ADRIAN, Mich. – The Calvin University baseball team saw its season come to an end with a 5-1 defeat at Adrian College in an MIAA Tournament elimination game on Thursday.
 
Calvin (23-18) led 1-0 through five innings but Adrian (25-16) scored five times in the sixth inning to take control on the way to the win.
 
Noah Swope (Portage, Mich./Portage Central) helped the Knights jump on top in the second inning with a leadoff double and came around to score on an RBI-single from Nate Mason (Portage, Mich./Portage Northern), but the Knights were unable to take advantage of other opportunities to score early in the game.
 
Calvin loaded the bases in the first inning without producing a run and left two more on base in the fifth inning, allowing the Bulldogs to stay within one.
 
In the sixth inning, Adrian led off with a single and followed with a pair of bunt singles to load the bases with zero outs. Calvin starting pitcher Evan Steinbacher (Sparta, Mich./Sparta) retired the next two batters, but Adrian's Easton Rogers hit a two-out grand slam to put the Bulldogs on top.
 
The Knights threatened one last time in the top of the ninth inning as they loaded the bases against the Bulldogs' bullpen but could not push any runs across as Adrian escaped the jam and secured the win.
 
Steinbacher (3-2) went the first 5.2 innings in defeat and allowed five runs on seven hits, with six of those hits coming in the sixth inning.
 
Logan Nelson (Fremont, Mich./Fremont) went 4-4 at the plate to lead a Calvin offense that finished with 12 hits for the game. Mason, Ryan Tschirhart (Clinton, Mich./Clinton) and Gabe Bonemer (Okemos, Mich./Okemos) each had two hits for Calvin.
 
Calvin finished the 2025 season, the first under head coach Joel Schipper, with the most wins (23) for the program in a season since 2014. The Knights also finished second in the MIAA standings to match its highest finish since 2017.
 
COACH'S COMMENT: "Big thank you to our seniors for laying the foundation for the future of our program," Schipper said. "Not the finish we wanted, but super proud of our guys for competing until the very end. Excited for the future!"