wohl on to third.
An intentional walk loaded the bases bringing freshman Nate DeZwaan to the plate. DeZwaan delivered, belting a shot over the centerfielder's head for the game-winning walk-off hit.
Senior Austin Juza (2-3) picked up the win in relief for Calvin. Freshman Mike Wierenga went the first four innings before giving way to freshman Ryan Stewart who tossed 1.2 innings of shutout relief.
Senior Grant VanPutten had two hits including a triple while Cupery went 2-for-3.
Game two featured a pitcher's duel between Alma's Alex Valasek and Calvin senior Nate Schepers. Pitching on just three day's rest, Schepers went the first four innings and allowed just one run while striking out four batters.
Calvin tied the game in the fourth on a sacrifice fly by Avila. The Knights then took the lead in the sixth as junior Jordan VanderWal was hit by a pitch and later scored on an error.
In the seventh, Alma put one runner aboard with one out but Calvin relief pitcher Kyle Wasserberger closed out the game with back-to-back strikeouts.
Wasserberger (3-3) picked up the win in relief while senior Ben Guilfoyle also tossed one inning of shutout relief.
Calvin had just two hits in the win - one from VanderWal and one from Cupery who raised his season batting average to .408.
"We showed good character to get both of these wins," said Calvin head baseball coach John Rypel. "Our pitchers did a good job of holding us in both games. We're happy to come out with two more conference wins. Now it's on to the next series. We have to keep grinding away."
Calvin will open a four-game series with Trine on Thursday as the Knights host the Thunder for a doubleheader at 2 p.m.
SOFTBALL
Hope 19, Calvin 4
Calvin 4, Hope 3
HOLLAND - Calvin upset nationally-ranked Hope 4-3 to gain a split of a doubleheader Tuesday afternoon. Calvin dropped the opener 19-4 in five innings against the 21st-ranked Flying Dutch but came back to win game two.
In game one, Hope erupted for 15 hits and scored 10 runs in the first inning to take early control. Calvin scored all four of its runs in the top of the fifth as freshman Jessica Brasser ripped a two-run RBI single, junior Ashley Riemersma collected an RBI single and junior Lydia Gildea belted a run-scoring single.
Game two proved to be a different story however as the Knights took a 2-0 lead in the first on a sacrifice fly by Gildea and a run-scoring single by freshman Kaley Frank. Freshman Madi Jongekrij then cracked an RBI single in the fourth to give the Knights a 3-0 lead.
Hope (26-6 overall, 11-3 MIAA) scored a run in the fifth and tied the game in the top of the sixth on a two-run homer by Julie Sobieski. In the bottom of the sixth, Jongekrij doubled and then scored on a clutch two-out single by senior Kelsey Pollock.
In the top of the seventh, Hope placed runners on first and second with one out but the Knights (10-19 overall, 4-10 MIAA) were able to get out of the jam with a flyout to right and a groundout to second.
Sophomore Paige Groom (5-5) went the distance for Calvin, striking out four and walking one in seven innings of work.
Frank went 3-for-3 in the win for Calvin while Jongekrij was 2-for-3.
"Paige Groom really stepped up in game two and our team rallied behind her," said Calvin head softball coach Tim Syrek. "I was happy for our seniors because they were able to experience a rivalry win. We got some timely hitting and played a clean game on defense. Our young players really stepped up and provided a glimpse of a bright future."
Calvin will close out its season on Saturday when it hosts Olivet in a doubleheader at 1 p.m.
MEN'S GOLF
PIERSON - The Calvin men's golf team hosted the Knight Invite on Tuesday at Pilgrim's Run Golf Club. Grand Rapids Community College took first place with a team score of 316 with Calvin right behind at 317. Trine was third at 318.
Davenport took fourth at 324, Cornerstone seventh (338), Hope eighth (341) and Aquinas ninth (350).
Zach Bialek of Grand Rapids Community College was tournament medalist with a round of 72
Calvin was led by junior Justin Crow with a round of 75 while freshman Ben VanScoyk had a 79. Freshman John Van Noord had an 81, senior James Van Noord an 82 and junior Jason Zeigler an 89 to round out Calvin's finishers.
Calvin returns to action on Friday when it competes at the MIAA spring qualifier at the Wuskowhan Player's Club in West Olive.
MEN'S TENNIS
Calvin 5, Bethel (IN) 0
The Calvin men's tennis team defeated visiting Bethel College of Indiana 5-0 in a non-conference match played to decision Tuesday afternoon inside the Huizenga Tennis and Track Center.
Calvin is now 8-7 overall.
Calvin won all three doubles flights and then quickly gained wins at No. 4 and No. 6 singles to close out the match.
Freshman Matt VanWinkle and sophomore Taylor Asfour were 8-2 winners at one doubles, junior Matt Buesing and senior Tom Griffin 9-7 winners at two doubles and sophomore Gene Hill and freshman David Brown 8-0 winners at three doubles.
In singles, Brown was a 6-0, 6-0 winner at four singles and sophomore Anthony Vroon a 6-4, 6-3 winner at six singles.
Calvin returns to action on Friday when it travels to Alma for a 4 p.m. conference match.
WOMEN'S TENNIS
Calvin 5, Bethel (IN) 0
The Calvin women's tennis team improved to 10-7 on the year with a 5-0 non-conference victory Tuesday afternoon over Bethel College of Indiana. Tuesday's match was played to decision inside the Huizenga Tennis and Track Center.
Calvin got off to a quick start as senior Megan Visser and sophomore Claire Spoelhof won 8-5 at No. 1 doubles, freshmen Jessica Bouma and Kari Kroeze won 8-1 at No. 2 doubles and sophomore Liz Turner and senior Courtney Selvius won 8-1 at No. 3 doubles.
Calvin clinched the match in singles play as Bouma won 6-0, 6-0 at No. 3 singles and senior Ali Roode won 6-0, 6-0 at No. 4 singles.
Calvin returns to action on Wednesday when it hosts Adrian in a conference match at 4 p.m.
Received on Wed Apr 22 01:57:35 2015
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