By Gina de Haan

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Calvin men's baseball team hosted MIAA opponent Adrian College Bulldogs on Saturday for the second half of the weekend series. The Bulldogs took both ends of a doubleheader on Friday night at Adrian's Nicolay Field, defeating Calvin 7-0 and 8-3.

The Knights dropped both games of the doubleheader on Saturday, as the league-leading Bulldogs picked up the four-game series sweep, defeating the Knights 10-2 and 11-5.

With the pair of losses, Calvin falls to 8-14 overall with a 4-8 conference mark. Adrian improves to 17-6 overall and 11-1 in the MIAA.
    
As part of the NCAA Division III Week festivities, the national championship Calvin women's volleyball team threw out the first pitch of game one.

The Knights took an early lead 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning behind an RBI double by junior Nate DeZwaan (Hamilton, Mich./Holland Christian). Adrian pitcher Jason Schroeder pitched himself out of a bases-loaded jam with back-to-back strikeouts to end the inning.

The Bulldogs responded with four runs, including a three-run home run over the left field fence by Miccoy Drzewiecki.

In the top of the sixth inning, the Bulldogs used an RBI triple and a pair of two-run homers to take a commanding 9-1 lead. Calvin scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the inning, but the Knights comeback effort fell short as they failed to score in their final chance at the plate. In the top of the seventh, Adrian scored its tenth run off a wild pitch to secure an eight-run victory.

The Knights had seven hits in the loss coming off the bats of DeZwaan, Matt Kotva (Elkhart, Ind./Concord), Jonathan Keane (Brookfield, Wis./Brookfield Central), Johnny Salgado (Whittier Ca./Whittier), Kyle Houts (Spring Lake, Mich/Spring Lake), Logan Marshall (Plymouth, Mich./Salem) and Ryan Stewart (Shelby, Mich./Parkway Christian).

Junior Jamie Bristol (Grand Rapids, Mich./Calvin Christian) got the start and took the loss, falling to 1-3 on the year. Freshman David Dahms (Darien, Ill./Hinsdale South) also pitched two innings in relief.

Despite their early momentum in game two, Adrian used a four-run fifth inning to pull ahead and didn't let up.

After failing to capitalize on a bases-loaded situation in the first inning, Calvin scored two runs in the second inning. Stewart and Marshall singled to get on base and Kotva put the ball in play to drive in the Knights' first run. Colton Wolfe (Eaton Rapids, Mich./Eaton Rapids) followed, singling up the middle to score Marshall. After a tough battle at the plate, Mike Kempton (Edwardsburg, Mich./Edwardsburg) fouled out to the catcher, leaving two Knights on the bases.

An RBI double by Adrian's Hunter Hayes got the Bulldogs on the board in the top of the fourth inning. After a sac bunt, Gunner Rainey singled to drive in the tying run.

In the top of the fifth inning, an RBI single through the left side gave the Bulldogs their first lead of the game. After a Calvin pitching change, Adrian tacked on three more runs as Dugan Darnell homered to right field. The Bulldogs recorded six hits in the four-run inning.

Adrian added three runs in the seventh inning to take a commanding 9-2 lead. In the eighth inning, the Bulldogs added two more runs to widen the gap to nine.

Miles Kuperus (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) tripled to deep right center field to spark the Knights' offense. A sacrifice fly by Josh Sterenberg (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian) brought Kuperus in, making the score 11-3.

The Knights rallied in the bottom of the ninth inning with two runs on three hits, including a solo home run by Kyle Houts. Despite the last push, Calvin came up six runs short.

Calvin recorded 14 hits in the loss, including three hits apiece from Salgado and Kempton. Houts and Stewart each finished with a pair of hits.

Jonathan Keane took the loss on the mound to dip to 0-4 on the year. Adrian's Spencer Ford earned the road win. Trevor VanDuyn (Jenison, Mich./Jenison) and Justin Paauwe (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) saw time in relief along with freshman Tim Cummings (Mt. Vernon, Wash./Mt. Vernon) who made his college varsity debut.

The Knights are back in action on Tuesday when they host Illinois Tech. Game time is set for 4 p.m.