ALMA, Mich. - Today the Calvin softball team traveled to take on the Scots of Alma where strong bursts of offense led the Knights to a doubleheader sweep and gave head coach Becky Hilgert her 200th career win. After today's games the Knights improve to a 28-8 overall record and an 11-3 MIAA record while Alma falls to 19-15 overall and 6-8 in the MIAA.

GAME 1 
CALVIN 5, ALMA 0

In the first game of the afternoon the Knights got on the board early when Emma Walker (Hamilton, Mich./Marian) singled in the top of the second inning and then took advantage of a defensive error by the Scots to move into scoring position. She was brought in on the next play when freshman Emily Sweetland (Ann Arbor, Mich./Saline) singled to center field to give Calvin the 1-0 lead.

After that it was quiet for both teams as sophomore pitcher Brooke Hunderman (Grand Rapids, Mich./Calvin Christian) and the rest of the Calvin defense kept the Scots hitters off-balance and kept their scoring opportunities to a minimum.

It wasn't until the top of the sixth inning the Knights offense got rolling when Taylor Sanborn (Midland, Mich./Midland) led off with a single up the middle. A sacrifice bunt from Emilie Gist (Bettendorf, Iowa/Bettendorf) moved Sanborn into scoring position before back-to-back singles from Tory Decker (Hudsonville, Mich./Unity Christian) and Walker loaded the bases for Calvin. Next up, Sweetland added on to her RBI total when she doubled to center field and brought in two runs to extend the lead to 3-0. The Knights kept things rolling when pinch hitter Ali Schultz (Wyoming, Mich./Grandville) singled to score Walker followed by a sacrifice ground ball from Grace Glass (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central) which allowed another runner to cross the plate and gave Calvin the 5-0 lead.

The Knights defense held strong through the bottom of the sixth and seventh inning as Calvin picked up the game one win. Hunderman finished another impressive showing in the circle with six strikeouts while only allowing one hit.

GAME 2
CALVIN 4, ALMA 2

In the night cap, Calvin once again struck first in the bottom of the fourth inning when Sanborn hit a shot to center field and advanced all the way to third for a triple before a fielding error allowed her to cross the plate. Gist kept the momentum on the Knights side when she beat out an infield single and was quickly moved into scoring position when Decker followed her with a single of her own. 

Up next, Walker stayed hot with a triple to right center and scored both runs to extend the Calvin lead to 3-0. The Knights wrapped up their scoring two batters later when Schultz once again entered the game as a pinch hitter and delivered a single to left field to score Walker and make the score 4-0.

Looking to bounce back, the Scots quickly followed with two runs of their own in the top of the fifth inning to cut the Calvin lead to two. However, the Knights would hold strong on defense for the rest of the way as they went on to win 4-2 and claim the sweep.

In the circle, sophomore Emma Ludema (Martin, Mich./Wayland) started the game before being relieved by Zoe Hazelhoff (Kalamazoo, Mich./Kalamazoo Christian) in the fifth inning. Together, they combined for five strikeouts while only giving up four hits. Ludema picked up the win and Hazelhoff the save. 

COACHES COMMENT: "Two very competitive games and I am really pleased with how we grinded offensively and found a way to score to keep the momentum in both games," said head coach Becky Hilgert. "We left too many runners on base so we need to do a bit better job executing our bunts going forward. Defensively, we played pretty solid and it was a great staff day by Brooke, Emma, and Zoe."

UP NEXT: The Knights will be back in action on Friday, May 4th when they welcome rival Hope College for their final game of the regular season. Game one will begin at 3:00 PM with game two following at 5:00 PM.