CLERMONT, Fla. – The Calvin softball team had another successful outing on the diamond on Thursday. The Knights rallied from down five to win 8-7 over Grinnell and the Maroon and Gold finished the day with a 2-1 victory over Carroll to improve to 10-1 on the season.

"I was pleased with how we kept fighting in game one and were able to find a way to pull it out," said head coach Becky Hilgert. "Game two was a pitching and defensive battle and we were able to capitalize and score a key second run. We found a way to grind out two wins against two quality opponents."

The Knights struck first against Grinnell in the first inning, senior Jessica Brasser (Rockford, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) tripled down the right-field line to score junior Maddie DeGroot (Hudsonville, Mich./Unity Christian). Brasser then scored on a throwing error by the Grinnell catcher.

The Calvin defense stood firm in the fourth inning. With runners on second and third base, junior Anna Gernant (West Des Moines, Iowa/Valley) struck out two batters to end the threat. Gernant finished the game with seven strikeouts.

The Pioneers grabbed momentum with seven runs in the fifth inning.

The Knights did not back down from the challenge. The sixth inning was all Calvin, with junior Rachel Borden (Edwardsburg, Mich./Edwardsburg) and Maddie DeGroot crossed home plate on walks with the bases load. Junior Kristen Newman (Chelsea, Mich./Chelsea) reached home plate on a fielder's choice.

With two outs, freshman Grace Stock (Vicksburg, Mich./Vicksburg) shined with the pressure on her as she blasted the ball over the fence in left-center field.

"When I approached the plate, I felt confident in myself and in my teammates," said Stock. "I knew that the game was not over and that we could come back to win. After scoring the run to take the lead, we all had a boost of confidence and energy to push through, finish strong and get the job done as a team."

Freshman Bri Leegwater (Zeeland, Mich./Holland Christian) closed the door on Grinnell for her first collegiate save. Freshman Kennedy Geiger (Clarksville, Mich./Lake Odessa) recorded her second win of the season.

Jessica Brasser saw the ball very well on Thursday and finished game one with three hits.

The Knights found themselves in a defensive battle in game two. Amanda Osterhus was a mystery for the Knights in the circle with 10 strikeouts in the game.

The Maroon and Gold extinguished the Pioneer threat in the second inning with a strikeout from freshman Elli Borst (Hudsonville, Mich./Unity Christian).

Kristen Newman was the first to solve Osterhus and smacked the ball out of the park, past the center-field fence.

The game-winning hit came off the bat of Anna Gernant in the sixth inning on a single through the right side of the infield that scored Jessica Brasser from second base.

Carroll scored its lone run in the seventh inning.

Borst improved to 5-0 on the year with five strikeouts.

The Carroll game was the fifth time this season that the Knights did not commit an error.

Calvin closes spring break action on Friday against Wisconsin-Eau Claire and Juniata.