GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Today the Calvin softball team welcomed Albion to campus where it picked up the doubleheader sweep against the Britons. After today the Knights improved to a 17-11 overall record and a 5-3 MIAA record while Albion fell to 13-15 overall and 2-4 in MIAA play.
 
GAME ONE
CALVIN 5, ALBION 0
 
In the first game of the day the Knights wasted no time getting things rolling as second baseman Emily Sweetland (Ann Arbor, Mich./Saline) roped a triple to right center in the bottom of the first inning. This brought up junior Carly Dole (Mt. Pleasant, Mich./Mt. Pleasant) who singled to left field and brought Sweetland home to give Calvin the 1-0 lead.
 
In the third inning, Valeria Frias (Wyoming, Mich./Potters House) and Aubrey Herder (Kalamazoo, Mich./Kalamazoo Christian) knocked back-to-back singles to give Calvin two baserunners as Dole once again stepped up to the plate. Once again, Dole took advantage of the scoring opportunity as she hit her fourth triple of the season to extend the Knights lead to 3-0.
 
Things were quiet from both teams until the bottom of the sixth inning when junior Tory Decker (Hudsonville, Mich./Unity Christian) laced a home run down the left field line, her second home run of the season. The Knights capped off their scoring later in the inning when Frias recorded her second hit of the game to score pinch hitter Mya Brickley (Battle Creek, Mich./Delton Kellogg) to make the score 5-0.
 
In the top of the seventh inning, junior pitcher Brooke Hunderman (Grand Rapids, Mich./Calvin Christian) continued to put in a stellar performance as she retired the Briton batter in order and picked up the win in the circle.
 
Dole finished the game with a team high three RBIs while Hunderman notched nine strikeouts.
 
GAME TWO
CALVIN 5, ALBION 2
 
It was a slow start for both teams in the second game of the day as the first two innings passed by scoreless. In the top of the third inning, Frias gave the Knights a spark when she singled up the middle. Two batters later, Sweetland continued to put on an offensive clinic as she smacked her second triple of the day to score Frias and give Calvin a 1-0 lead.
 
In the bottom of the inning, the Britons looked to threaten as they forced a leadoff walk off of junior pitcher Emma Ludema (Martin, Mich./Martin). Albion now looked to play small ball as back-to-back sacrifice bunts moved the tying run to third base. However, Ludema remained unfazed as she came up with a big strikeout to retire the sign and extinguish the scoring opportunity.
 
In the fifth inning, Frias recorded her third hit of the day with a leadoff single down the left field line. On the next play, pinch runner Lauren Wright (Dorr, Mich./Wayland) would take advantage of a Britons defensive error and cross the plate to make the score 2-0. Senior Taylor Sanborn (Midland, Mich./Midland) notched her first hit of the day when she doubled down the left field line to score Herder before trading places with Decker when Decker hit a double of her own to extend the Calvin lead to 4-0.
 
Albion looked to respond as they pushed one run of their own across the plate in the bottom of the sixth, but Calvin had an answer in the top of the seventh when Sanborn singled down the left field line to score Sweetland.
 
In the bottom of the inning, the Brits continued to put up a fight as they got a few base runners and had one run across the plate. However, the Knights locked in defensively behind relief pitcher Hunderman and got the final two outs to claim the 5-2 victory.
 
Frias led the way for the Knights with three hits while Sweetland and Sanborn each recorded two hits. In the circle, Ludema finished her day with 5.1 innings pitched and six strikeouts. Senior Zoe Hazelhoff (Kalamazoo, Mich./Kalamazoo Christian) notched two strikeouts in her one inning showing while Hunderman finished with one.
 
COACHES COMMENTS: "I am certainly pleased to pick up two more conference wins against a gritty Albion team," said head coach Becky Hilgert. "I felt Brooke and Emma threw free and really did a good job spinning the ball. Offensively, we put more pressure on the defense, but we still need to find consistency in moving runners and forcing the defense to play fast. I was happy with our reserve players who provided a spark with their bats and on the bases. Overall, we just got to keep getting better each day and grind out this tight conference race."
 
UP NEXT: The Knights will be back in action on Saturday, April 19th when they travel to take on the Comets of Olivet. Game one is set to start at 1PM followed by game two at 3PM.