CKSR (Calvin Knight Weekend Sports Wrap for May 1, 2016)

CALVIN KNIGHT WEEKEND SPORTS WRAP FOR MAY 1, 2016

MEN'S TRACK AND FIELD

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Calvin men's track and field team took first place at its own Calvin Tune-Up Invitational this weekend, posting a first place score of 151 points.

Calvin had several standout finishes.

In the 1500 meters, junior Jonathan Schaap (Mahomet, Il/Mahomet-Seymour HS) took first place in a time of 4:05.10.

In the 200 meters, Calvin went 1-2 as sophomore Ethan Valentine (Mason, Oh./William Mason HS) took first in 22.33 while senior Joel Brouwer (Elmhurst, Il/Timothy Christian HS) wa second (22.71).

In the 110 high hurdles, sophomore Chase Rohrer (Ludington/Ludington HS) led a 1-3-5-6 Calvin finish, winning the race in a time of 15.24. Sophomore Jeremiah Stout (Escondido, Ca./Escondido Calvin Christian HS) was third (16.16), senior Joel Ooms (DeMotte, Ind./Illiana Christian HS) fifth (16.56) and freshman Alex Williams (Mequon, Wisc./Homestead HS) sixth (16.64).

Rohrer also placed third in the 400 meter hurdles (56.66) while Ooms was fourth (58.50).

The 800 meters featured a 2-4-6-7 Calvin finish with senior Jeff Meitler (Berlin, Wisc./Milwaukee Lutheran HS) second (1:55.37), senior Matt Oram (Toledo, Oh./Toledo Christian HS) fourth (1:56.72), sophomore Hendrik VerMeulen (Bright's Grove, Ont./St. Patrick Secondary School) sixth (1:57.62) and junior Max Vruink (Hudsonville/Unity Christian HS) seventh (1:58.76).

Freshman James Jeninga (Brookfield, Wisc./Milwaukee Lutheran HS) flashed his speed in the 400 meters, taking fifth with a time of 50.52.

In the pole vault, senior Lucas Wolters (Vincennes, Ind./South Knox HS) took first place with a career-best vault of 15-11 that places him 15th on the NCAA III Outdoor Performance list. Junior Nathan Marcus (Holland/Holland Christian HS) was second (14-5 1/4) while sophomore Jacob Stout (Escondido, Ca./Escondido Calvin Christian HS) was fourth (14-5 1/4).

Freshman Lee Barents (Redlands, Ca./Arrowhead Christian Academy) took fifth in the long jump (21-7) and third in the triple jump (42-2 1/4).

Senior Eric Jipping (Canton/Plymouth Christian HS) was seventh in the shot put (45-10 3/4) while junior Jeiel Burrell (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) was second in the high jump (6-2 3/4).

Calvin will now prepare for the MIAA Championships scheduled to take place May 5 and 6 at Olivet College.

WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Calvin women's track and field team took second at its own Calvin Tune-Up Invitational, posting a team score of 107.5 points. Aquinas took first with a score of 141 points.

Calvin's lone win of Saturday's competition came in the 100 meter hurdles as sophomore Jenna Dyksen led a 1-2 Calvin finish, winning the race in a time of 15.25 while senior teammate Maria Steblay (Eden Prairie, Mn./Eden Prairie HS) was second (15.58).

Dyksen was also second in the long jump with a leap of 17-8 3/4 and led off Calvin's 400 meter relay team that placed third in a time of 50.50. She was joined on the relay by sophomore Anita VanderMeulen (Ann Arbor/Ann Arbor Skyline HS), freshman Selvi Bunce (Savage, Mn./Burnsville HS) and Steblay.

Steblay added a fifth place run in the 200 meters with a time of 26.83. Sophomore Caroline Boss (Charlevoix/Charlevoix HS) was seventh in the 400 meters (1:00.55).

Senior Kally Verkaik (Holland/Holland Christian HS) took second in the 400 meter hurdles (1:05.83) while freshman Lindsey Fox (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) was third in the 1500 meters (4:58.26) and freshman Josie Granner (Ann Arbor/Pioneer HS) third (4:59.40).

