BLUFFTON, Ohio – The Calvin softball team split with Bluffton on Saturday afternoon. The Knights started the day beating the Beavers, 12-4. Bluffton would take the second game, 3-2. Calvin is now 9-5 on the year, Bluffton is now 10-10.

"We did some things well today," said Calvin head coach Tim Syrek. "We also have some things that we need to work on to keep improving. We will now get ready for Wheaton and learn from today."

The Knights didn't waste any time getting on the scoreboard on Saturday. In the first inning, senior Lydia Gildea singled up the middle, scoring freshman Rachel Borden. Freshman Anna Gernant scored senior Ashley Riemersma and Lydia Gildea on an error.

The Beavers would cut the lead to 3-1 in the second inning.

In the fourth inning, Rachel Borden scored freshman Kristen Newman on a single.

Bluffton would score three runs in the fifth inning to take a 4-3 lead.

It would be all Knights for the rest of the first game, scoring four runs in the sixth inning and five in the seventh inning.

Freshman Maddie DeGroot reached first base on a dropped ball in left field, scoring sophomore Kaley Frank. Sophomore Jessica Brasser singled up the middle scoring junior Caitlin Bell. Ashley Riemersma singled to right field scoring Jessica Brasser and Rachel Borden.

The Knights capitalized on the Beaver errors again in the seventh inning. Jessica Brasser reached on a dropped fly ball in right field, scoring Caitlin Bell. Lydia Gildea doubled to right field, scoring Rachel Borden and Maddie DeGroot. Ashley Riemersma scored Jessica Brasser. Anna Gernant singled through the right side to score freshman Maggie Kaercher.

Anna Gernant improved to 5-1 in the circle with the victory. She struck out 12 Beavers on Saturday.

Ashley Riemersma led all batters with three hits in game one. Three Knights had two hits. The senior duo of Riemersma and Gildea both finished with three RBI. Rachel Borden tallied three runs.

Game two saw the Knights get on the scoreboard first.

The scoring started in the fourth inning with Anna Gernant hitting a single to right center scoring Lydia Gildea and Jessica Brasser.

The Beavers would score a run in the fifth inning and two runs in the sixth inning to take a 3-2 lead.

The Calvin comeback attempt would come up short on Saturday. With two outs, freshman Abby Colon would get on base with a walk and Maddie DeGroot would hit a single to right field to move sophomore Kimiko Hinatsu to third base. But a shot to the shortstop would end the game.

Junior Paige Groom only gave up three hits in five innings pitched. She recorded two strikeouts on only one run.

Anna Gernant led Calvin in game two with two hits and two RBI.

The Knights return to action on Tuesday when they travel to Illinois to face Wheaton.