AUBURNDALE, Fla. – The Calvin University baseball team started its spring break trip with a doubleheader split against John Carroll University (JCU) on Saturday.
JCU (1-3) won the opener 9-5 before Calvin (1-4) took game two 9-1.
Game 1
The Knights fell behind early and could not come back in a 9-5 defeat in game one.
The Blue Streaks struck first with three runs in the first inning and two more in the second off Calvin starting pitcher
Ian Doyle (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grandville).
Calvin answered with two runs in the third thanks to a JCU error, but the Blue Streaks came right back with three more runs in the fourth to take an 8-2 lead.
Carter Penn (Macomb, Mich./Lutheran North) cut into the deficit with an RBI-single, but a double play in the top of the sixth inning ended the Knights' last, best chance at a comeback.
Doyle (0-2) pitched the first 3.1 innings and allowed eight runs (seven earned) in defeat.
Nate Mason (Portage, Mich./Portage Northern) led the offense with two hits and two runs scored. Penn finished with three runs batted in.
Game 2
Calvin flipped the script in game two, building a big lead early and never looking back on the way to a 9-1 win.
Mason hit a two-run double to score
Ryan Brown (Caledonia, Mich./Caledonia) and
Patrick Gillen (Jensen Beach, Fla./Jensen Beach) in the first inning, then added another two-run single in the second to help the Knights to a 6-0 lead after two innings. Gillen added an RBI-single in the second, and
Josh Winkle (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) capped the four-run second frame with a squeeze bunt that scored Gillen.
After Calvin escaped a bases loaded jam with only one run allowed in the third, the Knights answered right back with three more runs in the fourth. Mason and Winkle each had run-scoring singles, and
Ryan Tschirhart (Clinton, Mich./Clinton) hit a sacrifice fly that scored
Caden Penn (Macomb, Mich./Lutheran North) to push the lead to 9-1.
That would be more than enough support for the Knights' pitching staff, as five Calvin hurlers combined to allow just one run on five hits while striking out 11.
James Ross (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) started the game and went two-plus innings before
Nolan Coil (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso) pitched the third. Tschirhart pitched the next two innings and struck out five while allowing before
Reed Grinstern (Kentwood, Mich./South Christian) and
Levi Suter (Martinsville, Ind./Martinsville) pitched the final two scoreless frames.
Mason led the offense with three hits and five RBI. Gillen and
Caden Penn each had two hits, with Gillen adding three runs scored.
NEXT UP: Calvin baseball will return to action on Monday, March 4, when it plays a pair of games back in Auburndale. The Knights will start the day against Bethany (W.V.) at 10:30 AM, followed by a game against Concordia (Minn.) at 2:00 PM.
