Calvin softball split the first two games of the MIAA Tournament Championship Series against Alma. Calvin won game one 1-0 in dramatic fashion, but Alma took the second game with a score of 5-1. 

Game one had neither team getting the bats going early as the first three inning were dominated by the pitching. Senior Ellie Borst (Hudsonville, MI / Unity Christian) held the Scots hitless through the first three innings. The Knights threatened in the bottom of the fourth, getting runners in scoring position, but Alma stopped them from scoring. 

Calvin again had a runner on third in the bottom of the fifth but could not come through so the game was tied heading into the sixth inning. Neither team threatened in the sixth or seventh, sending the contest into extra innings. 

In the top of the eighth, Alma placed two runners aboard with two outs but a flyout to right ended the threat. In the bottom of the eighth, the Knights nearly came up with a winner, placing runners on second and third after singles by junior Hannah Biddlecome (Portage, Mich./Portage Northern HS) and Grace Stock (Vicksburg, Mich./Vicksburg HS) with Stock then stealing second after Biddlecome moved to third on Stock's single to right. With two outs, senior Kennedy Geiger (Clarksville, Mich./Lake Odessa HS) sent a line drive down the right field line that landed foul by a foot. Alma pitcher Haley Ullrich then reached back to end the threat with a strikeout.

Neither team threatened in the ninth, leading to a dramatic 10^th.

Borst cleaned up in the top of the tenth, and the Knights had another chance to win the game and they took that opportunity. Sophomore Sydney Duong (Kalamazoo, MI / Kalamazoo Christian) reached first and advanced to second on an outfield error to move into scoring position. Senior Hannah Horvath (Caledonia, MI / Caledonia) laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance Duong to third. On a 1-2 count, a wild pitch by the Alma pitcher allowed Duong to race home for the walk off win. 

Borst collected the complete-game shutout win, striking out 10 batters and walking only three while scattering six Alma hits. She improved her season record to 9-1. 

Ullrich was superb in defeat with 13 strikeouts against only one walk and six Calvin hits. Biddlecome went 3-for-3 at the plate with a walk for the Knights. 

Game two had the Scots jumping out in the first inning to gain the early 1-0 lead. The Knights struggled to get anything going offensively and Alma increased its lead in the fifth inning. The Scots scored three more runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to extend the lead to 4-0. Calvin finally got on the board in the top of the sixth as Horvath scored on a passed ball to cut the deficit to 4-1. 

Alma added another run in the sixth to take a 5-1 lead heading into the seventh inning. Calvin didn't get anything going in the seventh inning and fell to Alma with a score of 5-1. This ties the championship series 1-1 with game three being held tomorrow at Calvin University.

COACHES COMMENTS: "We had two very good teams out there playing for a championship," said head coach Becky Hilgert. "I thought our pitchers did a good job keeping Alma's hitters at bay and pitched out of a few jams. Offensively we just didn't make the adjustments we needed to move runners and produce needed runs. Tomorrow is a new day and we are excited to be in front of our home fans and compete for a conference tournament championship."

UP NEXT: Calvin plays Alma in the last game of the MIAA Tournament Championshio Series winner starting at 1 p.m.