GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.- Today, the Calvin softball team played in the Pioneer Classic Tournament in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, where the Knights beat George Fox but fell to Linfield.
 
GAME 1
CALVIN 4, GEORGE FOX 0
 
The Knights started off their day strong as they took on the Bruins of George Fox. The Knights didn't wait long to start the scoring as senior shortstop Sydney Duong (Kalamazoo, Mich./Kalamazoo Christian) started the bottom of the first inning with a lead off single. She was able to advance to second after a sacrifice bunt by Hannah Biddlecome (Dallas, Tx./Portage Northern) before moving to third on a wild pitch. Carly Dole (Mt. Pleasant, Mich./Mt. Pleasant) then sent a sacrifice fly out to right field as Duong crossed the plate to put Calvin on the board.
 
The Knights kept the momentum rolling into the next inning as Emilie Gist (Bettendorf, Iowa/Bettendorf) reached first after hitting a single to left field. Two batters later, the Knights had two runners in scoring position as Emma Walker (Hamilton, Mich./Saugatuck) stepped into the box. Walker put the ball in play and reached first on a fielder's choice as well as bring Gist home for Calvin's second run of the game. Next, Ali Schultz (Wyoming, Mich./Grandville) entered the game to pinch hit and was able to successfully bring in senior Kali Yant (Vicksburg, Mich./Vicksburg) who had previously gotten on base by forcing the Bruins defense to make an error.
 
Calvin rounded out its scoring for the game in the bottom of the third inning when Dole singled to left field. She was brought in two batters later when Taylor Sanborn (Midland, Mich./Midland) hit a single to left center, giving the Knights a 4-0 advantage.
 
Freshman pitcher Emma Ludema (Martin, Mich./Wayland) when the distance for the Knights on the mound as she struck out five batters and only allowed two hits in the game.
 
GAME 2
CALVIN 1, LINFIELD 9
 
In their second game of the day the Knights faced off with the Linfield Wildcats. The first three innings of the game were scoreless as both teams struggled to find holes in the opposing defense. Calvin was the first to get things rolling as Biddlecome led off the top of the fourth inning by beating out a bunt at first. Dole then laid down a sacrifice bunt and Biddlecome's speed allowed her to get all the way to third. Biddlecome's trip around the bases was complete when Sanborn doubled to center field.
 
Unfortunately for the Knights, it was all Linfield the rest of the way. They scored eight runs in the in the bottom of the fourth inning before tacking on another in the bottom of the sixth to bring the game to an early end.
 
Senior Kirsten Krause (Fredonia, Wis./Grafton) got the start on the mound for Calvin before being relieved by sophomore Zoe Hazelhoff (Kalamazoo, Mich./Kalamazoo Christian) part way through the fourth inning.
 
COACHES COMMENTS: "I am very happy with our preparation and mental toughness in some difficult weather conditions," said head softball coach Becky Hilgert. "We had great energy against George Fox and each inning we kept the pressure on offensively which was key. Defensively we did a great job behind Emma and she did an outstanding job of getting a lot of bad contact off a good hitting team. In the game versus Linfield, we were right there in the mix for 4 innings and had a few web-gem plays from Sydney to get us out of a few jams. But against a top ten team we can't have mental lapses on defense, and they took advantage as good teams do. They are a solid program who I expect to be playing late into May. Overall, it was a good day for us to be on the field in continue to learn and compete as a group."
 
UP NEXT: The Knights will be back in action tomorrow when they play in the second day of the Pioneer Classic against Washington University at 11:30 a.m. and Hanover at 1:30 p.m.