GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Today the Calvin softball team hosted the Scots of Alma College for a MIAA doubleheader where they went 1-1.
 
GAME ONE
CALVIN 1, ALMA 2
 
In the first game of the evening the pitchers took center stage as the competition turned into what could be called a defensive dual. Both pitchers worked to keep opposing batters off balance as senior duo Carly Dole (Mt. Pleasant, Mich./Mt. Pleasant) and Tory Decker (Hudsonville, Mich./Unity Christian) recorded the Knights only two hits through the first seven innings.
 
On the other side, senior Brooke Hunderman (Grand Rapids, Mich./Calvin Christian) kept Alma at bay by only giving up two hits and not allowing any runs through seven innings as we headed into extras.
 
It wasn't until the top of the eighth inning when the Scots finally broke through the Calvin defense and pushed one run across the plate. In the bottom of the inning, desperately needing a run, the Knights found a spark when sophomore Valeria Frias (Wyoming, Mich./Potters House) sent a lead-off single back up the middle. Sophomore Emily Cole (Canton, Mich./Canton) entered the game as a pinch runner and was quickly moved into scoring position when junior Aubrey Herder (Kalamazoo, Mich./Kalamazoo Christian) laid down a sacrifice bunt. Two batters later, freshman Audrey Ford (Kalamazoo, Mich./Mattawan) stepped up and cashed in on the opportunity as she crushed a single down the right field line to score Cole and tie the game at 1-1.
 
The ninth inning passed scoreless, and the game continued into the tenth inning where Alma snuck another run across the plate to take a 2-1 lead. With international tie-breaker rules coming into effect, Frias started the bottom of the inning at second base and was moved to third when Herder laid down her second sacrifice bunt of the game. However, that's as far as she would make it as the Scots took care of business defensively and retired the final two Calvin batters to pick up the 2-1 victory.
 
Hunderman went all ten innings for the Knights where she finished with twelve strikeouts and only giving up six hits.
 
GAME TWO
CALVIN 5, ALMA 4
 
In the nightcap, Alma once again scored the first run of the game when they strung together enough hits to push a run across the plate in the bottom of the third inning. However, this time the Knights did not wait long to respond as junior Natalie Bush (Hudsonville, Mich./Unity Christian) led off the top of the fourth with a single to left center.
 
Decker took advantage of a fielder error to get on base before junior Emily Sweetland (Ann Arbor, Mich./Saline) brought both runners home with a single up the middle to give Calvin a 2-1 lead. Calvin kept things rolling when they loaded the bases a few batters later which brought up Ford who once again came up clutch when she hit a two RBI single up the middle to stretch the Knights lead to 4-1.
 
The next few innings passed scoreless until the bottom of the sixth inning when the Scots got hot offensively and scored three runs to tie the score at 4-4. In the top of the seventh, Ford recorded her third hit of the game when she hit a lead off single up the middle. Dole moved her into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt before a double over the center fielder's head from Bush once again put the Knights on top.
 
In the bottom of the seventh, the Knights stood tall on defense as they shut down any opportunity the Scots tried to create and eventually walked away with the 5-4 win.
 
Senior Emma Ludema (Martin, Mich./Wayland) started the game in the circle for the Knights where she went 5.1 innings before being relieved by sophomore Cailin Knoop (Reed City, Mich./Big Rapids). Knoop was credited with the win, her third of the season, while Hunderman entered the game in the bottom of the seventh to pick up the save.
 
UP NEXT: The Knights will be back in action tomorrow afternoon when they take on Olivet at 3 PM and 5 PM. The double header will take place at Cornerstone University where Calvin will also be celebrating Senior Day.