CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR APRIL 23, 2015
Women's Lacrosse Captures Share of MIAA Regular Season Title With 19-7 Win Over Hope / Baseball Win Streak at Six After Doubleheader Sweep of Trine / Distance Runners Have Good Outings at Hillsdale
WOMEN'S LACROSSE
Calvin 19, Hope 7
By Mark DeHaan
Calvin women's lacrosse clinched a share of the MIAA regular season title on Thursday, defeating Hope College 19-7 to continue its undefeated conference campaign. The Knights also gain the top seed for the upcoming MIAA Tournament.
The Knights also honored their six seniors: Delaney Callahan (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS), Epiphany Donat (Saline/Washtenaw Christian Academy), Erin Leegwater (Jenison/Unity Christian HS), Paige Noordyke, Karissa Reed, and Lindsey Ryskamp (Caledonia/Caledonia HS).
The Knights opened up the game as the more urgent team, netting the first four goals of the contest, three from Reed, before Hope got on the board.
Another scoring run from Calvin, this time seven straight goals, saw the Knights lead grow to double digits at 11-1 with 9:52 remaining in the first half.
Hope ended the run with a goal less than two minutes later, but two Calvin goals in the remaining time put the Knights ahead 13-2 at the break.
Calvin outshot the Flying Dutch 25-6 in the opening half, also forcing the visitors into 15 turnovers. In the opening period, the Knights were 5-for-6 on clear attempts while Hope was 1-for-4.
Calvin's dominance continued into the second half. Freshman Amanda Davio (Okemos/Okemos HS) opened up the second period scoring less than two minutes in.
After a Hope College response, goals from Reed (Greenville/Greenville HS), Davio, and Noordyke (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) saw Calvin's lead increase to its largest of the game at 17-3 with 18:13 to go.
The Knights then cruised to a 19-7 final score, defeating their rivals while staying undefeated in league play. With one game to go, the victory gives Calvin at least a share of the regular season conference championship and the top seed for the upcoming MIAA Tournament.
The Knights outplayed Hope in nearly every facet of the game. Calvin held a 34-15 shots advantage, 20-8 draw control advantage, and a 34-27 ground ball advantage by the end of the game. The Knights completed 8-of-10 clear attempts while the Flying Dutch were 5-of-9.
Individually, Reed led the Knights with six goals and one assist, also picking up five ground balls. Davio contributed four goals, three assist, and six ground balls, while sophomore Emily Cefaratti (Hinsdale, IL/Hinsdale Central HS) added four goals, two assists, and three ground balls. Noordyke scored three goals on three shots.
In goal, junior Corry Remy (Zeeland/Zeeland East HS) made six saves to earn the win.
"It's not hard to get hyped for the Calvin-Hope game, it's just a matter of channeling that energy and directing it appropriately, otherwise you'll come out flustered," said head coach Blake Boehm. "Our seniors have been a foundation of leadership and maturity. They bring a maturity to this team and a focus and a leadership that only comes with age."
Calvin improves to 10-5 overall and 7-0 in the MIAA, also increasing its win streak to eight, while Hope falls to 6-7 overall and 5-2 in league play.
The Knights will wrap up their conference schedule on Saturday at Adrian. Calvin, with a win, will claim the outright MIAA title.
"The MIAA regular season title has been the goal all along as well as to play for the NCAA Tournament automatic qualifier," said Boehm. "It feels really good to be this close, but we have to stay focused and get through Saturday."
The Knights and Bulldogs are scheduled to face-off at 1:00 p.m.
WOMEN'S LACROSSE STANDINGS THROUGH 4-23-15 GAMES
Calvin 7-0
Albion 6-1
Hope 5-2
Olivet 4-3
Alma 4-3
Kalamazoo 3-4
Saint Mary's 2-6
Trine 1-6
Adrian 0-7
Knights Stay Hot with Doubleheader Sweep of Trine
by John Leerar
Grand Rapids, Mich. - The Calvin Knights baseball team faced off in a key conference doubleheader against the Thunder of Trine University Thursday afternoon. The Knights, coming into the day ranked third in the MIAA conference, were looking to strengthen their position in the march to the postseason.
They accomplished their tasks, taking both ends of the twinbill by scores of 11-1 and 9-6.
The first game was all Calvin Knights. The Knights scored the first two runs of the game on an RBI double by junior Jeff Murdock (Riverside, CA/Arlington HS) and RBI single by senior Grant Van Putten (Holland/Holland Christian HS).
