Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 By John Leerar
The Calvin Knights baseball game went into the day on Saturday a game ahead of Kalamazoo and two games ahead of Hope. The Knights were looking to grab the second seed in the MIAA tournament for the second straight season. All that stood in their way was the first-place Bulldogs of Adrian College.
Calvin achieved its goal, splitting the twinbill while the Hornets lost twice and Hope split with Olivet.
The first game was a rough one for the Knights. After three scoreless innings, Adrian struck first with three runs in the top of the fourth.
The Knights responded in the bottom of the inning, scoring one on a sacrifice fly to right by sophomore Patrick Avila (Lakewood, CA/Valley Christian HS).
Adrian extended its lead by scoring one in the top of the fifth and then two more in the sixth, bringing the score to 6-1.
The game was still in reach for the Knights heading into the seventh, but that is where the wheels came off. Adrian scored seven runs in the top of the inning to take a commanding 13-1 lead.
Calvin did manage another run in the bottom of the frame through an RBI single by junior Justin VanderWall (Wyoming/South Christian HS), but that was it for the game as Adrian took game one, 13-2.
Notable offensive performances in game one included senior Grant Van Putten (Holland/Holland Christian HS) going 2-4 with a triple, senior Peter Cupery (Holland/Holland Christian HS) reaching base in three out of his four at-bats, and freshman Nate DeZwaan (Holland/Holland Christian HS) getting 2 base knocks in 3 at-bats.
Mike Wieringa (Lombard, IL/Timothy Christian HS) took the loss on the hill for the Knights.
In game two of the doubleheader, the Knights got on top early. An RBI single by Avila helped the Knights take a 2-0 lead in the inning.
After Adrian retook the lead with a run in the second and three in the third, Calvin plated 4 in the bottom of the third. Avila hammered a 2 RBI double while sophomore Matt Kotva (Elkhart, IN/Concord HS) and Van Putten both had RBI singles, bringing the score to 6-4 in favor of the Knights.
Calvin added insurance runs in the fifth and sixth innings and senior Austin Juza (St. Joseph/Lake Michigan Catholic HS) slammed the door in the seventh to give the Knights the 8-4 victory.
Offensively, the Knights were powered by a 3-4, 4 RBI performance by Avila. Additionally, Van Putten went 4-4 and Cupery went 2-3.
Freshman Ryan Stewart (Detroit/Parkway Christian HS) earned the win in relief for Calvin, throwing 3 ⅓ shutout innings while only allowing one hit.
"Today was pretty typical of our season," said head coach John Rypel. "We've shown resiliency all season, especially after dropping the first four MIAA games to Kalamazoo and then two of our first three to Hope. That last victory against Hope really got us going and the same thing happened today. We got smoked in game one but then came back and put up 8 runs in game two. This team knows how to bounce back."
Calvin will host the first round of the MIAA tournament on Wednesday against Hope.
Coach Rypel also discussed the keys to that key upcoming game. "We definitely need to limit their run production early. We'll be throwing Nate Schepers so it's key that we get that early goose egg and then throw up some runs of our own and back him up."
Grant Van Putten broke the MIAA single-season record for hits today. He has 49 on the year after going 6-8 today. The previous record was 46 set by Jeremy Stephens of Alma in 2009. Additionally, with only a doubleheader between Albion and Alma to go in conference play, Van Putten holds the MIAA lead in batting average with a blistering .471. He is followed closely by fellow senior and Holland Christian Maroon Peter Cupery, who is batting .467.
With Saturday's game two win, Calvin also reached the 20-win plateau for the second straight year. It marks the first time since the 2008 and 2009 seasons that Calvin has hit the 20-win plateau in back-to-back years.