In the high jump, sophomore Sarah Cassel (Wheaton, Il./Wheaton North HS) was fourth (5-1) and freshman Erin Van Lenten (Hawthorne, NJ/Eastern Christian HS) fifth (4-11).

Sophomore Kayla Van Lenten (Hawthorne, NJ/Eastern Christian HS) was fifth in the pole vault (9-6 1/4).

Junior Carissa Weis (Mount Prospect, Il./Prospect HS) was third in the triple jump (35-6 1/2) while freshman Madison Orth (Soldotna, Alk./Cook Inlet Academy) was fourth (35-5 1/4) and senior Ayooluwa Ayoola (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) was fifth (33-10 3/4).

Sophomore Bethany Love (Kentwood/East Kentwood HS) placed fourth in the shot put (40-6) and senior Stacie Mead (Grand Rapids/Forest Hills Eastern HS) sixth (39-8 1/2).

Junior Michaela Meckes (Bay City/Saginaw Valley Lutheran HS) added a seventh place finish in the discus (125-11).

Calvin will now prepare for the MIAA Championships scheduled to take place May 5 and 6 at Olivet College.

SOFTBALL
Calvin 8, Olivet 7
Calvin 8, Olivet 3

OLIVET, Mich. - The Calvin softball team finished the season with two wins at Olivet College on Saturday afternoon. The Knights finished the 2016 campaign with a 23-13 record, the most wins in a single season since 2005, when Calvin went 25-13. Saturday's 8-7 and 8-3 victories at Olivet gave Calvin a 9-7 record in the MIAA. The Knights finished the year on a seven-game winning streak with wins over Adrian, Cornerstone, Hope and Olivet.
"I am so proud of the team," said Calvin head coach Kevin Vande Streek. "It was a real honor to get to coach these players. They were a wonderful bunch to be around and they worked really hard this season. This team had some great senior leadership and great youth. They were able to pick up two great team wins today and they should be proud of what they accomplished this season."
Freshman Maddie DeGroot (Hudsonville/Unity Christian HS) wasted no time in scoring in game one with a leadoff homerun over the left-field fence to start the game for her fifth homerun of the year.
The Comets would take the lead in the bottom of the first inning with a two-run homerun to center.
Senior Caitlin Bell (Oak Park, Il./Oak Park River Forest HS) would tie the game in the second inning with a single up the middle to score freshman Anna Gernant (West Des Moines, Ia./Valley HS).
Olivet would once again take the lead with a three-run third inning.
Maddie DeGroot would make it a 3-5 game in the fourth inning with a single up the middle to score Caitlin Bell from second base.
In the fifth inning, senior Lydia Gildea (Gobles/Gobles HS) doubled to center, scoring senior Ashley Riemersma from second base. Sophomore Kaley Frank (Edwardsburg/Edwardsburg HS) would tie the game at five, scoring Gildea with a single through the middle of the infield.
Olivet would not go away however and tacked two runs to the scoreboard in the bottom of the fifth inning to take a 7-5 lead.
The Knights would tie the game with two runs in the sixth inning. Caitlin Bell scored on a wild pitch and Lydia Gildea doubled in freshman Rachel Borden. Gildea finished the season with a school-record 48 RBI, she also led the Knights on the season with 49 hits and a career-best seven homeruns. Gildea finished 2016 with a slugging percentage of .692, for the third-best season in Calvin softball history.
Maddie DeGroot broke the tie with the eventual game-winning run with a single that scored sophomore Jessica Brasser (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS).
Anna Gernant was once again dominant in the circle for Calvin on Saturday afternoon. She finished with nine strikeouts. Her victory was the 13th of the season for the Calvin freshman, which is tied for the eighth best in a single-season at Calvin College. She also finished the year with 151 strikeouts, which ranks her fifth in the Calvin record book for a single season, it is also the second-most for a Calvin freshman.
Maddie DeGroot finished with a game-high three hits and three RBI. Her four triples on the year is tied for fourth-best in a single season in Calvin softball history.
Olivet took an early 2-0 lead in game two with a run in the first and second inning, but it would be all Calvin after that.
The Knights shut the door on the Comets with a seven-run fourth inning. Kaley Frank started the scoring with a three-run blast over the left-field fence for her second homerun of the season to score Jessica Brasser (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) and Lydia Gildea. Ashley Riemersma (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) then scored Caitlin Bell on a single down the left-field line. The Comets thought they got out of the inning when Christine Wood dropped what would have been the third out from Lydia Gildea, Ashley Riemersma, Rachel Borden and Maddie DeGroot scored on the error.
Caitlin Bell extended the lead in the fifth inning with a single that scored sophomore Kimiko Hinatsu (Romeo/Romeo HS) from second base.
The Comets would score a run in the seventh but it would not be enough and Calvin would walk away 8-3 winners.
Junior Paige Groom (Potterville/Potterville HS) hushed the Olivet bats on Saturday, holding the Comets to five hits. She struck out three and picked up her sixth victory of the year.
Kaley Frank had a game-high three RBI and Jessica Brasser, Kimiko Hinatsu and Caitlin Bell finished with two hits. Jessica Brasser finished the year with 12 doubles, which is the second-most in Calvin history.
The Calvin senior class finished with 72 victories and winners of 10 of their last 11 games.

