ALMA, Mich. – The Calvin University baseball team lost both games of its Friday doubleheader at Alma College.
Alma (22-9-1, 10-3 MIAA) started the day with a 12-2 win in eight innings before holding off a late Calvin (12-20, 3-10) comeback to win game two 8-6.
Game 1
Alma took control early and never looked back on the way to a 12-2 win in game one.
The first two batters of the game for the Scots walked and came around to score to give Alma an early 2-0 lead, and the Scots added three more runs in the second inning with the help of two Calvin defensive miscues to push the lead to 5-0.
The Knights got on the board for two runs in the sixth inning thanks to an RBI-double from
Gabe Bonemer (Okemos, Mich./Okemos) and a sacrifice fly by
Ryan Tschirhart (Clinton, Mich./Clinton) to cut the deficit to 5-2, but the Scots answered with two runs in the bottom half of the sixth and five more in the eighth inning to finish off the win.
Ethan DeBlecourt (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) fell to 2-1 on the season after allowing two runs on one hit and three walks in the start on the mound.
Evan Steinbacher (Sparta, Mich./Sparta) allowed five runs (three earned) on four hits while striking out four in 6.0 innings of relief.
Bonemer and
Landen Mikula (St. Johns, Mich./St. Johns) each had two hits for Calvin.
Game 2
A seven-run Alma fourth inning proved too much to overcome in an 8-6 defeat to the Scots in game two.
Mikula put the Knights on the board early with an RBI-groundout that scored Bonemer in the first inning, but Alma tied it up in the third inning on an unearned run.
In the fourth inning, the Scots capped a seven-run framed with a grand slam off Calvin reliever
Cam Seth (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) to build an 8-1 lead.
The Knights fought back in the bottom of the fourth, stringing together six hits and scoring four times thanks to an RBI double from
Parker Seth (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian), an RBI-single by
Brock Savage (Sterling Heights, Mich./Sterling Heights Stevenson), and a two-run home run by
Thomas Paplawsky (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Central) to cut the deficit back to 8-5.
Reliever
James Ross (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) kept the Knights within striking distance with five scoreless innings in relief (allowing three hits while striking out three), but the Knights still trailed 8-5 heading into the bottom of the ninth inning.
In their final at bat, Bonemer singled home Ruthven to cut the Alma lead to 8-6 and the Knights loaded the bases with two outs to put the winning run on base, but the Scots escaped the jam with a strikeout to end the game.
Cam Seth fell to 2-2 on the season in defeat after one inning of relief.
Bonemer, Tschirhart and Savage each had two hits for Calvin.
NEXT UP: Calvin baseball will return to action on Monday, April 18, when it hosts Alma for the third and final game of the series at 4:00 PM.
