CKSR (Men's Track & Field Has Strong Opening Day at NCAA III Indoor Championships / Baseball Drops Season Opening Games in Indiana)

CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR MARCH 10, 2017

Men's Track and Field Has Strong Opening Day at NCAA III Indoor Track & Field Championships;
Baseball Drops Season Opening Games in Indiana

MEN'S TRACK AND FIELD

NAPERVILLE, Ill. - The Calvin men's track & field team had a strong start at the 2017 NCAA Division III Indoor Championships on the campus of North Central College on Friday.
"I was impressed by all of our athletes today," said head coach Bret Otte. "Ethan ran well in the prelims today and will need to make some subtle changes to make a good complete race. Jordan and Andrew put themselves in good racing positions from the start. They covered some moves in the race very well and finished 10th and 12th in the nation."
Junior Ethan Valentine (Mason, Ohio/William Mason) started the day with a seventh-place finish in the 400-meter prelims. Valentine clocked in a time of 48.85 to secure a spot in the finals on Saturday afternoon.
In the 5000-meter finals, senior Jordan Kramer (Pewaukee, Wis./Lake County Lutheran) recorded a 10th-place finish at 14:42.74 and junior Andrew Philipose (Mount Prospect, Ill./John Hersey) finished in 12th place at 14:44.64.
Ethan Valentine will be the only Knight competing on Saturday at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships.

BASEBALL
Oberlin 10, Calvin 6
Oberlin 3, Calvin 2

WESTFIELD, Ind. - Calvin dropped both ends of a non-conference doubleheader against Oberlin College Friday afternoon, falling 10-6 in the opener and 3-2 in the nightcap.

In the opener, Calvin fell behind 9-1 but chipped away at the deficit before running out of time. Calvin tallied 10 hits in defeat led by junior Kyle Houts (Spring Lake, Mich./Spring Lake HS) who was 3-for-3 with two runs batted in. Junior Johnny Salgado (Whittier, Ca./Whitter HS) had a pair of hits and a run batted in. Senior Colton Wolfe (Eaton Rapids, Mich./Eaton Rapids HS) also had a double and a run scored. Junior Nate DeZwaan (Hamilton, Mich./Holland Christian HS) added a hit and two runs batted in.

Sophomore Clay Francisco (Delton, Mich./Thornapple Kellogg HS) took the loss on the mound for the Knights, striking out three and walking two in four innings of work. Freshmen Mike Kool (Sturgis, Mich./Centerville HS), Trevor Van Dyn (Jenison, Mich./Jenison HS) and Micah Berlage (Dexter, Mich./Dexter HS) also saw time out of the bullpen.

In game two, sophomore Jonathan Keane (Brookfield, Wisc./Brookfield Central HS) went six strong innings but suffered a hard-luck defeat managed just four hits off of four Oberlin hurlers who kept the Knights at bay.

Oberlin scored single runs in the first, second and third innings. Calvin scored two runs in the top of the third a ground ball by Wolfe with the bases full brought in a run. DeZwaan then brough in another run with a double to left field.

Calvin put the tying run on base in the top of the seventh but did not capitalize on the opportunity.

Senior Mike Kempton (Edwardsburg, Mich./Edwardsburg HS) had a triple and drew two walks. Salgado and Houts also had base hits.

Keane scattered seven hits on the mound, striking out three and walking one.

Calvin returns to action next weekend when it travels to Wheaton College (Il.) for a three-game slate. While at Wheaton, Calvin will face the host Thunder once as well as Aurora University (March 17) and Saint Mary's of Minnesota in single games.

MORE BASEBALL
Hanover 11, Calvin 2

WESTFIELD, Ind. - Calvin opened its season with an 11-2 loss to Hanover College on a windy and wet Thursday night.
Four Calvin errors led to seven unearned runs. Hanover (1-0) scored a pair of runs in the first, second and third innings to build a 6-0 lead.

Calvin had four hits and worked the Hanover pitching staff for 11 walks but the Knights stranded 17 base runners as they were unable to come up with key hits with runners on base.

Junior Jamie Bristol (Grand Rapids, Mich./Calvin Christian HS) took the pitching debut in his Calvin debut. Bristol went five innings on the mound, allowing four hits and six walks while striking out two.
Calvin also used five other pitchers out of the bullpen. The Knights allowed 11 hits and walked seven Hanover batters.

Calvin scored its first run in the bottom of the sixth on a bases-loaded walk by senior Mike Kempton (Edwardsburg, Mich./Edwardsburg HS).

In the ninth, sophomore Jonathan Keane (Brookfield, Wisc./Brookfield Central HS) scored Calvin's final run on a wild pitch.

Kempton had a big night for Calvin at the plate as he went 2-for-3 and drew three walks. Keane also walked twice. Senior Colton Wolfe (Eaton Rapids, Mich./Eaton Rapids HS) and junior Nate DeZwaan (Hamilton, Mich./Holland Christian HS) also had one hit apiece.

Calvin is back in action on Friday, facing Oberlin College in doubleheader slated to start at 1 p.m. in Westfield, Indiana.
Received on Fri Mar 10 23:13:52 2017