ALBION, Mich. - Today the Calvin softball team traveled to take on the Britons of Albion where it notched two wins to move to an overall record of 19-7 and an MIAA record of 5-3.

GAME 1
CALVIN 10, ALBION 1 (SIX INNINGS)

The Knight got things started early when senior Grace Glass (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central) led off the top of the first inning with a single to left field to give Calvin a base runner. Aubrey Herder (Kalamazoo, Mich./Kalamazoo Christian) also found her way on base before sophomore Carly Dole (Mt. Pleasant, Mich./Mt. Pleasant) tripled to center field and scored both runs. That triple also marked the fifteenth of Dole's career, making her the all-time career leader for Calvin softball.

Taylor Sanborn (Midland, Mich./Midland) picked up an RBI when she doubled to left field to bring in Dole before advancing to third on a single from Emilie Gist (Bettendorf, Iowa/Bettendorf). Tory Decker (Hudsonville, Mich./Unity Christian) followed with a single to score Sanborn to make the score 4-0. Emma Walker (Hamilton, Mich./Saugatuck) singled to left field to load the bases before Emily Sweetland (Ann Arbor, Mich./Saline) sent a sacrifice fly out to center field to score two runs and round out the Knights scoring for the inning.

Albion pushed one run across the plate in the bottom of the third inning to make the score 6-1. Calvin's next scoring opportunity came when Sanborn forced the Albion defense to make an error with the bases loaded, allowing all three runs to score. Sage Mougin (New Carlisle, Ind./New Prairie) entered the game as a pinch runner and was quickly brought in when Gist doubled to left field to make the score 10-1.

The Calvin defense held strong behind junior relief pitcher Zoe Hazelhoff (Kalamazoo, Mich./Kalamazoo  Christian) in the bottom of the inning to allow the mercy rule to come into play and give the Knights the victory. Sophomore Emma Ludema (Martin, Mich./Wayland) pitched the first five innings where she recorded five strikeouts while Hazelhoff picked up two strikeouts.
 

GAME 2
CALVIN 3, ALBION 0

In the second game of the night, Calvin kept the momentum rolling when it scored in the bottom of the first inning thanks to a single from Sanborn to score Pepin. 

After that the game turned into a defensive battle as sophomore pitcher Brooke Hunderman (Grand Rapids, Mich./Calvin Christian) kept the Britons off the bases and minimized scoring opportunities. The Knights notched another run in the fourth inning when senior Ali Schultz (Wyoming, Mich./Grandville) entered the game as a pinch hitter and delivered a clutch single to score Decker and make the score 2-0.

Calvin rounded out their scoring two innings later when Sweetland hit a sacrifice fly to score Decker as the Knights cruised to a 3-0 victory to pick up the sweep. Hunderman finished the game with an impressive eleven strikeouts while only giving up four hits.

COACHES COMMENT: "I am certainly pleased at how we started game one scoring six runs in the top of the first," said head coach Becky Hilgert. "I think that set the tone for our defense and we played well behind Emma. In game two, I knew it would be tighter and we maybe made a few undisciplined base running mistakes early which could have turned into a few more runs but we stayed with the plan and continued to attack on offense and move runners. Brooke pitched very well and our defense made plays behind her. Great to get two more conference wins."

UP NEXT: The Knights will be back in action on Saturday, April 20th when they take on the Comets of Olivet with game one set for 1 p.m. and game two set for 3 p.m.