LEESBURG, Fl. - Today the Calvin women's softball team continued to dominate its spring trip as it racked up two more victories against Carthage and Hiram.
GAME 1
CALVIN 10, CARTHAGE 0
In the first game of the day the Knights faced up against the Firebirds of Carthage. For the first three innings it looked like Calvin had walked into a pitching battle as both defenses held strong and didn't allow scoring opportunities. The first crack in the Firebirds' armor came in the top of the third inning as Carly Dole (Mt. Pleasant, Mich./Mt. Pleasant) hit her third triple of the season before being brought home by catcher Taylor Sanborn (Midland, Mich./Midland) two batters later.
The Knights snuck another run across the plate in the top of the fourth inning when Ali Schultz (Wyoming, Mich./Grandville) scored Tory Decker (Hudsonville, Mich./Unity Christian) and another in the top of the sixth as Emily Sweetland (Ann Arbor, Mich./Saline) hit a triple that scored Emma Walker (Hamilton, Mich./Saugatuck).
With a 3-0 lead Calvin entered the seventh inning where it really busted things open, starting with a triple from Emilie Gist (Bettendorf, Iowa/Bettendorf) to bring in Grace Glass (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central). Sanborn drew a walk and was then replaced with pinch runner Lily Gaastra (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian). On the next play, Gaastra got into a rundown in between first and second, distracting the Carthage defense and allowing Gist to steal home before taking second for herself. A single from Decker brought in Gaastra and thanks to a fielding error from the Firebirds and a single from Sage Mougin (New Carlise, Ind./New Prairie), the Knights had bases loaded with two outs. This brought up Glass who singled up the middle to score two runs before a single from Gist brought in Calvin's final run of the game and gave them the 10-0 victory.
In the circle, sophomore Brooke Hunderman (Grand Rapids, Mich./Calvin Christian) went all seven innings for the Knights as she pitched her first collegiate shutout while recording six strikeouts and only allowing three hits.
GAME 2
CALVIN 12, HIRAM 7
In game two of the day the Knights matched up against the Terriers of Hiram. Hiram got on the board first in the top of the third inning when they forced the Knights defense to make an error and pushed a run across the plate.
Looking to respond, the Knights started off the bottom of the third inning right when Walker led off with a single to right field. The next two batters, Sweetland and Mougin, both got hit by a pitch and loaded the bases for Calvin with no outs. The first to take advantage of the situation was Dole who sent a screamer down the left field line to score Walker. Schultz then entered the game as a pinch hitter and delivered a triple to right field to extend the Knights lead. Glass re-entered the game as a pinch runner but wasn't out there for long as Sanborn sent a sacrifice ground ball to the shortstop and put Calvin up 5-1.
In the top of the fourth inning the Terriers responded with two runs of their own but Calvin was determined to not give up its momentum. In the bottom of the inning, Walker once again got the train rolling when she hammered a lead-off triple to right field. On the next play, Sweetland singled to bring in the run before being brought in when Dole delivered a triple of her own. Dole crossed the plate a few plays later off of a Hiram defense error and gave Calvin a commanding 8-3 lead.
The Terriers, looking to get something going offensively, scattered a couple runs over the next few innings before Calvin's bats came alive once more in the bottom of the sixth starting with a single up the middle from Dole. Back-to-back doubles from Gist and Sanborn scored three more runs before Calvin rounded out its scoring for the day with a sacrifice fly from Decker to give Calvin a substantial lead. Hiram got some things rolling offensively in the top of the seventh but the deficit was too great for them to overcome and the Knights picked up the 12-7 win.
Sophomore Emma Ludema (Martin, Mich./Wayland) started in the circle for Calvin where she struck out three batters before Zoe Hazelhoff (Kalamazoo, Mich./Kalamazoo Christian) entered the game in the fourth inning and picked up two strikeouts of her own.
COACHES COMMENTS: "I was very happy with our results today," said head coach Becky Hilgert, "especially the adjustments made offensively. We got contributions up and down the lineup which was huge. We do need to be a little better on the bases as I felt we gave both teams too many easy outs when we were threatening to score and ran undisciplined. Defensively, at times we did not make the right softball IQ play but with a young team we are working through just playing instinctively and trusting our preparation. Overall, very pleased with how we've started the season."
UP NEXT: The Knights will be back in action on Friday, March 8th when they continue their spring trip against Husson at 10:15 a.m. and Regis at 12:30 p.m.
