ANGOLA, Mich. - Today the No. 4 seeded Calvin softball team took the field for their second game of the MIAA Tournament. After falling to No. 1 seeded Trine yesterday the Knights turned their attention to No. 3 seed Hope College in an elimination game.
 
In the bottom of the first inning, it was the Flying Dutch who got on the board first when a squeeze bunt call paid off and they pushed on run across the plate. In the next inning, Hope added three more runs to their total with a base clearing double to extend their lead over the Knights to 4-0.
 
However, the Knights got the offensive spark they were looking for in the top of the fourth when leadoff batter Taylor Sanborn (Midland, Mich./Midland) was hit by a pitch and took her free base. Two batters later, sophomore second baseman Emily Sweetland (Ann Arbor, Mich./Saline) showed off her power as she smashed a home run to center field and cut the Flying Dutch lead in half. 
 
Calvin kept things rolling in the top of the fifth inning when senior Lily Gaastra (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) and sophomore Aubrey Herder (Kalamazoo, Mich./Kalamazoo Christian) led off with back-to-back singles. Both runners moved into scoring position thanks to a fielder choice play before Gaastra took advantage of a wild pitch and stole home to cut the Hope lead down to one.
 
In the bottom of the inning, Hope managed to string together enough hits to push two more runs across the plate and Calvin headed into the sixth inning trailing 3-6. Looking to respond, Gaastra recorded her second hit of the game when she started a two-out rally with a single up the middle. Herder also recorded her second hit of the day when she followed up with a double to put both runners in scoring position. This brought up pinch hitter Mya Brickley (Battle Creek, Mich./Delton Kellogg) who cashed in both runs on a single to left field to cut the Hope lead down to one.
 
However, the bottom of the sixth inning proved to be bumpy for the Knights as some untimely defensive errors allowed the Flying Dutch to score four more runs and claim a 9-5 lead heading into the final inning.
 
Now, in a win-or-go home situation, Calvin tried to get a two out rally going when Sweetland singled up the middle. However, the Hope locked in defensively to record the final out and the Knights fell 5-9.
 
Junior Brooke Hunderman (Grand Rapids, Mich./Calvin Christian) started in the circle for the Knights while senior Zoe Hazelhoff (Kalamazoo, Mich./Kalamazoo Christian) and junior Emma Ludema (Martin, Mich./Wayland) each made appearances in the game.
 
Calvin finishes their season with a 22-18 overall record while going 9-7 in MIAA play.