KISSIMMEE, Fl. - Today the Calvin softball team continued its spring break trip with two more wins over Alvernia and Heidelberg.
GAME 1
CALVIN 6, ALVERNIA 0
After two dominant wins yesterday, Calvin kept the momentum rolling against the Wolves of Alvernia as Carly Dole (Mt. Pleasant, Mich./Mt. Pleasant) led off the bottom of the first inning with a walk before Grace Glass (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central) singled up the middle. Two batters later Alanna Garcia (Holt, Mich./Holt) singled to center field and scored both runs to give the Knights a quick lead.
For the next few innings things remained close as both teams struggled to find holes in the opposing defense. It wasn't until the bottom of the fifth inning when Dole once again got things started by beating out an infield single. Glass followed that up with a single before Emilie Gist (Bettendorf, Iowa/Bettendorf) got hit by a pitch and loaded the bases for Calvin. This brought up Taylor Sanborn (Midland, Mich./Midland) who forced the Wolves defense to make an error and allowed two runs to cross the plate. The Knights rounded out their scoring this inning when sophomore Tory Decker (Hudsonville, Mich./Unity Christian) singled to left field, scoring Gist and stretching the Calvin lead to 5-0.
Calvin put an exclamation mark on things in the bottom of the sixth inning when Gist doubled to left field to score Sage Mougin (New Carlisle, Ind./New Prairie) and allowed the Knights to walk away with the 6-0 victory.
Junior pitcher Zoe Hazelhoff (Kalamazoo, Mich./Kalamazoo Christian) had a standout performance in the circle as she recorded six strikeouts while only giving up two hits in the Calvin victory. Glass finished with three hits while Garcia led the team with two RBIs.
GAME 2
CALVIN 10, HEIDELBERG 2
In its second game of the day against Heidelberg, Calvin struck first when Dole forced a walk to get on base in the top of the third inning. She was brought home when Gist stepped in the batter's box and delivered a clutch double to left field. The Knights kept things rolling when Sanborn singled to bring in Gist before Decker reached on fielder choice and allowed pinch runner Lily Gaastra (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) to cross the plate and give Calvin the 3-0 lead.
Freshman Emily Sweetland (Ann Arbor, Mich./Saline) led off the top of the fourth inning with a shot to left field that put her on second base. Dole walked for the second time in the game and then, with runners on second and third, Glass singled to center field to advance Dole and score Sweetland. Dole crossed the plate on the next play thanks to a fielding error on the Heidelberg defense before Sanborn picked up an RBI on a sacrifice ground ball to extend the Calvin lead to 6-0.
Heidelberg tried to fight back as it led off the top of the fourth inning with a solo homerun but the Calvin defense locked in and didn't allow any further damage to be done.
In the top of the sixth inning, Mougin kicked things off with a leadoff single before Dole once again found her way on base by a walk. Kennedi Pepin (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bradley Bourbonnais) entered the game as a pinch hitter and made her mark quickly as she beat out a bunt down the third base line. An overthrow from the third baseman allowed for runners to advance but the Heidelberg defense recovered quickly and threw out Mougin at the plate. Now, with runners on second and third, a long fly ball from Gist allowed Dole to score before Pepin took advantage of a passed ball and crossed the plate to put Calvin up 8-1.
Up until this point, sophomore pitcher Emma Ludema (Martin, Mich./Wayland) commanded the circle for the Knights as she recorded six strikeouts during her showing. However, as Heidelberg was now going through its lineup for the third time and pushed a run of its own across the plate, she was relieved by Brooke Hunderman (Grand Rapids, Mich./Calvin Christian) in the bottom of the sixth. Hunderman, who entered the game with no outs and runners at second and third, struck out three straight batters to get the Knights out of a jam.
Looking to get the run back, senior duo Ali Schultz (Wyoming, Mich./Grandville) and Emma Springer (Three Oaks, Mich./River Valley) each found their way on base in the top of the seventh before Dole hit a triple to bring in both runs and extend the Knights lead to 10-2. In the bottom of the seventh, Hunderman struck out two more batters as Calvin walked away with their second win of the day.
Ludema and Hunderman combined for eleven strikeouts in the circle while only allowing six hits. Dole finished the game with two hits, two RBIs and three runs scored. Gist finished with three RBIs while Sanborn accounted for two RBIs.
COACHES COMMENT: "Great to pick up two more wins today," said head coach Becky Hilgert. "Very happy with how our offense stayed aggressive in both games and made good adjustments against different pitching speeds. The key to the day was our defensive effort as we went almost error free through 14 innings. Our pitching staff was stellar and the defense made plays behind them."
UP NEXT: The Knights will be back in action tomorrow against Carthage at 10:15 a.m. and Hiram at 3 p.m.
