CALEDONIA, Mich. – The Calvin University baseball team earned its second consecutive series win to open MIAA play with a doubleheader split against Kalamazoo College on Saturday at Farmers Insurance Athletic Complex at Davenport University.
Kalamazoo (16-7, 4-3 MIAA) won the first game 3-2 before Calvin (12-11, 5-2 MIAA) used a 10-run ninth inning to win game two 12-2.
Game One
The Hornets scored three early runs and held off the Calvin offense the rest of the way to take game one 3-2.
Kalamazoo scored twice in the first inning off Calvin starter
James Ross (Carmel, Ind./Carmel), and then answered a run by the Knights in the second inning with one of their own in the bottom of the third to take a 3-1 lead.
The Knights cut the deficit in half in the sixth inning thanks to a triple from
Nathaniel Graham (Lake Odessa, Mich./Lakewood/Kalamazoo Valley CC) that scored
Noah Swope (Portage, Mich./Portage Central), but left Graham on third base to end that threat still trailing by one run.
Cam Seth (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian/GRCC) came on in relief to pitch two scoreless innings for the Knights in the seventh and eighth innings, but the Knights could not bring home the tying run down the stretch as the Hornets held them off for the win.
The Knights had chances early with five runners left on base in the first two innings and finished the game with nine total left on base.
Ross (0-1) pitched six strong innings and allowed three runs (two earned) on four hits and two walks while striking out three.
Game Two
The Knights broke open a 2-2 tie after eight innings with a 10-run ninth inning to win game two 12-2 and the series 2-1.
Evan Steinbacher (Sparta, Mich./Sparta) continued the Knights' strong run of starting pitching with 6.2 innings, allowing two runs on seven hits while striking out five to keep Calvin in the game until the late innings.
The two teams traded runs in the fourth and sixth innings, with the Knights opening the scoring with a
Matt Reynolds RBI-single in the fourth inning that Kalamazoo answered with solo home run, and then a wild pitch that scored
Ryan Tschirhart (Clinton, Mich./Clinton) was answered by the Hornets with one run in the sixth to tie the game 2-2.
After 1.1 shutout innings in relief from
Alex DeAngelis (Plymouth, Mich./Salem), the Knights sent 15 batters to the plate on the way to 10 runs in the top half of the ninth to blow the game open.
Gabe Bonemer (Okemos, Mich./Okemos) got the first big hit with an RBI double down the right field line to score Swope from second base to put the Knights in front, and then seven straight walks by Kalamazoo relievers led to six more Calvin runs. Bonemer followed with a two-run single, and
Ryan Brown (Caledonia, Mich./Caledonia) ended the rally with an RBI-single to score
Josh Winkle (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) to finish the scoring.
Calvin finished the game with 12 hits and added 10 walks. Bonemer finished with three hits and three RBI, while Brown had two hits.
Nate Mason (Portage, Mich./Portage Northern), Swope and Winkle each scored two runs.
DeAngelis (2-0) earned the win for his 1.1 shutout innings, capping a Calvin pitching effort over the series that held the Hornets to just five runs in three games after Kalamazoo entered the series averaging 9.2 runs per game in its first 20 games of the season. Steinbacher and Ross joined Friday's starting pitcher
Nolan Coil (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso) in holding the Hornets to five runs in 20.2 innings, while the Calvin bullpen combined to allow only one hit and one walk in 5.1 innings of shutout relief over the three games.
COACH'S COMMENT: "Incredible series win for our program," Calvin head baseball coach
Joel Schipper said. "The pitching staff was phenomenal all weekend. Super proud of our guys for the grit and competitiveness they displayed all weekend."
NEXT UP: Calvin baseball will return to action on Tuesday, April 8, when it travels to Alma College for a single game scheduled to start at 4:00 PM.
