By Mark DeHaan

The Calvin baseball team traveled to Kalamazoo on Saturday to complete a home-and-home conference series with a doubleheader against the Hornets.

The Knights, looking to rebound from a pair of losses yesterday, fell behind early in each contest on Saturday and could not recover. Kalamazoo defeated Calvin in both games, 12-3 and 10-6.

In game one, the Hornets took a 3-0 lead after two innings.

A single from senior Ben Wohl got Calvin on the board in the top of the third, but the Knights offense stalled and would not score again until the seventh.

On the other hand, Kalamazoo's offense continued to churn out runs.

The Hornets added two more in the bottom of the third, then plated five in the fifth, including a bases-loaded double which scored three runs.

Down 12-1 heading into their final offensive frame, the Knights brought in two runs – one on a double from sophomore Colton Wolfe, the second on a single from senior Peter Cupery – but could not complete the comeback as they dropped game one 12-3.

Cupery led the Calvin offense, going 3-for-4 with one run scored and one RBI while also stealing three bases. Wolfe finished 1-for-2 with one run score and one RBI, also drawing two walks. Junior Jeff Murdock was 2-for-3.

Senior Ben Guilfoyle took the loss from the mound, pitching 5.0 innings and allowing nine earned runs.

In game two, the Hornets took a big lead after one inning with five runs in the bottom of the first.

Calvin scored in the top of the second as an error allowed junior Jordan VanderWal to cross home plate.

After a Kalamazoo run in the third found the Knights trailing 6-1, Calvin's offense came to life in the top of the fifth.

A single from freshman Nick Steiginga brought Murdock in to score. A sac-fly from Wolfe scored senior Grant VanPutten, then a double from Cupery brought in Steiginga. Sophomore Matt Kotva then singled to plate Cupery for the final run of the inning, bringing the score to 6-5.

After shutting down the Kalamazoo offense in bottom half of the inning, the Knights left a runner on base in the top of the sixth, which killed Calvin's momentum.

The Hornets then put a four-spot on the board in the bottom of the sixth, behind the power of two doubles, to open the game back up and take a 10-5 lead.

Again, Calvin scored in the top of the seventh but could not work its way all the way back, plating a single run to drop game two 10-6.

Steiginga was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and one RBI to lead the Knights offensively, while Cupery finished 2-for-4 with one run and one RBI. VanPutten was 2-for-3, drawing one walk, stealing a base, and scoring one run.

Junior Kyle Wasserberger took the loss on the hill, pitching 2.2 innings and giving up six earned runs.

Calvin falls to 3-9 overall and 0-4 in conference play, while Kalamazoo moves to 5-2 and 4-0.

The Knights now look forward to next Thursday when they travel to Holland to play rival Hope. First pitch of the doubleheader versus the Flying Dutchmen is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.