CKSR (Women's Basketball Tops Olivet on Senior Night / Men's Basketball Falls at Albion / Baseball Prepares to Kick of 2018 Season)

CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR FEB. 15, 2018

Women's Basketball Tops Olivet on Senior Night;
Men's Basketball Falls at Albion;
Baseball Prepares To Kick Off 2018 Season

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Calvin 83, Olivet 43

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Calvin women's basketball team controlled the Comets all throughout senior night on Wednesday. The Knights cruised to an 83-43 victory in the final home game for the senior duo of Ali Spayde (Lewis Center, Ohio/Worthington Christian) and Bre Luurtsema (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian). The Knights finish the regular season with a record of 16-9 and a third-place finish in the MIAA at 11-5. Olivet falls to 7-17 and 3-12 in MIAA action.
"This is amazing," said Spayde. "I am very sentimental, this gym is amazing and has een filled with so many great people. It is crazy to think that this was my last game on the court. I am really happy to finish with a victory, espically when so many people were able to score."
The Knights jumped out of the gates fast and opened the game on a 10-0 run. Sophomore Kara Minderhoud (Grand Rapids, Mich./Covenant Christian) scored nine of the 10 points for Calvin. Minderhoud opened the game connecting with her first five three-point baskets.
Bre Luurtsema gave the Knights a 23-8 lead after the first quarter after making all three free throw attempts after Olivet fouled her as time expired.
The Knights opened the second quarter with another 10-0 run. Once again, Kara Minderhoud led the charge with two three-point baskets.
Junior Becca Richards (Fort Gratiot, Mich./Port Huron Northern) drained a three-point shot as time expired and Calvin cruised into halftime with a 45-19 lead.
After Olivet started the third quarter with a layup, the Knights responded with an 8-0 run, including an old-fashioned three-point play from Ali Spayde.
Ali Spayde made four free throws in the final moments of the third quarter as tempers flared from the Comets.
A layup from sophomore Nicole Meyer (Macomb, Mich./Eisenhower) put the Knights up 70-26 after the first 30 minutes.
16 Knights saw playing time in the fourth quarter, with six different Knights scoring. Freshman Caitlyn Demaree (St. Louis, Mo./Principia) started the scoring with a three-point bucket. The freshmen duo of Rebecca Boeve (Grandville, Mich./Covenant Christian) and Erin Fankhauser (Toledo, Ohio/Notre Dame Academy) pitched in with a pair of layups.
Freshman Meredith Bult (West Chicago, Ill./Wheaton Academy) scored her first points at Calvin in the fourth quarter. The three points freshman Erin Van Beek (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian) posted to the scoreboard were also her first points as a Knight.
Bre Luurtsema made her final shot in Van Noord Arena with a free throw to give Calvin an 80-41 lead.
"It feels good," said Luurtsema. "It is crazy to believe that it is all over. We have made a good run so far. We still have a lot of left and look to finish strong. Tonight was special, Ali and I have played together for four years, there have been some ups and downs and I just love playing with this team."
Ali Spayde had a successful senior night with a game-high 21 points. She also brought home three rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Bre Luurtsema had a solid senior day stat line of 15 points, game-high five assists, game-high three steals and five rebounds.
Kara Minderhoud was a rebound short of a double-double. Finishing with 17 points and nine rebounds. The five three-point baskets were a career-high.
The four points for Rebecca Boeve was a career high.
Nicole Meyer led the game with 10 rebounds and Becca Richards finished with eight points and four assists.
The Knights dominated the glass on Wednesday, winning the rebounding battle, 48-32.

MIAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 2-14-18

Hope 14-1
Trine 14-1
Calvin 11-5
Albion 10-5
Kalamazoo 6-9
Adrian 5-10
Olivet 3-12
Saint Mary's 3-12
Alma 2-13

MEN'S BASKETBALL
Albion 87, Calvin 79

By Brianna Potter
ALBION, Mich. - The Calvin men's basketball team fell to Albion at the Kresge Gymnasium by a score of 87-79. The loss puts Calvin at 9-15 overall and 5-8 in MIAA play. The Britons move up to 9-15 overall and 6-7 in the conference.
Junior Austin Bykerk (Jenison, Mich./Unity Christian) had a jump shot for the first basket of the game in the first 40 seconds.
Within the first six minutes, Calvin took a strong lead of eight points with the help of sophomore Derrick DeVries (Grand Rapids, Mich./Covenant Christian) and sophomore Alex Bos (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) with a couple easy lay-ups. The Britons caught up with a pair of jump shots. DeVries tied up the game with a three-pointer with seven seconds in the first half.
Senior Tony Canonie (South Haven, Mich./South Haven) hit a jump shot make it 41-39 early in the second half.
The two teams fought back and forth hoping one will tire out eventually.
With the game tied at 66, the Britons went on a 9-0 run to get some separation.
With just under two minutes left, Bykerk tried to energize the Knights up with a big dunk making it 82-76. However, that would be as close as the Knights would get.
Derrick DeVries made things difficult for Albion, ending the close game with 23 points.
Senior Michel Wilks (Hudsonville, Mich./Unity Christian), Tony Canonie and Austin Bykerk all finished with 10 points.
The Knights are back in action on Saturday, Feb. 17, in their last home game against Olivet who beat them by a close seven points the last time the two teams faced each other.
MIAA MEN'S BASKETBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 2-14-18

