Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Calvin softball team picked up two important MIAA victories on Thursday afternoon against the Hornets of Kalamazoo College. The Knights sprayed the Hornets 7-2 and 14-1 to improve to 20-5 in the season and 5-3 in MIAA action. Kalamazoo falls to 8-16 and 0-8 in the MIAA. The Knights currently stand in fourth place in the MIAA.
"Two big conference wins for our team," said head coach Becky Hilgert. "Our offense stayed on the attack in both games and defensively we made plays behind Anna, Ellie and Bri."
The Calvin bats started buzzing in the second inning against the Hornets. Junior Anna Gernant (West Des Moines, Iowa/Valley) threw the first punch with a double into the gap in right-center field to score junior Abby Colon (Caledonia, Mich./South Christian). Gernant later scored on a wild pitch. Junior Rachel Borden (Edwardsburg, Mich./Edwardsburg) sent a bullet down the left-field line to score sophomore Bri Noorman (Jenison, Mich./Covenant Christian). Junior Maddie DeGroot (Hudsonville, Mich./Unity Christian) then triple to center field to score Borden.
The triple by Maddie DeGroot was the 10th of her career and is a program record.
Kalamazoo got on the scoreboard with a run in the fifth inning. Sophomore Kayla Groen (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln Way East) responded with a double to center field that scored Anna Gernant and Abby Colon.
A double from freshman Grace Stock (Vicksburg, Mich./Vicksburg) to center field scored senior Jessica Brasser (Rockford, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) in the sixth inning for the final Calvin run.
Anna Gernant used her Hornet spray on Thursday and struck out 12 Hornets in her seventh victory of the year.
Maddie DeGroot led all players with three hits.
The Knights used their most potent offensive performance of the season to sting the Hornets in game two. The Maroon and Gold added runs in all five innings.
In the first inning, Abby Colon singled through the left side of the infield to score Jessica Brasser from second base. Abby Colon later scored on a single from Kayla Groen also through the left side of the infield.
Grace Stock rang a ball off the scoreboard in center field in a no-doubt home run that also scored Jessica Brasser. Freshman Kennedy Geiger (Clarksville, Mich./Lake Odessa) snuck the ball down the left-field line to score Anna Gernant and Abby Colon.
A double into the gap in left-center from Jessica Brasser brought Rachel Borden home safely from second base in the third inning. Grace Stock struck again in the third, this time with a double down the right-field line that scored Jessica Brasser.
A fourth-inning error scored senior Kimiko Hinatsu (Romeo, Mich./Romeo). Sophomore Jordan VanEerden (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian) had an infield single that scored Kennedy Geiger. Jessica Brasser cleared the bases with a single up the middle to send in Maddie DeGroot and Jordan Van Eerden.
Kayla Groen ended the scoring with a bang. Groen sent the ball flying over the fence in left field that scored Kennedy Geiger.
Freshman Bri Leegwater (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian) came into pitch in the fifth inning and shut down the Hornets with two strikeouts.
Freshman Ellie Borst (Hudsonville, Mich./Unity Christian) fanned six Kalamazoo hitters and held the Hornets to two hits, for her 10th victory of the season.
The 18 hits and 14 runs are season highs for Calvin. Kennedy Geiger and Maddie DeGroot both finished with three hits, a career-high for Geiger.
Calvin returns to action on Saturday for the final home games of the 2018 season against Albion College.