MIAA SOFTBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 4-30-16 GAMES

Alma 14-2
Trine 13-2
Hope 11-5
Saint Mary's 9-6
Calvin 9-7
Adrian 6-10
Kalamazoo 6-10
Olivet 3-13
Albion 0-16

BASEBALL
Calvin 7, Olivet 4 (8 innings)
Calvin 10, Olivet 2

OLIVET, Mich. - Calvin completed a four-game series sweep by taking both ends of a doubleheader at Olivet Saturday afternoon. The Knights took the opener 7-4 in eight innings and then took game two by a score of 10-2 in a game shortened to five innings because of rain.

Junior Colton Wolfe (Eaton Rapids/Eaton Rapids HS) highlighted the afternoon with a home run in each game for the Knights. In the process, Wolfe boosted his season home run total to 10, breaking the previous Calvin single-season record of nine set by current Calvin assistant coach Matt Schepel back in 2009. He also finished the afternoon with three runs batted in, boosting his season total to 41, breaking the previous Calvin single-season record of 38 shared by Matt Schepel (2008, 2014) and Nate Pocock (2009).

In game one, Wolfe crushed a two-run homer in the top of the first to give the Knights a 2-0 lead. Calvin (14-22 overall, 10-14 MIAA) was able to build a 4-1 lead on a run-scoring double by junior Mike Kempton (Edwardsburg/Edwardsburg HS) and an RBI single by senior Jordan VanderWall (Wyoming/South Christian HS).

Olivet (5-30 overall, 2-22 MIAA) tied the game with three runs in the bottom of the seventh to send the contest into extra-innings.

In the eighth, Calvin freshman Beau Redfield (Cedar Springs/Northpointe Christian HS) drove in a run with a bases-loaded walk. Kempton then scored on a wild pitch and freshman Jonathan Keane (Brookfield, Wisc./Brookfield Central HS) drove in a third run on a sacrifice fly.

Senior Kyle Wasserberger (Spring Lake/Spring Lake HS) then pitched a scoreless frame in the bottom half of the eight to collect his third victory of the season. Junior Sawyer Howard (Atlanta, Il./Olympia HS) tossed the first five innings for the Knights. VanderWall and junior Quincy Jackson (Elizabethtown, TN/Elizabethtown HS) had two hits apiece for the Knights in the win.

In game two, Calvin blasted 13 hits in a rain-shortened contest. Wolfe belted a record-breaking solo home run in the fourth. Sophomore Ryan Stewart (Detroit/Parkway Christian HS) went all five innings for the Knights to collect the win and improve to 1-3 on the year.

Keane, Kempton and freshman Steven Seager (Plantation, Fl./Plantation HS) all had three hits apiece. Kempton and Keane both drove in two runs.

Calvin returns to action next Friday when it opens a four-game series with a doubleheader at Kalamazoo scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.

MIAA BASEBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 5-1-16 GAMES

Adrian 20-3
Hope 16-7
Kalamazoo 15-9
Alma 14-10
Trine 12-11
Calvin 10-14
Albion 5-18
Olivet 2-22
Received on Sun May 1 19:01:16 2016