CLERMONT, FL - After a day of rest yesterday the Calvin softball team continued its spring trip when it went 1-1 against Westminster and Carthage.
 
GAME ONE
CALVIN 8, WESTMINSTER 0
 
In the first game of the day the Knights got out to a hot start when freshman Bella Duimstra (Jenison, Mich./Unity Christian) led off the bottom of the first inning with a single up the middle. Duimstra showed off her speed by stealing second base before a single from fellow freshman Audrey Ford (Kalamazoo, Mich./Mattawan) brought her home and gave Calvin the 1-0 lead.
 
The Knights kept things rolling in the second inning when senior Alanna Garcia (Holt, Mich./Holt) got on base off a double to left field and was brought in one the next at-bat when junior Jaye Guichelaar (Sparta, Mich./West Catholic) sent a rocket back up the middle.
 
The next scoring opportunity for the Knights came in the bottom of the fourth when junior Aubrey Herder (Kalamazoo, Mich./Kalamazoo Christian) and Guichelaar got on base with back-to-back singles. Up next, junior Mya Brickley (Battle Creek, Mich./Delton Kellogg) stepped into the batter's box and delivered a single up the middle to score Guichelaar before a double from senior Carly Dole (Mt. Pleasant, Mich./Mt. Pleasant) allowed two more runs to cross the plate and make the score 6-0.
 
Calvin tacked on another run in the fifth inning thanks to a defensive error from Westminster before Ford called game in the bottom of the sixth when she stole home on a wild pitch. 
 
Senior Brooke Hunderman (Grand Rapids, Mich./Calvin Christian) went all six innings for the Knights in the circle where she recorded a no-hitter and three strikeouts.
 
GAME TWO
CALVIN 2, CARTHAGE 6
 
The Knights looked to keep the momentum from their morning game rolling into the afternoon as they turned their attention to the Firebirds of Carthage. The first three innings passed quietly before Dole took advantage of a Firebird defensive error to give the Knights a baserunner in the top of the fourth. Junior Natalie Bush (Hudsonville, Mich./Unity Christian) did not let the opportunity go to waste as she stepped up and doubled to left center to advance Dole to third before a sacrifice fly from Garcia gave Calvin their first run of the game. Another defensive error from Carthage allowed Bush to score and the Knights finished the inning with a 2-0 lead.
 
However, in the bottom of the fifth inning, a few defensive errors from the Knights and some timely hits from the Firebirds allowed Carthage to not only get back into the game but take a 5-2 lead.
 
The Firebirds tacked on three more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to extend their lead to 8-2. In the top of the seventh, Calvin tried to find a spark as freshman Kendall Jordan (Fishers, Ind./Fishers) doubled down the left field line and Brickley forced a walk to give the Knights two baserunners. However, Carthage locked in defensively and retired the next two Calvin batters to close out the game.
 
Senior Emma Ludema (Martin, Mich./Wayland) started in the circle for Calvin where she pitched 4.1 innings and recorded three strikeouts. Hunderman entered the game for one inning before freshman Camila Ramirez-Quijada (South Bend, Ind./Mishawaka) also saw some time in the circle.
 
COACHES COMMENTS: "In game one I was really happy with our start and our bench energy was outstanding," said head coach Becky Hilgert. "We played a lot looser and executed well offensively in some key moments. In game two we had a lead but offensively I felt we pulled off the gas pedal and got complacent in some of our at bats. Defensively we made too many routine errors and we cannot give teams extra outs because then a few bloop hits change the course of the game. We face two more strong opponents tomorrow, so we have to come out ready to go and clean things up defensively."
 
UP NEXT: The Knights will be back in action tomorrow afternoon (Tuesday, March 9th) when they take on Western New England at 2:45 PM and Case Western Reserve at 4:45 PM.