CKSR (Calvin Knight Spring Sports Report for March 24, 2017)

CALVIN KNIGHT SPRING SPORTS REPORT FOR MARCH 24, 2017

MEN'S LACROSSE
Calvin 22, U. of Dallas 6

DALLAS, Tx. - The Calvin men's lacrosse team exploded for a 22-6 victory over the University of Dallas Friday afternoon as the Knights completed their week-long swing through the Lone Star State.

Calvin (3-4) led 9-1 at halftime and scored nine goals in the third quarter to pull away for the win.

Senior attacker Chris Griffin (Hartland, Mich./Hartland HS) scored a career-high six goals along with three assists in the victory.

Freshman Griffin Sparling (Novi, Mich./Novi HS) tallied four goals and two assists. Sophomore Max Foster (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Brother Rice HS) had three goals and an assist as did junior Michael Winkler (La Quinta, Ca./Palm Desert HS).

Senior Joel Schaefer (Clarksville, Md./Annapolis Area Christian HS) and sophomore Noah Nedd (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian HS) had two goals apiece. Nedd also had an assist.

Sophomore Austin Bontreger (Fishers, Ind./Heritage Christian HS) and freshman Andrew Gortsema (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian HS) both added a goal and an assist.

Sparling scooped up nine ground balls. Junior Austin Roden (Delaware, Oh./Delaware Christian HS) junior Ethan Brown (Falmouth, Me./Falmouth HS) had eight ground balls each. Freshman Mitchell Caldwell goalie (East Lansing, Mich./East Lansing HS) had one save.

Calvin outshot Dallas 63-11.

"Our trip to Texas was great," said Calvin head men's lacrosse coach Dave Hoger. "It was nice to have the opportunity to play two competitive teams in the warm weather. I thought the guys did a fantastic job of balancing the business aspect of the trip and the fun of the overall experience. We are getting better each day and look forward to getting back to work at home next week."

Calvin returns to action next Thursday when it travels to rival Hope for a non-conference game set to start at 7 p.m. at Van Andel Stadium.

BASEBALL
Calvin 4, Trine 3
Trine 7, Calvin 3

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Calvin split a doubleheader with Trine in its MIAA lid-lifter Friday afternoon. The Knights won game one 4-3 but fell in game two 7-3.

Calvin (5-7 overall, 1-1 MIAA) used the long ball, strong pitching and solid defense to gain the win in the opener.

Trine (7-4 overall, 1-1 MIAA) scored a run in the top of the first but the Knights took a 2-1 lead on an RBI single by senior Colton Wolfe (Eaton Rapids, Mich./Eaton Rapids HS) and a run-scoring groundout by junior Nate DeZwaan (Hamilton, Mich./Holland Christian HS).

Trine answered with a pair of runs in the top of the second to take a 3-2 lead but Wolfe launched a mammoth solo home run to right center to tie the game 3-3. In the top of the fourth, Trine placed runners on first and third with two outs. Jacob Heller then line a shot to right field that appeared headed for extra-bases. Calvin senior Mike Kempton (Edwardsburg, Mich./Edwardsburg HS) responded with a diving snag to end the Thunder threat.

Calvin sophomore Jonathan Keane (Brookfield, Wisc./Brookfield Central HS) led off the bottom of the fifth with a line-drive homer over the 365 foot sign in left-center field. The blast gave the Knights a 4-3 lead and proved to be the game-winning hit and run.

Freshman Trevor VanDuyn (Jenison, Mich./Jenison HS) came on to pitch the sixth and seventh innings and retired all six batters he faced to gain his second save of the season.

Freshman David Dahms (Darien, Il./Hinsdale South HS) picked up the victory in relief of sophomore starter Clay Francisco (Delton, Mich./Thornapple-Kellogg HS). Francisco went the first four innings. Dahms pitched a scoreless fifth to record the first victory of his collegiate career.

Kempton, Keane and Wolfe all had two hits apiece for the Knights in the win.

In game two, a slew of defensive errors proved to be Calvin's undoing. In the top of the first inning, Trine scored five unearned runs as the Knights committed two costly errors. The Thunder also used two hits and two walks to take a 5-0 first inning lead.

Calvin strung together four hits in the bottom of the first including a run-scoring single by junior Matt Kotva (Elkhart, Ind./Concord HS).

Trine answered back with another unearned run in the third as a dropped pop foul led to a second chance opportunity for Trine's Nick Ricci. Ricci responded with a double to right-center that scored Jacob Heller to put the Thunder up 6-1.

In the bottom half of the inning, Wolfe belted his second home run of the afternoon including his fourth of the season to cut the deficit down to 6-2. Calvn proceeded to strand five runners over the next three innings however. Trine tacked on an insurance run in the top of the eighth. Calvin retaliated with an RBI single by sophomore Beau Redfield (Cedar Springs, Mich./Northpointe Christian HS) but a bigger rally was stifled as a two-out smash in the to right-center field gap by Kempton with two outs was snared by Trine rightfielder Chris Frantz, saving a pair of runs.

