GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Today the Calvin softball team competed in its final games of the regular season when the Knights welcomed rival Hope College to Gainey Athletic Facility. The two teams entered today's match up with the same MIAA record and provided a spectacle as Calvin picked up two wins in thrilling fashion. After today, Calvin moved to a 30-8 overall record and 13-3 MIAA record while Hope fell to a 25-14 overall record and 11-5 record in the MIAA.
 
GAME 1
CALVIN 2, HOPE 1
 
In the first game of the day the pitchers took center stage as both teams quickly found themselves locked in a defensive battle. Calvin threatened early as it put runners on second and third in the first two innings but were unable to put any runs on the board.
 
On defense, sophomore Brooke Hunderman (Grand Rapids, Mich./Calvin Christian) commanded the circle as she retired one batter after another and the Knights defense made plays behind her.
 
It wasn't until the fifth inning when Hunderman slipped up and walked a batter who was brought in on the next play to give Hope the 1-0 lead. 
 
Two innings later, with the score still 1-0, the Knights headed into the bottom of the seventh in a do or die situation. Needing to make something happen, Emily Sweetland (Ann Arbor, Mich./Saline) gave Calvin a nice start when she led off with a single through the left side. Up next, Lily Gaastra (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) kept the momentum going when she forced the Hope pitcher to make an error and suddenly the winning run was on first base. Two batters later, Aubrey Herder (Kalamazoo, Mich./Kalamazoo Christian) forced the Dutch defense to make another error and amongst the confusion Sweetland crossed the plate to tie things up at 1-1. 
 
Now, with runners on second and third, Carly Dole (Mt. Pleasant, Mich./Mt. Pleasant) did what she does best and sent the ball back up the middle to bring in Gaastra as Calvin won 2-1 on the walk off single.
 
In the circle, Hunderman finished the game with ten strikeouts while only giving up the one hit.
 
GAME 2
CALVIN 2, HOPE 1
 
In the second game of the evening, the pitchers continued to shine as both teams struggled to find holes offensively. 
 
In the top of the sixth inning the Knights seemed to have something going when lead off batter Gaastra was hit by a pitch and took her free base. Next, Grace Glass (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central) stepped into the batter's box and did her job by laying down a sacrifice bunt to move the runner into scoring position. Herder then sent a ground ball towards second base and bounced off the Hope second baseman's foot. Looking to take advantage of the error, Gaastra rounded third and headed for home but the Dutch defense recovered quickly and tagged her before she could give the Knights the lead.
 
Even though Calvin was unable to score, its defense held strong as the score remained 0-0 at the end of seven innings and the game headed into extras. Both teams went three more innings scoreless before Calvin finally cracked things open in the top of the tenth when international tiebreaker rules came into play. With Tory Decker (Hudsonville, Mich./Unity Christian) starting on second base Emma Walker (Hamilton, Mich./Marian) laid down a sacrifice bunt to quickly move the runner to third. Up next was senior Emilie Gist (Bettendorf, Iowa/Bettendorf) who executed the squeeze bunt to perfection as Decker crossed the plate for the first run of the game.
 
However, Hope quickly showed that two could play that game as it proceeded to execute the same plays and score a run of its own which continued the game into the 11th.
 
In the bottom of the eleventh inning, the Dutch threatened when they loaded the bases with only one out but the Calvin defense came up huge and was able to retire the next two batters. 
 
That defensive stand seemed to give the Knights a burst of life as Sweetland led off the top of the thirteenth inning by beating out a bunt and effectively moving Walker, who started on second base, over to third. Two batters later, Glass singled up the middle which allowed Sweetland to cross the plate and once again give Calvin the lead.
 
In the bottom of the inning, the rest of the Knights defense locked in and held strong as they shut down the Dutch and picked up the 2-1 win in what would go down as the longest Calvin-Hope softball game to date.
 
In the circle, it was a group effort as Emma Ludema (Martin, Mich./Wayland) started the game before being relieved by Zoe Hazelhoff (Kalamazoo, Mich./Kalamazoo Christian) in the sixth. Ultimately, Hunderman entered the game in the tenth inning and was credited with the win. The pitchers combined for nine strikeouts while only giving up three hits.

The doubleheader sweep bumped Calvin's overall record to 30-8, marking its third 30-win campaign under current head coach Becky Hilgert including its first since 2019. The sweep clinches at least second place in the final MIAA regular season standings and at least the number two seed for next week's four-team MIAA Tournament. 
 
COACHES COMMENT: "Wow, what a playoff atmosphere today," said head coach Becky Hilgert. "Thanks to the fans who came out to what turned into a beautiful day. Really happy with how we competed today. We knew it would be a battle all day and I told our team after the games that it is these types of games you work so hard for and why you put in all the work during the indoor practices, weight room sessions, early mornings, late nights and all the preseason work. Excited for a few days off and looking forward to the tournament next week."
 
UP NEXT: With tonight's sweep the Knights have secured at least the number two seed in the MIAA Tournament. They will await the results from the rest of the league play this weekend which will determine the final tournament seeding.