CALVIN KNIGHT SPRING BREAK SPORTS REPORT FOR MARCH 23, 2018
SOFTBALL
Calvin 8, Grinnell 7
CLERMONT, Fla. - The Calvin softball team had another successful outing on the diamond on Thursday. The Knights rallied from down five to win 8-7 against Grinnell and the Maroon and Gold finished the day with a 2-1 victory over Carroll to improve to 10-1 on the season.
"I was pleased with how we kept fighting in game one and were able to find a way to pull it out," said head coach Becky Hilgert. "Game two was a pitching and defensive battle and we were able to capitalize and score a key second run. We found a way to grind out two wins against two quality opponents."
The Knights struck first against Grinnell in the first inning, senior Jessica Brasser (Rockford, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) tripled down the right-field line to score junior Maddie DeGroot (Hudsonville, Mich./Unity Christian). Brasser then scored on a throwing error by the Grinnell catcher.
The Calvin defense stood firm in the fourth inning. With runners on second and third base, junior Anna Gernant (West Des Moines, Iowa/Valley) struck out two batters to end the threat. Gernant finished the game with seven strikeouts.
The Pioneers grabbed momentum with seven runs in the fifth inning.
The Knights did not back down from the challenge. The sixth inning was all Calvin, with junior Rachel Borden (Edwardsburg, Mich./Edwardsburg) and Maddie DeGroot crossed home plate on walks with the bases load. Junior Kristen Newman (Chelsea, Mich./Chelsea) reached home plate on a fielder's choice.
With two outs, freshman Grace Stock (Vicksburg, Mich./Vicksburg) shined with the pressure on her as she blasted the ball over the fence in left-center field.
"When I approached the plate, I felt confident in myself and in my teammates," said Stock. "I knew that the game was not over and that we could come back to win. After scoring the run to take the lead, we all had a boost of confidence and energy to push through, finish strong and get the job done as a team."
Freshman Bri Leegwater (Zeeland, Mich./Holland Christian) closed the door on Grinnell for her first collegiate save. Freshman Kennedy Geiger (Clarksville, Mich./Lake Odessa) recorded her second win of the season.
Jessica Brasser saw the ball very well on Thursday and finished game one with three hits.
The Knights found themselves in a defensive battle in game two. Amanda Osterhus was a mystery for the Knights in the circle with 10 strikeouts in the game.
The Maroon and Gold extinguished the Pioneer threat in the second inning with a strikeout from freshman Elli Borst (Hudsonville, Mich./Unity Christian).
Kristen Newman was the first to solve Osterhus and smacked the ball out of the park, past the center-field fence.
The game-winning hit came off the bat of Anna Gernant in the sixth inning on a single through the right side of the infield that scored Jessica Brasser from second base.
Carroll scored their lone run in the seventh inning.
Borst improved to 5-0 on the year with five strikeouts.
The Carroll game was the fifth time this season that the Knights did not commit an error.
Calvin closes spring break action on Friday against Wisconsin-Eau Claire and Juniata.
MEN'S TENNIS
Calvin 6, Grinnell 3
Mar 22, 2018
ORLANDO, Fla. - The Calvin men's tennis team picked up a 6-3 victory over Grinnell on Thursday morning under the Florida sun. The victory pushed Calvin to 8-1 on the season, with the Knights seventh-straight victory.
"I am happy with how we played today," said head coach John Ross. "Grinnell is a tough team and we found a way to win. I know that we were bummed that we did not get to play on Tuesday due to the weather, so it was nice to be on the courts again today."
Senior David Brown (Lake Zurich, Ill./Lake Zurich) and sophomore Rodrigo Castellanos Vaca Guzmán (Tarija, Bolivia/Felipe Palazon) won the first point for Calvin at No. 2 doubles over Michael Conlin-Brandenburg and Sam Stickels, 8-6.
Senior Matt Van Winkle (St. Joseph, Mich./St. Joseph) and junior Jason Wolters (Hudsonville, Mich./Unity Christian) defeated Sriram Sugumaran and Ben Corbin at No. 1 doubles, 8-6.
The Pioneers took the point at No. 3 doubles, 8-4.
Jason Wolters made quick work of Henry Johnson at No. 5 singles, 6-1, 6-1.
The Black and Red responded with a victory at No. 4 singles.
Matt Van Winkle sank Sam Stickels at No. 3 singles in a thriller at, 5-7, 6-2, 10-8.
Grinnell stayed alive with a win at No. 1 singles.
Freshman Max Stallings (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich./North) secured the victory for the Knights at No. 6 singles with a three-set victory over Jack Lunn at 6-1, 3-6, 10-5.
At No. 2 singles, junior Jose Larrea (Caracas, Venezuela/U.E. Colegio San Jose) finished the match downing Zach Lane, 4-6, 7-6, 10-3.
The Knights close spring break on Friday against Luther.
