ALMA, Mich. – The Calvin University baseball team clinched its third straight series win to start MIAA play with a 7-6 win at Alma College on Wednesday.
Calvin (13-11, 6-2 MIAA) earned its second mid-week win over Alma (12-15, 4-4 MIAA) in as many weeks with the help of a four-run sixth inning to take the lead and then held off the Scots in the final inning with the tying run on third base to secure the win. The teams will play the series finale in two weeks at Calvin on April 23.
Ryan Schummer (West Lafayette, Ind./Central Catholic) put the Knights on the board early with a deep solo home run to straightaway center field for his third long ball of the season, but the Scots answered with a run of their own in the bottom half of the inning to tie the score at 1-1.
Calvin came right back in the second inning with a pair of runs to take a 3-1 lead.
Landen Mikula (St. Johns, Mich./St. Johns) hit an RBI-single with the bases loaded for the first run, and the Knights got the second off a double play ball to score
Noah Swope (Portage, Mich./Portage Central) from third base.
Starting pitcher
Cam Seth (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian/GRCC) cruised through the first four innings with the help of two inning-ending double plays, but ran into trouble in the fifth as the Scots loaded the bases and scored three times thanks to a walk and two-run single that ended Seth's day after 4.1 innings before
Ben Ferguson (Grandville, Mich./Grandville) came out of the bullpen to get the final two outs and keep the Alma lead at 4-3.
The Knights once again responded in the top half of the sixth with four runs to take the lead right back.
Nate Mason (Portage, Mich./Portage Northern) drove in the first on a sacrifice fly, and Mikula came through one again with an RBI groundout before
Gabe Bonemer (Okemos, Mich./Okemos) provided the big hit with a two-run single to push the Knights' lead to 7-4.
The Scots cut their deficit to 7-5 in the seventh with a run off Ferguson, but
Kyle Koning (Kalamazoo, Mich./Kalamazoo Christian) threw 1.2 shutout innings of relief to get Calvin to the ninth still in front by two.
In the ninth,
Alex DeAngelis (Plymouth, Mich./Salem) allowed the first two batters to reach second and third with no outs following a pair of singles and a wild pitch. After a strikeout and walk that loaded the bases with one out, an error allowed the Scots to score one run but Bonemer threw the tying run out at the plate for the second out. With two outs and runners at second and third, DeAngelis struck out the final batter to secure the win for his fourth save of the season.
Seth finished the day with four runs allowed (three earned) on five hits and three strikeouts in 4.1 innings. Ferguson, Koning and DeAngelis combined for 4.2 innings of relief and allowed two runs on three hits while striking out six. Ferguson (1-1) earned the win in relief for his 2.0 innings.
The Knights finished with 10 total hits in the game, led by two apiece from
Logan Nelson (Fremont, Mich./Fremont), Swope and
Nathaniel Graham (Lake Odessa, Mich./Lakewood/Kalamazoo Valley CC).
COACH'S COMMENT: "Great series win on the road," Calvin head baseball coach
Joel Schipper said. "Guys competed until the end. Incredible relief performances from Fergie and Koning, and then LA (DeAngelis) does it again and slammed the door against a great Alma squad.
NEXT UP: Calvin baseball will return to action on Friday, April 11, when it travels to Trine University for the start of a three-game series. First pitch of that game is scheduled for 4:00 PM.
