WINTER HAVEN, Fl- Today the Knights went 2-0 as the Calvin softball team beat Saint Mary's 4-2 and Cabrini 9-3.
 
GAME 1
CALVIN 4, SAINT MARY'S 2
 
In the first game of the day the Knights took on the Cardinals of Saint Mary's (Minn.). The scoring for the game started in the second inning when Kali Yant (Vicksburg, Mich./Vicksburg HS) singled to find her way on base. Two batters later Sage Mougin (New Carlisle, Ind./New Prairie) forced a walk before senior Sydney Duong (Kalamazoo, Mich./Kalamazoo Christian) stepped up and hit a triple to right center, scoring both runners.
 
The Cardinals caught a break in the fourth inning when some costly errors by the Knights allowed them to score two runs and tie the game. However, Calvin bounced back in the top of the fifth when Hannah Biddlecome (Dallas, Tx./Portage Northern) found a way on base by forcing the Cardinal defense to make an error of its own. Biddlecome then showed her speed as she stole second and was brought home on a Carly Dole (Mt. Pleasant, Mich./Mt. Pleasant) single. In the next play Tory Decker (Hudsonville, Mich./Unity Christian) reached first on fielder's choice and moved to second when Emilie Gist (Bettendorf, Iowa/Bettendorf) hit a single. Decker came home when Yant hit a single to round out the Knights scoring and giving them the 4-2 win.
 
Senior Kirsten Krause (Fredonia, Wis./Grafton) got the start on the mound for the Knights and was relieved in the fourth inning by sophomore Zoe Hazelhoff (Grand Rapids, Mich./Calvin Christian). Hazelhoff got the win in relief. 
 
GAME 2
CALVIN 9, CABRINI 3
 
In game two the Knight faced off with the Cabrini Cavaliers from Radnor, PA. Both teams remained scoreless through the first three innings as the game turned into a pitching battle. Freshman Emma Ludema (Martin, Mich./Wayland HS) got the second start of her career, and it wasn't until the top fourth inning that the Cavaliers were able to bring in two runs, putting them on the scoreboard first.
 
In the fifth inning Grace Glass led off for the Knights with a single to left field and was followed by Yant who singled to center. Emma Walker (Hamilton, Mich./Saugatuck) reached first base on an error and with bases loaded, Duong stepped into the box and hit a 2-run RBI double down the left field line. Kennedi Pepin (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bradley Bourbonnais) the entered to pinch hit and hit a ground ball through the left side, scoring both Walker and Duong, giving the Knights a 4-3 lead. Two batters later, with runners on second and third, Gist hit a single to center field to add two more runs to the Calvin tally.
 
Calvin kept the bats hot in the bottom of the sixth inning when it got runners on first and second. Duong capped off the scoring for the day when she hit Calvin's first home run of the 2023 season, a deep three-run shot to right center to give Calvin the 9-3 victory.
 
COACHES COMMENTS: "In game one I thought we played with great energy and emotion," said head coach Becky Hilgert. "We were able to overcome some routine mistakes late in the game and had a few people step up in key moments to get the lead back. Zoe did a great job in relieve in keeping the ball in the infield and our defense was able to finish out the game strong. In Game two I thought we started slow after the quick turnaround from game one. Our hitters kept attack and we were finally able to bust it open late in the game, and I was happy with how we kept attacking at the the plate. A game like this is what we talk about when we talk about playing a full seven innings and grinding it out until the end."
 
UP NEXT: The Knights are back on the diamond tomorrow when they take on Carnegie Mellon at 9 a.m. and Eastern 11:30 a.m.