ANGOLA, Ind. - Today the Calvin softball team opened MIAA Tournament play with two games in Angola, Ind. In their first match up of the day the Knights picked up a walk off 3-2 win against Hope before falling to the Thunder of Trine.
 
GAME 1 
CALVIN 3, HOPE 2
 
In the first game of the afternoon the Knights were looking at a rematch with rival Hope. Just last week Calvin swept the Dutch in thrilling fashion and today's match up proved to be no different.  The Knights kicked off the scoring in the bottom of the first inning when senior Grace Glass (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central) beat out a bunt to give Calvin a baserunner. Up next, freshman Aubrey Herder (Kalamazoo, Mich./Kalamazoo Christian) moved Glass into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt before Carly Dole (Mt. Pleasant, Mich./Mt. Pleasant) added to her season triple total and brought in the run to make the score 1-0.
 
Calvin added to its total in the next inning when freshman second baseman Emily Sweetland (Ann Arbor, Mich./Saline) hit a solo home run over the left center fence to extend the lead.
 
In the circle for the Knights, sophomore Brooke Hunderman (Grand Rapids, Mich./Calvin Christian) was tasked with keeping the Dutch batters off-balance. With the Calvin defense playing behind her, Hunderman held Hope scoreless until the top of the fifth inning when a triple to left field allowed two Dutch runners to cross the plate and even the score.
 
Two innings later, with the score still tied, the Knights headed into the bottom of the seventh inning looking to close things out as Lily Gaastra (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) led off with a single through the right side of the infield. A few batters later, Herder doubled down the left field line to put runners on second and third for the Knights with only one out on the board. This brought up Dole who did what she does best and delivered a clutch single up the middle to score Gaastra and give Calvin the 3-2 win over Hope.
 
Hunderman finished the game with six strikeouts.
 
By securing the win, the Knights would move on to face Trine who won their morning game against the Bulldogs of Adrian 1-0.
 
GAME 2
CALVIN 1, TRINE 17
 
In the second game of the day the Knights matched up with the Thunder of Trine in the semi-finals of the MIAA Tournament. 
 
Right away the Thunder got out to a hot start as they scored three runs in the first inning before taking on two more in the second to take a 5-0 lead. In the top of the third inning, looking to bounce back, senior Emilie Gist (Bettendorff, Iowa/Bettendorff) led off with a double to left field. After advancing to third on a wild pitch, Gist crossed the plate when Glass singled through the infield to put Calvin on the board. 
 
However, Trine did not back down as they found their groove offensively and fought back with seven runs of their own in the bottom of the inning to extend its lead to 12-1. The Thunder continued their hitting streak over the next two innings as they scored five more runs and the game came to an early end as Calvin fell 17-1.
 
Sophomore Emma Ludema (Martin, Mich./Wayland) and junior Zoe Hazelhoff (Kalamazoo, Mich./Kalamazoo Christian) each saw time in the circle for the Knights.
 
UP NEXT: The Knight will continue MIAA Tournament play in Angola, Mich. tomorrow when they take on Hope in an elimination game at 12:00 PM.