GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Today the Calvin women's softball team played its first home game of the 2026 where it took on Raven of Anderson College. After falling to Anderson in the first game the Knights went on to win the nightcap as they moved to a 9-5 overall record.
 
GAME ONE
CALVIN 2, ANDERSON 3
 
In the first game of the day the Knights and Ravens quickly found themselves in a pitching battle as the first three innings passed scoreless. In the circle, senior pitcher Brooke Hunderman (Grand Rapids, Mich./Calvin Christian) worked to keep the Anderson hitter off balance as her defense made plays behind her.
 
It wasn't until the bottom of the fourth inning when Calvin got things rolling offensively as senior Carly Dole (Mt. Pleasant, Mich./Mt. Pleasant) hit a leadoff single. Tory Decker (Hudsonville, Mich./Unity Christian) gave the Knights another base runner when she forced a walk before a single from freshman Audrey Ford (Kalamazoo, Mich./Mattawan) scored both runs to give Calvin a 2-0 lead.
 
Runs remained hard to come by for both teams until the top of the seventh when a two-out-two-run single from the Ravens suddenly tied the score at 2-2. In the bottom of the seventh, despite a two-out triple from freshman Kendall Jordan (Fishers, Ind./Fishers), Calvin couldn't find a way to bring her home and we headed into extra innings.
 
In the top of the eighth inning, with a runner starting on second, Anderson was able to string together enough hits to push one run across the plate and take a slim 3-2 lead over Calvin. In the bottom of the inning, the Knights got themselves in a jam when the Raven turned a ground ball to the shortstop into a double play and halted Calvin's momentum. Anderson closed things out by retiring the sign on the next play and the Knights fell 2-3.
 
In the circle, Hunderman went all seven eight innings and recorded a season high twelve strikeouts.
 
GAME TWO
CALVIN 5, ANDERSON 4
 
In game two, the Ravens used their momentum from the first game and took an early lead. Their first run crossed the plate in the top of the second inning before they added two more in the top of the fourth to make the score 3-0.
 
On the other hand, Calvin struggled to find their bats as they went scoreless for the first six innings of the game. However, in the bottom of the seventh, with their backs against the wall, Decker notched a leadoff single to give the Knights a baserunner. Sophomore Reese Veltman (Wayland, Mich./Wayland) entered the game as a pinch runner and was moved into scoring position thanks to a sacrifice fly from Jordan.
 
Up next, Mya Brickley (Battle Creek, Mich./Delton Kellogg) sent a shot back up the middle to score Veltman for Calvin's first run of the game. Two batters later, junior Natalie Bush (Hudsonville, Mich./Unity Christian) came in clutch as she ripped a double top right center and scored two runs to tie the game at 3-3. Anderson locked in defensively and recorded the final out in the seventh but for the second time tonight the teams needed extra innings to decide a winner.
 
Anderson did enough in the top of the eighth to score one run and take a 4-3 lead. Freshman Bella Duimstra (Jenison, Mich./Unity Christian) started on second base in the bottom of the inning for the Knights and was quickly moved to third when junior Aubrey Herder (Kalamazoo, Mich./Kalamazoo Christian) beat out a bunt at first. While the Ravens defense kept an eye on Duimstra, Herder took second and suddenly Calvin had two runners in scoring position with no outs. 
 
On the next play, the Knights took advantage of a costly pitching error as Duimstra scored on a wild pitch to tie the score at 4-4. Dole and Decker forced back-to-back walks to load the base and bring Jordan to the plate. The Ravens pitched and Jordan battled through an eight pitch at-bat before Jordan prevailed and forced the walk to bring the run to secure the Knights 5-4 victory.
 
Senior Emma Ludema (Martin, Mich./Wayland) started the game in the circle where she pitched seven innings before sophomore Cailin Knoop (Reed City, Mich./Big Rapids) entered the game in the eight and recorded the win.
 
UP NEXT: The Knights will be back in action on Tuesday, March 24th when they welcome Chicago for a non-conference double header. Game one is set to begin at 3:00 PM with game two following shortly after at 5:00 PM.