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Calvin University

Baseball

Calvin Baseball Clinches MIAA Tournament Berth With Four-Game Series Sweep Of Trine

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

ANGOLA, Ind. - The Calvin baseball team swept a conference doubleheader at Trine University Monday afternoon and in the process clinched a spot in next week's MIAA Tournament and also extended its win streak to eight games.

The Knights (19-15 overall) are now 16-8 in league play and in sole possession of second place in the MIAA standings, one game ahead of third place Kalamazoo (15-9).

Calvin opened Monday's twinbill with an 8-7 win over the host Thunder and then took game two by a 7-2 count. The twinbill sweep completed a four-game series sweep of Trine. Over the four-game series, Calvin hit .413 against the Thunder pitching staff led by seniors Grant VanPutten (Holland/Holland Christian HS ) and Peter Cupery (Holland/Holland Christian HS). VanPutten went 11-for-15 (.733) in the series including 5-for-8 on Monday. Cupery went 4-for-8 in Monday's doubleheader with a home run.

VanPutten also sparkled in centerfield, making a circus catch in both games Monday to help limit the Trine offensive output.

Senior lefthander Nate Schepers (Holland/Holland Christian HS) picked up the win in game one, tossing 5.2 innings before giving way to senior Austin Juza (St. Joseph/Lake Michigan Catholic HS) and junior Kyle Wasserberger (Spring Lake/Spring Lake HS). Juza got the final out of the sixth inning, stranding runners on first and third with two outs. Wasserberger then tossed a one-two-three seventh to pick up his second save of the year.

Schepers (5-1) was able to survive a rocky third inning when the Thunder scored four times to take a 5-2 lead. Calvin fought back with a six-run outburst in the fifth inning to take an 8-5 lead. VanPutten, junior Jordan VanderWall (Wyoming/South Christian HS) and Cupery all had run scoring singles in the inning while sophomore Colton Wolfe (Eaton Rapids/Eaton Rapids HS) had an RBI double. Freshman Nate DeZwaan (Holland/Holland Christian HS) also had a two-run RBI single in the inning.

Trine pushed across two runs in the bottom of the sixth to close within one before Juza and Wasserberger were able to slam the door in the in relief.

In game two, Calvin scored four runs in the third, two in the sixth and one in the seventh as part of a 10-hit attack.

VanPutten went 3-for-4 in the win while Cupery belted his second home run of the year, a solo shot to centerfield in the seventh. Wolfe, DeZwaan and senior Ben Wohl (Canton/Plymouth HS) all had doubles in the victory.

Freshman Mike Wierenga (Lombard, IL/Timothy Christian HS) went five innings to pick up his first collegiate victory.  Freshman Ryan Stewart (Detroit/Parkway Christian HS) tossed two innings of shutout relief, retiring all six batters he faced including three on strikeouts.

"We are peaking at the right time," said Calvin baseball coach John Rypel. "In game one Nate Schepers wasn't as sharp as he normally is but like a veteran he battled and gave us a chance to win. This is a very confident lineup and if one guy struggles someone else is there to pick up the slack. We know our lineup will be in for a challenge when we face Adrian's pitching staff later this weekend. Adrian has one of the top staffs in our region and will present our team a challenge but challenges are why you play the game of baseball and we are having fun playing the game right now."

Calvin will travel to Wheaton (IL) for a non-conference game Tuesday night at 6 p.m. (EDT). The Knights will then open up a four-game weekend series with Adrian beginning with a doubleheader at Adrian on Friday. The Knights will then host the Bulldogs for two more games on Saturday at 1 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Peter Cupery

#10 Peter Cupery

1B/P
6' 2"
Senior
Nate DeZwaan

#14 Nate DeZwaan

INF
5' 10"
Freshman
Austin Juza

#27 Austin Juza

P
6' 0"
Senior
Nate Schepers

#23 Nate Schepers

P
6' 5"
Senior
Ryan Stewart

#8 Ryan Stewart

OF/P
5' 10"
Freshman
Jordan VanderWall

#3 Jordan VanderWall

OF
6' 0"
Junior
Grant VanPutten

#6 Grant VanPutten

OF
5' 10"
Senior
Kyle Wasserberger

#22 Kyle Wasserberger

P
6' 1"
Junior
Ben Wohl

#15 Ben Wohl

INF
6' 2"
Senior
Colton Wolfe

#30 Colton Wolfe

1B
6' 3"
Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Peter Cupery

#10 Peter Cupery

6' 2"
Senior
1B/P
Nate DeZwaan

#14 Nate DeZwaan

5' 10"
Freshman
INF
Austin Juza

#27 Austin Juza

6' 0"
Senior
P
Nate Schepers

#23 Nate Schepers

6' 5"
Senior
P
Ryan Stewart

#8 Ryan Stewart

5' 10"
Freshman
OF/P
Jordan VanderWall

#3 Jordan VanderWall

6' 0"
Junior
OF
Grant VanPutten

#6 Grant VanPutten

5' 10"
Senior
OF
Kyle Wasserberger

#22 Kyle Wasserberger

6' 1"
Junior
P
Ben Wohl

#15 Ben Wohl

6' 2"
Senior
INF
Colton Wolfe

#30 Colton Wolfe

6' 3"
Sophomore
1B