by John Leerar

They accomplished their tasks, taking both ends of the twinbill by scores of 11-1 and 9-6. Calvin has now won six consecutive games.

The first game was all Calvin Knights. The Knights scored the first two runs of the game on an RBI double by junior Jeff Murdock (Riverside, CA/Arlington HS) and RBI single by senior Grant Van Putten (Holland/Holland Christian HS).

In the fourth, Calvin really jumped up on top with a seven-run inning. Freshman Nate DeZwaan (Holland/Holland Christian HS) started things off with a sacrifice fly to left field, then junior Jordan VanderWall (Wyoming/South Christian HS) hammered a three-RBI double to left-center.

The Knights weren't done yet in the inning though, as a single by senior Peter Cupery (Holland/Holland Christian HS) plated a run and a single by freshman Nick Steiginga (Matwah, NJ/Eastern Christian HS) brought in two more.

Calvin scored a run in the fifth and another in the sixth. Trine brought a run home in the top of the seventh but it was not enough as the Knights prevailed, 11-1.

Senior Ben Guilfoyle (Romeoville, IL/Plainfield East HS) went the distance for the first time in his career, scattering three hits and five walks and allowing just one run.

"I thought we came ready to swing the bats this game", said Calvin first-year head coach John Rypel. "It was nice for us to get back in our hitting groove. We worked counts in the early part of the game and got to the bullpen early."

In game two, Trine opened the scoring with three runs in the first before Calvin got one back in the bottom of the inning. Trine then scored another two runs over the next two innings before Calvin got one back in the bottom of the third with an RBI single off the bat of VanderWall.

Just like in game one, the bottom of the fourth is when Calvin bats really came to life. An RBI single by Steigenga opened the scoring in the inning, followed shortly thereafter by a two-run double to right-center by VanPutten, bringing the score to 5-5.

Following a pitching change for the Thunder, VanderWall came up big again, plating two more runs with a double down the left field line.

A sacrifice fly to right by sophomore Colton Wolfe (Eaton Rapids/Eaton Rapids HS) rounded out the scoring for the Knights, who were ahead 8-5 after the inning.

The Knights got a key insurance run in the sixth off the bat of senior Ben Wohl (Canton/Plymouth HS), bringing the score to 9-5 going into the top of the seventh.

Trine scored one in the inning and had the go-ahead run at the plate, but junior Kyle Wasserberger (Spring Lake/Spring Lake HS) struck out the final batter to finalize 9-6 victory.

Freshman Ryan Stewart (Detroit/Parkway Christian HS) earned the win for the Knights, pitching two innings of shutout ball in relief of Cupery.

We definitely had a slow start in this game," said Rypel. "It was great that we could rebound after getting down 3-0 and 5-1. This lineup doesn't ever panic."

Some records were also broken today for the Knights. Grant VanPutten broke the Calvin career record for doubles, while Peter Cupery is now in first place on the single-season doubles list. VanPutten now has 34 doubles in his career, breaking the previous career mark of 33 set by Matt Schepel. Cupery now has 14 doubles on the season, breaking the previous career mark of 13 shared by Nate Pocock and Chris Blacklidge.

Rypel was happy for both players as well as praising the entire senior class. "This is the most fun I've ever had coaching a group of guys, and a lot of it has to do with the seniors. They've bought in from day one, and they've been a tremendous influence on the underclassmen."

With the doubleheader sweep, the Knights improve to 17-15 on the year and 14-8 in the MIAA. The Knights are currently in third place in the league standings.

Calvin returns to action on Saturday, when the Knights travel to Angola, Indiana, to conclude the series with the Thunder.