WOMEN'S TENNIS
Grinnell 5, Calvin 4
ORLANDO, Fla. - The Calvin women's tennis team came up short on Thursday morning against Grinnell. The Pioneers walked away 5-4 winners to send Calvin to 5-4 on the season.
"We fought hard today, said head coach Kevin Van Haitsma. "We just could not get what we needed to get the result we wanted. We look forward to getting back out of the courts tomorrow."
Grinnell took the first point of the match with a victory at No. 2 doubles.
The freshman team of Madeline Brouwer (Hudsonville, Mich./Hudsonville) and Leah Newhof (Caledonia, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) tied the match at one, defeating Milica Cvrkota and Abby Bielsen at No. 1 doubles, 8-5.
The Black and Red took the point on court three to lead after doubles.
The Pioneers pushed the Knights to the breaking points, taking the first two points in singles play.
Leah Newhof won a three-set thriller at No. 1 singles over Milica Cvrkota, 6-4, 0-6, 10-8.
Madeline Brouwer broke Amelia Cogan at No. 2 singles, 4-6, 6-3, 10-5.
Sophomore Brittney Statema (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian) tied the match at four with a 6-1, 7-5 victory over Brenda Guan at No. 6 singles.
The Pioneers won a three-set thriller at No. 5 singles, taking the third, 12-10, to win the match.
The Knights close spring break on Friday against Luther.
MEN'S LACROSSE
Stockton 13, Calvin 7
GALLOWAY, NJ. - Calvin dropped a hard-fought 13-7 decision to Stockton University Thursday afternoon.
Calvin (2-6) held 2-1 and 3-2 leads in the first half but fell behind 4-3 at halftime. Stockton (3-2) scored four unanswered goals to open the second half and led 8-5 at the third quarter break.
Senior Michael Winkler (La Quinta, Ca./Palm Desert HS) and freshman Joe Son (Aldie, Va./John Champe HS) scored late third quarter goals to give the Knights a burst of momentum.
Freshman Jacob Gandara (Santa Clarita, Ca./West Branch HS) opened the fourth quarter with a goal off a feed from Son to bring the Knights within two at 8-6 but Stockton responded with a five-goal spurt in a span of four-and-a-half minutes to put the game out of reach.
Gandara and Son had two goals apiece with Son collecting an assist and a groundball.
Winkler, juniors Austin Bontreger (Fishers, Ind./Heritage Christian HS) and Max Foster (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Brother Rice HS) all had single goals with Foster also picking up an assist. Senior Derek VanderBrug (Woburn, Mass./Lexington Christian Academy) had three ground balls while junior Joel DeJonge (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian HS) had two ground balls.
Stockton held a 49-23 shots at goal advantage. Freshman goalie Mitchell Wong (Schaumburg, Il./Schaumburg HS) had 16 saves in between the pipes for the Knights.
Calvin returns to action on Saturday when it travels to Lebanon Valley College for a 1 p.m. contest.
BASEBALL
Manchester 4, Calvin 3
Manchester 2, Calvin 1
MANCHESTER, Ind. - Calvin dropped both ends of a non-conference doubleheader at Manchester University on Saturday, falling by scores of 4-3 and 2-1.
In game one, Calvin trailed 2-0 through five frames but came up with two runs in the top of the sixth to tie the score 2-2.
Junior Jonathan Keane (Brookfield, Wisc./Brookfield Central HS) knotted the scored with a one-out double down the right field line that plated sophomore Quinn Hyndiuk (Elm Grove, Wisc./Brookfield East HS) and freshman Ricky Padilla (Poway, Ca./Poway HS).
In the eighth, Hyndiuk singled to left with one out, stole second and then scored on a run-scoring single by Padilla.
In the bottom half of the eighth, Manchester placed two runners aboard with back-to-back singles and then scored the tying run on a wild pitch. With one out, Calvin intentionally loaded the bases but the host Spartans responded with a base hit up the middle to win the game.
Calvin used seven different pitchers with junior Ryan Pena (Lake Forest, Ca./J. Serra Catholic HS) taking the loss in defeat.
Calvin (2-8) had seven hits in the loss with Keane and sophomore catcher Logan Marshall (Plymouth, Mich./Salem HS) collecting two hits apiece.
In game two, Manchester (9-7) took a 1-0 lead with a run in the fourth. Calvin tied the game in the sixth as Padilla led off with a single, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Keane and later scored on a wild pitch.
Manchester retook the lead with a run in the bottom of the sixth on a fielder's choice that brought in a runner from third after the Spartans had loaded the bases.
Calvin will down in order in the top of the seventh however as the Spartans sealed the win.
The Knights were limited to just two hits in the game. Freshman Mark Primus (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian HS) got his first collegiate start and went 3.1 innings, allowing only two hits and striking out three.
Freshman Chris Ralph (Naperville, Il./Waubonsie Valley HS) took the loss in defeat.
Calvin will travel to rival Hope on Saturday for a 1 p.m. doubleheader. The twinbill will mark the league opener for both teams.
Received on Fri Mar 23 09:15:16 2018
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