Wolfe doubled in the ninth but was stranded at second base as the Thunder closed out the win.

Junior Jamie Bristol (Grand Rapids, Mich./Calvin Christian HS) took the loss, going six innings and allowing six runs - all of which were unearned freshmen Micah Berlage (Dexter, Mich./Dexter HS) and Justin Paauwe (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian HS) all tossed one inning of relief as did junior Ryan Stewart (Shelby, Mich./Parkway Christian HS).

Wolfe was 3-for-4 in relief while Kotva also had two hits. Kotva and junior Johnny Salgado (Whittier, Ca./Whittier HS) both had doubles in defeat.

Calvin is scheduled to complete its four-game series with Trine Monday afternoon with a doubleheader slated to start at 2 p.m. in Angola, Indiana.

SOFTBALL
Buffalo State 6, Calvin 5
Calvin 2, New Paltz State 1

CLERMONT, Fla. - The Calvin softball team finished its spring break portion of its schedule on Friday afternoon. The Knights were edged by Buffalo State 6-5 and rebounded to finish the trip with a 2-1 victory over New Paltz State. Calvin went 6-4 in Florida and improves to 9-5 on the season.
Calvin beat Buffalo State onto the scoreboard on Friday with a pair of runs in the third inning. Jordan VanEerden beat the throw to home to give the Knights the lead. Sophomore Anna Gernant (West Des Moines, Iowa/Valley) flied out to left field to score sophomore Maddie DeGroot (Hudsonville, Mich./Unity Christian).
In the top of the fifth inning, the Knights started the scoring with a blast over the centerfield fence from freshman Katie Mumby. Sophomore Rachel Borden (Edwardsburg, Mich./Edwardsburg) singled in freshman Jordan VanEerden (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian) to make it 4-0. Junior Kaley Frank (Edwardsburg, Mich./Edwardsburg) flied out to center field to score Maddie DeGroot.
The Bengals would bite back in the fifth and tie the game at five.
"We jumped out with the lead but again we couldn't finish the deal," said head coach Becky Hilgert. "As a team we must collectively get better at playing a full seven inning game."
A bloop single down the rightfield line won the game for Buffalo State in the bottom of the seventh.
Anna Gernant had another strong outing with 13 strikeouts and finishing with only one earned run.
Maddie DeGroot finished with a game-high three hits.
The Knights found themselves on the winning side of a defensive battle against New Paltz State. Anchored by a strong performance in the circle by senior Paige Groom (Potterville, Mich./Potterville) and Anna Gernant. The duo only allowed five hits in the game and no earned runs. Groom finished with two strikeouts and Anna Gernant recorded three.
"Paige had a great outing and our defense kept us in the game while our offense struggle to string hits together," said Hilgert. "It was an exciting defense battle and we fought hard to come away with the win."
Sophomore Kristen Newman (Chelsea, Mich./Chelsea) scored on a wild pitch in the third inning to give the Knights the lead.
In the seventh inning, Rachel Borden threw out the would-be tying run from left field. The Hawks would tie the game later in the inning.
After Kaley Frank moved junior Jessica Brasser (Rockford, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) to third base in the eighth inning. Anna Gernant sent the ball to the gap in right-center to give the Knights the lead they would not give back.
Kristen Newman led all batters with two hits.
"We have a young team which faced some adversity and pressure situations this week," said Hilgert. "Each day we are learning more and more about each other and we are excited to get back home and get back to work."
The Knights return home on Tuesday to host a double-header against Wheaton.

MEN'S TENNIS
Carthage 7, Calvin 2

ORLANDO, Fla. - The Calvin men's team finished its spring break schedule with a 7-2 loss to Carthage.
"This was a fun week," said head coach John Ross. "Carthage is a really good team and they proved that today. It was nice to spend the week down here in Florida and have some quality time with the team."
The Knights are now 8-3 on the season.
Carthage started the day taking two of the three doubles points.
At No. 3 doubles, senior Anthony Vroon (Grand Rapids, Mich./South Christian) and sophomore Jason Wolters (Hudsonville, Mich./Unity Christian) won, 8-6.
The lone singles victory came from junior David Brown (Lake Zurich, Ill./Lake Zurich) at No. 4 singles. Brown defeated Oscar Irazaque, 6-1, 6-1.
Calvin returns to action on Wednesday when the Knights host Spring Arbor.

WOMEN'S TENNIS
Carthage 8, Calvin 1

Orlando, Fla. - The Calvin women's tennis team closed its spring break schedule with an 8-1 loss to Carthage.
The Knights are 5-5 on the 2017 season.
The lone point of the match for the Knights came at No. 3 double for junior Jessica Bouma (Kalamazoo, Mich./Kalamazoo Christian) and junior Micaela Seazzu (Albuquerque, N.M./Sandia) who defeated Carthage, 9-8.
The Knights return to action on Thursday, when they return home to face Spring Arbor.
Received on Sat Mar 25 00:29:53 2017