GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Today the Calvin softball team took on the Scot of Alma College in their final home game of the season where they dropped both games of the double header. After today the Knights moved to a 22-14 overall record and a 9-5 record in the MIAA.
 
GAME ONE
CALVIN 0, ALMA 2
 
In the first game of the day the Knights found themselves locked in a low scoring pitching battle. After a scoreless first inning the Scots saw an opportunity and took advantage of a Calvin defensive error to push a run across the plate in the top of the second. Alma added one more run to their total that inning and Calvin headed into the bottom of the inning trailing 0-2.
 
Junior Tory Decker (Hudsonville, Mich./Unity Christian) looked to give the Knights a spark when she led off with a single down the left field line. She was moved into scoring position off a sacrifice bunt from senior Kennedi Pepin (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bradley Bourbonnais) but would ultimately be stranded at second as the Scots defense would get out of the inning unharmed.
 
Aubrey Herder (Kalamazoo, Mich./Kalamazoo Christian) got on base in the third inning while Taylor Sanborn (Midland, Mich./Midland) reached first in the fourth, but Calvin would continue to struggle to bring them home as they remained trailing by two.
 
With the score remaining the same, the Knights headed into the bottom of the seventh inning in a do-or-die situation. Decker recorded her second hit of the game when she knocked a lead off single to right field to give Calvin a base runner. However, Alma would go on to record three straight outs and the Knights fell 0-2.
 
GAME TWO
CALVIN 2, ALMA 3
 
In the nightcap, it was the Knights who drew first blood when senior Emma Walker (Hamilton, Mich./Saugatuck) led off the top of the third inning with a single up the middle. She moved into scoring position when fellow senior Lily Gaastra (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) beat out a bunt before being brought home on the next play when Valeria Frias (Wyoming, Mich./Potters House) singled through the infield.
 
The Knights kept things going on the next play when a hard-hit ground ball from Herder caused a Scots defensive error and allowed Gaastra to score and stretch the Calvin lead to 2-0. In the bottom of the inning, Alma wasted no time responding as they strung together enough hits to score two runs of their own and even the score.
 
The next scoring opportunity for either team came in the bottom of the sixth when the Scots were able to get rolling offensively and scrapped one run across the plate to claim the lead. Heading into the top of the seventh the Knights once again found themselves in a must score situation. They got off to a good start when Herder singled up the middle to put the tying run on base. Unfortunately, that's as far as that base runner would get for Calvin as Alma would lock in defensively and quickly record the three outs needed to take down the Knights 3-2.
 
Herder led the way for Calvin with one RBI while Pepin and Gaastra each notched three hits.
 
After the games, the Knights took time to recognize their 2025 senior class, consisting of Sage Mougin (New Carlisle, Ind./New Prairie), Zoe Hazelhoff (Kalamazoo, Mich./Kalamazoo Christian), Walker, Sanborn, Gaastra, and Pepin, and thank them for all the contributions they have made during their time as a part of Calvin softball.
 
UP NEXT: The Knights will be back in action when they travel to Holland on Saturday, May 3rd to take on the Flying Dutch of Hope College in their final games of the regular season. Game one will start at 1 PM while game two will follow at 3 PM.