In the fourth, Calvin really jumped up on top with a seven-run inning. Freshman Nate DeZwaan (Holland/Holland Christian HS) started things off with a sacrifice fly to left field, then junior Jordan VanderWall (Wyoming/South Christian HS) hammered a three-RBI double to left-center.
The Knights weren't done yet in the inning though, as a single by senior Peter Cupery (Holland/Holland Christian HS) plated a run and a single by freshman Nick Steiginga (Matwah, NJ/Eastern Christian HS) brought in two more.
Calvin scored a run in the fifth and another in the sixth. Trine brought a run home in the top of the seventh but it was not enough as the Knights prevailed, 11-1.
Senior Ben Guilfoyle (Romeoville, IL/Plainfield East HS) went the distance for the first time in his career, scattering three hits and five walks and allowing just one run.
"I thought we came ready to swing the bats this game", said Calvin first-year head coach John Rypel. "It was nice for us to get back in our hitting groove. We worked counts in the early part of the game and got to the bullpen early."
In game two, Trine opened the scoring with three runs in the first before Calvin got one back in the bottom of the inning. Trine then scored another two runs over the next two innings before Calvin got one back in the bottom of the third with an RBI single off the bat of VanderWall.
Just like in game one, the bottom of the fourth is when Calvin bats really came to life. An RBI single by Steigenga opened the scoring in the inning, followed shortly thereafter by a two-run double to right-center by VanPutten, bringing the score to 5-5.
Following a pitching change for the Thunder, VanderWall came up big again, plating two more runs with a double down the left field line.
A sacrifice fly to right by sophomore Colton Wolfe (Eaton Rapids/Eaton Rapids HS) rounded out the scoring for the Knights, who were ahead 8-5 after the inning.
The Knights got a key insurance run in the sixth off the bat of senior Ben Wohl (Canton/Plymouth HS), bringing the score to 9-5 going into the top of the seventh.
Trine scored one in the inning and had the go-ahead run at the plate, but junior Kyle Wasserberger (Spring Lake/Spring Lake HS) struck out the final batter to finalize 9-6 victory.
Freshman Ryan Stewart (Detroit/Parkway Christian HS) earned the win for the Knights, pitching two innings of shutout ball in relief of Cupery.
We definitely had a slow start in this game," said Rypel. "It was great that we could rebound after getting down 3-0 and 5-1. This lineup doesn't ever panic."
Some records were also broken today for the Knights. Grant VanPutten broke the Calvin career record for doubles, while Peter Cupery is now in first place on the single-season doubles list. VanPutten now has 34 doubles in his career, breaking the previous career mark of 33 set by Matt Schepel. Cupery now has 14 doubles on the season, breaking the previous career mark of 13 shared by Nate Pocock and Chris Blacklidge.
Rypel was happy for both players as well as praising the entire senior class. "This is the most fun I've ever had coaching a group of guys, and a lot of it has to do with the seniors. They've bought in from day one, and they've been a tremendous influence on the underclassmen."
With the doubleheader sweep, the Knights improve to 17-15 on the year and 14-8 in the MIAA.
Calvin returns to action on Saturday, when the Knights travel to Angola, Indiana, to conclude the series with the Thunder.
BASEBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 4-23-15 GAMES
Adrian 17-3
Kalamazoo 14-6
Calvin 14-8
Trine 9-13
Albion 8-12
Alma 5-15
Olivet 4-16
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD
HILLSDALE - A group of Calvin distance runners had strong performances on the opening night of the Hillsdale Gina Relays Thursday night.
In the women's 5,000 meter open run, sophomore Hope Gaffner (Hudsonville/Unity Christian HS) took eighth with a career-best time of 17:42.53 while sophomore Jessie Mulder (Holland/Holland Christian HS) was 22nd in a time of 18:15.55.
In the men's 5,000 meter open run, sophomore Zac Nowicki (Comstock Park/Calvin Christian HS) and freshman Andrew Phillipose (Mount Prospect, IL/John Hersey HS) had career-best times. Nowicki was 10th in a time of 14:47.60 while Phillipose was 11th in 14:47.62.
In the men's open steeplechase race, sophomore Jonathan Schaap (Mahomet, IL/Mahomet-Seymour HS) took first in 10:03.28 while freshman Matt Boelens (Bolton, MA/Nashoba Regional HS) was second (10:06.70) and senior Nick McKee (Arlington Heights, IL/John Hersey HS) was fourth (10:12.21).
Received on Fri Apr 24 00:08:24 2015
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