HOLLAND, Mich. - Today the Calvin women's softball team traveled to take on rival Hope College in its final doubleheader of the regular season. After falling in an eleven-inning thriller in game one the Knights also dropped game two to move to 22-6 overall and 9-7 in the MIAA.
 
GAME ONE
Hope 3, Calvin 2
 
In the first game of the day, it became clear quickly that the game would be a battle. After two scoreless innings it was Hope which got on the board first when it pushed a run across the plate in the bottom of the third inning. 
 
Looking to respond, Calvin got a spark in the top of the fifth inning when freshman Valeria Frias (Wyoming, Mich./Potters House) forced a walk before sophomore Aubrey Herder (Kalamazoo, Mich./Kalamazoo Christian) was hit by a pitch and took her free base. Up next, Carly Dole (Mt. Pleasant, Mich./Mt. Pleasant) singled to second base to load the bases for senior catcher Taylor Sanborn (Midland, Mich./Midland). 
 
Looking to make the most of the opportunity, a hard ground ball from Sanborn forced an error from the Flying Dutch defense and Herder crossed the plate for Calvin's first run of the game. Two plays later, Dole showed off her speed as she took advantage of a wild pitch and stole home to give the Knights the 2-1 lead.
 
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Hope didn't wait long to bounce back as they strung together enough hits to score a run of their own and tie the game at 2-2. 
 
When the next two innings went scoreless the two rivals looked to continue the battle as they headed into extra innings. While the Dutch defense kept the Knights scoring opportunities to a minimum, Calvin pitcher Brooke Hunderman (Grand Rapids, Mich./Calvin Christian) did the same as she worked to keep the Hope hitter off-balance.
 
However, in the bottom of the eleventh inning, a risky play from the Dutch paid off when a squeeze bunt allowed the runner from third to cross the plate and Calvin fell 3-2.
 
Hunderman went all eleven innings for Calvin and recorded eight strikeouts.
 
GAME TWO
HOPE 1, Calvin 0
 
In game two the Knights had a good scoring opportunity in the bottom of the first inning when Frias knocked a lead off single to right field. She advanced to second when Herder laid down a sacrifice bunt but would end up being stranded when the Dutch retired the next two Calin batters to get out of the inning.
 
In the top of the third inning, Hope took advantage of a Calvin defensive error and pushed a runner across to take a 1-0 lead. The Knight gave themselves a shot in the fourth and fifth inning when they got runners in scoring position but would fail to finish the job and would ultimately lead the runners stranded.
 
In the bottom of the seventh, with Hope retaining a 1-0, Calvin found itself in a must-score situation. With two outs, senior Emma Walker (Hamilton, Mich./Saugatuck) gave the Knights some life when she singled to left field to give Calvin a baserunner. However, on the next play the Flying Dutch locked in and recorded the final out of the game and the Knights fell 1-0
 
Frias recorded two hits during the game while Decker, Pepin, and Walker each had one. Junior Emma Ludema (Martin, Mich./Wayland) started in the circle for Calvin before being relieved by senior Zoe Hazelhoff (Kalamazoo, Mich./Kalamazoo Christian) in the sixth inning. 
 
UP NEXT: Calvin is in a three-way tie for third place in the final MIAA standings and will await MIAA Tournament tiebreaker announcements later this weekend.