Olivet 10-3
Hope 9-4
Adrian 8-5
Trine 7-6
Albion 6-7
Alma 5-8
Calvin 5-8
Kalamazoo 2-11

BASEBALL

The Calvin baseball team is set to kick off its 2018 campaign. The Knights will open their season on March 3 when the Knights face Oberlin College in Westfield, Indiana.

Calvin returns over 20 letterwinners including several key pitchers and position players.

Leading the list of returning players is junior shortstop Jonathan Keane (Brookfield, Wisc./Brookfield Central HS) who also serves as one of Calvin's lead pitchers in the starting rotation. Keane was a 2017 All-MIAA second team selection. He batted .296 with 12 extra-base hits while committing only six errors in the field. On the mound, he was 5-4 with a 3.90 earned run average and two saves.

Keane was named to the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper's "Players to Watch List."

Senior Kyle Houts (Spring Lake, Mich./Spring Lake HS) was also named to the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper's "Player to Watch List." A strong utility player who saw time at catcher, the outfield and at the designated hitter spots last spring, Houts batted .308 last spring.

Senior Nate DeZwaan (Hamilton, Mich./Holland Christian HS) returns for his fourth year as a starting infielder. A third baseman, DeZwaan batted .336 last year with 27 RBI and 12 extra-base hits.

Senior Ryan Stewart (Shelby, Mich./Parkway Christian HS) returns to man the centerfield spot. A smooth-fielding outfielder, Stewart batted .274 last year with four extra-base hits and 12 RBI.

Junior Beau Redfield (Cedar Springs, Mich./Northpointe Christian HS) also has starting experience in the outfield. Redfield batted .334 last year with 13 RBI. Another outfielder with starting experience is junior Miles Kuperus (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian HS) who batted .340 and stole six bases in 2017.

Vying for the starting first base spot are juniors Quinn Hyndiuk (Elm Grove, Wisc./Brookfield East HS), sophomore Jeremy Clark (San Diego, Ca./Poway HS) and sophomore Mike Kool (Sturgis, Mich./Centerville HS).

Freshman Ricky Padilla (Poway, Ca./Poway HS) appears to have a hold of the starting second base spot. Sophomore Sam Schellenberg (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Northern HS) is also expected to push for infield time. Senior Brady Syrek (Ostego, Mich./Otsego HS) is another veteran infielder with experience.

Sophomore Logan Marshall (Plymouth, Mich./Salem HS) returns as the starting catcher. Marshall batted .324 as a first-year player in 2017 while compiling a .979 fielding percentage. Marshall threw out eight baserunners from behind the dish last year.

In addition to Keane, the Calvin starting rotation will include junior Clay Francisco (Delton, Mich./Thornapple Kellogg HS) and sophomore Trevor VanDuyn (Jenison, Mich./Jenison HS).

Francisco has experience as both a starter and relief pitcher. He was 4-3 last spring. VanDuyn was 2-4 with with six saves and a 3.31 earned run average last year. He made the move from the bullpen to the starting rotation late in the MIAA conference season.

Other pitchers with starting or relief experience include junior Logan Walker (Imlay City, Mich./Lapeer East HS), junior Jimmy Dirksen (Portage, Mich./Kalamazoo Christian HS), junior Tyler Meyer (Kalamazoo, Mich./Kalamazoo Christian HS), sophomore Micah Berlage (Dexter, Mich./Dexter HS), sophomore Justin Paauwe (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian HS), sophomore Tim Cummings (Mt. Vernon, Wash./Mt. Vernon HS), sophomore Kyle Peets (Spring Lake, Mich./Spring Lake HS) and sophomore Chase Imberger (Sussex, Wisc./Wisconsin Lutheran HS).

Calvin will open its MIAA campaign on March 24 at rival Hope. The Knights were picked to finish tied for fourth in the 2018 MIAA preseason poll with Trine.

Calvin is coming off a 20-23 campaign last spring. The Knights qualified for the four-team MIAA Tournament, finishing tied for fourth in the 2017 MIAA standings.
Received on Thu Feb 15 21:54:06 2018