AUBURNDALE, Fla. – The Calvin University baseball team won both games of its doubleheader against La Roche University on Thursday at Lake Myrtle Park in a pair of seven-inning games.
 
Calvin (5-4) overcame a four-run deficit in the seventh inning to win game one 10-8 and then dominated game two to top La Roche (2-9) 12-1 to secure the sweep.
 
Game 1
 
The Knights scored six runs in the seventh inning to overcome a four-run deficit to beat La Roche 10-8 in game one.
 
Evan Steinbacher (Sparta, Mich./Sparta) retired the first 10 batters of the game (six via strikeout), but the Redhawks scratched across two runs in the fourth to take a 2-0 lead.
 
The Knights countered with four runs in the top of the fifth to take a 4-2 lead. Noah Swope (Portage, Mich./Portage Central) scored on a wild pitch to put the Knights on the board, and Cam Seth (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian/GRCC) and Nate Mason (Portage, Mich./Portage Northern) followed with RBI-singles (Mason drove in two) to finish the scoring.
 
The Redhawks took the lead back in the sixth inning when it scored six times in the sixth inning off Steinbacher (three runs), Kyle Koning (Kalamazoo, Mich./Kalamazoo Christian) (two runs) and Ethan DeBlecourt (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian/Spring Arbor) (one run) and led 8-4 heading into the Knights' final at bat in the seventh frame.
 
Calvin once again had the answers at the plate in their final at bat, however. Seth and Gabe Bonemer (Okemos, Mich./Okemos) both walked to start the inning, followed by an RBI-single from Logan Nelson (Fremont, Mich./Fremont) to cut the deficit to 8-5. Mason lined a sacrifice fly to score Seth to cut the deficit to two, and Matt Reynolds (Hopkins, Mich./Hopkins) doubled home pinch-runner Josh Winkle (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) to pull the Knights within one. After a passed ball advanced Reynolds to third base, Ryan Schummer (West Lafayette, Ind./Central Catholic) hit another sacrifice fly to tie the game. Ryan Tschirhart (Clinton, Mich./Clinton) extended the inning with a single, and then scored on a single from Ryan Brown (Caledonia, Mich./Caledonia) before Bonemer singled home Swope to finish the scoring with the Knights ahead 10-8.
 
DeBlecourt finished the game with a one-two-three inning including two strikeouts to end the game to earn the win and move to 1-0 on the season.
 
Calvin finished with 14 hits as a team with Brown leading the way with three. Mason led the team with three runs batted in.
 
Game 2
 
The Knights continued to build on the first game momentum and finished off the sweep with a 12-1 win in game two.
 
Starting pitcher Nolan Coil (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso) was efficient and effective throughout as he improved to 2-0 on the season after pitching 6.1 innings and allowing only one run on four hits while striking out seven. He also helped his cause early by ending the first inning with a pick off and the second inning by starting a 1-4-3 double play.
 
Tschirhart drove in two runs on a first-inning single to put the Knights ahead 2-0, and Mason added an RBI- single in the third and then hit a double off the right field fence in the fifth to drive in another and make the score 4-0.
 
The Redhawks hit a solo home run to get on the scoreboard in the top of the sixth inning, but the Knights put the game away with eight runs in the bottom half of the sixth.
 
The Knights scored those eight sixth-inning runs on four hits. Christian Stevens (South Lyon, Mich./South Lyon) and Michial Schuster (Howell, Mich./Howell) hit RBI-singles, and Hunter Scholma (Allendale, Mich./Allendale) added a two-run single of his own. Schummer added an RBI-walk in the inning, as well.
 
Calvin finished the game with 11 hits for 25 total in the two games. Mason finished with three hits while Scholma added two.
 
COACH'S COMMENT: "I thought we put together two impressive performances today," Calvin head baseball coach Joel Schipper said. "In game one, we showed resilience in battling back from a four-run deficit in the seventh. That was a true team team win and a testament to their never-quit mentality. In game two we had an offensive explosion led by Hunter (Scholma) and Nate (Mason). It was also cool to see Nolan Coil reach the 100 career strikeouts milestone in his Calvin career."

NEXT UP: Calvin baseball will return to action Friday, March 14, when it faces University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) at Chain O'Lakes Park in Winter Haven, Florida, at 1:00 PM.