Grand Rapids, MI – The Knights split their doubleheader against the Belles of St. Mary's at Gainey Field on Tuesday afternoon. 

The first game started with the Knights getting on the scoreboard right away in the first inning. Freshman Emma Springer (Three Oaks, MI / River Valley) grounded out but was able to score senior Hannah Horvath (Caledonia, MI / Caledonia) to gain an early 1-0 lead. 

Calvin added another run to its lead in the bottom of the second inning with help from Sydney Duong (Kalamazoo, MI / Kalamazoo Christian) as she singled to left field to score Brooke Timm (Niles, MI / Niles). The Knights found themselves in the lead with a score of 2-0. 

Ellie Borst (Hudsonville, MI / Unity Christian) was holding back the Belles in the first five innings, allowing two hits and five strikeouts. St. Mary's broke through in the sixth inning as two walks, two errors and a hit allowed the Belles to take a 3-2 lead. 

The Knights had an opportunity in the bottom half of the sixth inning but weren't able to capitalize and fell to the Belles 3-2 in the first game of the doubleheader. Spring and Duong each had an RBI and they outhit St. Mary's 6-4 on the day. 

The second game again began with Calvin scoring in the first inning. With the bases loaded,  Springer took a walk to get the first run on the board. An error and fielder's choice helped the Knights extend the lead to 3-0 after the first inning of play. Ali Schultz (Wyoming, MI / Grandville) singled to left field in the third inning with a runner in scoring position to give Calvin a 4-0 lead, but the Knights weren't done yet. 

Timm singled in the fifth inning with another runner in scoring position to give the Knights a 5-0 lead. Calvin was able to extend it to 8-0 in the sixth inning as Grace Stock tripled with a runner at first and Addi Warner (South Bend, IN / Clay) followed by clubbing a two-run home run. 

Senior Bri Leegwater (Zeeland, Mich./Holland Christian HS) shut out St. Mary's, allowing four hits and finishing with four strikeouts. Calvin went on to win in six by way of the run rule with a score of 8-0. Horvath, Biddlecome and Schultz each finished with two hits while Schults and Warner each had two RBIs. 

COACHES COMMENTS: "it was a tough end to game one, but I am happy how we responded in game two and put up three in the first," said Head Coach Becky Hilgert. "St. Mary's is a great team that is well-coached, and I expect each game in our conference to be a battle. We maybe got a little comfortable late in a game one and you can't give a team like the extra opportunities because they will take advantage. It was great to back on our field after 697 days and we appreciate the crowd who came to support our team. We are excited to compete again at home tomorrow." 

UP NEXT: Calvin will play in a non-conference doubleheader tomorrow against Chicago with the first game starting at 3 p.m.