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Baseball drops MIAA Tournament game 7-3 at Hope
Wednesday, May 08, 2013
Story by Mitch Blankespoor
HOLLAND, Mich. - For the third straight game at Boeve Stadium, the Calvin baseball team leaves with a loss. After falling to Hope both games in the MIAA regular season finale last Sat., the two rivals met again on Wed. May 8, the Knights dropped a 7-3 decision in the MIAA Tournament. Junior pitcher Nate Schepers took the loss, allowing seven runs on nine hits in 3.1 innings. Junior Cory Later pitched 4.1 innings of two-hit ball in relief. The Knights fell behind 7-1 after three complete innings, but battled back to within four on a two-RBI single in the sixth. Calvin could not get any closer. Sophomore Grant Van Putten led Calvin offensively with three singles in four plate appearances. Calvin returns to MIAA Tournament action tomorrow when the Knights travel to Boeve Stadium to face the Thunder of Trine University. The Thunder were defeated by Adrian 5-4 in the other MIAA Tournament game Wed.
Calvin College Wins MIAA Commissioner’s Cup!!!
Wednesday, May 08, 2013
For the first time since the 1999-2000 academic year, Calvin College has won the outright MIAA Commissioner’s Cup. Calvin finished the year with 216 points, finishing ahead of rival Hope which earned 205 points. At the conclusion of the 2007-08 year, Calvin and Hope shared the Commissioner’s Cup as the two schools tied for first place. Hope had since won the last four outright titles. The MIAA Commissioner’s Cup award is based on the cumulative performance of each member school in the league’s 20 sports for men and women. The final Commissioner’s Cup standings is determined on the basis of each college’s standings in eight of 10 sports for men and eight of 10 sports for women. The Commissioner’s Cup (All-Sports Award) has been presented since 1934-35. Hope has won the award 34 times, followed by Kalamazoo 15, Albion 14, Calvin 9 and Alma 5. In addition, Calvin took first place in the MIAA Men’s All-Sports standings with 102 points, finishing ahead of Hope which tallied 93. Calvin also took first place in the MIAA Women’s All-Sports standings with 114 points, edging Hope by two points. The 2012-13 academic year was an historic one for the Calvin athletics program as it captured an MIAA record 12 conference titles including 10 that were outright league crowns. Calvin competes in 19 of the 20 MIAA-sponsored sports. The Knights do not compete in football.
Grant Van Putten & Jalen Bouma Receive All-MIAA Baseball Honors
Tuesday, May 07, 2013
Two members of the Calvin baseball team have received All-MIAA accolades. Sophomore outfielder Grant Van Putten has been named to the All-MIAA first team while freshman shortstop Jalen Bouma has been named to the All-MIAA second team. A native of Holland and a graduate of Holland Christian High School, Van Putten batted .383 in conference games to rank fourth in the MIAA batting race. In league play, he also led the league in hits (36), finished second in runs scored (27) and total bases (48) and was third in stolen bases (14). Defensively, Van Putten compiled a fielding percentage of .970, committing just two errors in 66 total chances. 
Bouma hails from Ann Arbor and is a graduate of Ann Arbor Huron High School. Bouma is batting .317 on the season and also batted .330 in league play. Bouma also drove in 19 runs and scored 12 in league play. He was ranked fourth in the MIAA in runs driven in. Calvin is back in action on Wednesday when it travels to Hope for a first round MIAA Tournament game slated to start at 4 p.m. Calvin (16-23) is making its first appearance in the double-elimination four-team MIAA Tournament. Top-seeded Hope (26-13) will host the tournament games Wednesday-through-Friday with third-seeded Trine (22-18) and second-seeded Adrian (28-12) also competing.
Calvin to Travel to Hope for MIAA Baseball Tournament Wednesday Afternoon
Sunday, May 05, 2013
The pairings for the 2013 double-elimination MIAA Baseball Tournament have been announced. Calvin is the fourth seed, Trine the third seed, Adrian the second seed and Hope the top seed. On Wednesday, Calvin (16-23) will travel to Hope (26-13) for a first round game at 4 p.m. while Adrian (28-12) will host Trine (22-18) at 4 p.m. Wednesday’s winners will then meet in a winners’ bracket final at 10 a.m. on Thursday at Hope with Wednesday’s losers set to play in an elimination game at 1 p.m. A third game will follow at 4 p.m. Friday’s final is scheduled for noon with a second game to follow if necessary at 3 p.m.
MIAA TOURNAMENT BASEBALL PAIRINGS
Wednesday, May 8
Game 1: #4 Calvin (15-13, 16-23) at #1 Hope (20-8, 26-13), 4 p.m.
Game 2: #3 Trine (17-11, 22-18) at #2 Adrian (20-8, 28-12), 4 p.m.
MIAA Tournament - Thursday, May 9 at Hope
Game 3: Wednesday winners, 10 a.m.
Game 4: Wednesday losers, 1 p.m.
Game 5: Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 winner, 4 p.m.
MIAA Tournament - Friday, May 10 at Hope
Game 6: Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner, noon
Game 7: Game 6 opponents, if necessary, 3 p.m.
Baseball drops two at Hope - will return to face Hope in MIAA Tournament
Saturday, May 04, 2013
Story by Mitch Blankespoor, Photo Credit: Jeff Febus
HOLLAND, Mich. - After a two-game split with Hope at Fifth Third Ballpark Fri., May 3, the Calvin men’s baseball dropped two games by scores of 8-5 and 7-6 (9 innings) at Boeve Stadium on the campus of Hope College Sat., May 4. Fortunately for the Knights, they had already earned a berth in the MIAA Tournament for the first time in three years with the win at Fifth Third. Hope jumped all over the Knights in the first two innings of game one. The Flying Dutchmen scored one run in the first and seven runs in the second. Calvin chipped away at the lead scoring runs in three consecutive innings to cut the lead to 8-5. The Knights could not muster any more runs, and dropped game one. In game two, junior Cory Laster gave up three earned runs in five innings, and was in line for the win when Calvin scored four runs in the top of the sixth. Both teams scored a single run before Hope tied the game at 6-6 in the bottom of the seventh after Calvin walked the bases loaded. Hope eventually won the game on a walkoff single by TJ Klein in the bottom of the ninth. With its win, Hope clinches a share of the MIAA championship and the top seed in the MIAA Tournament. Calvin, now 16-23 on the season and 15-13 in the MIAA. The Knights clinch the fourth seed, and will return to Holland to face the Flying Dutchmen in the MIAA Tournament final. The game is scheduled for Wed., May 8. The time is to be determined.
Baseball Splits Twinight Doubleheader With Hope at Fifth Third Park - Clinches MIAA Tournament Berth
Friday, May 03, 2013
By Mark DeHaan
Looking to secure its position in the MIAA Tournament, the Calvin Knights baseball team hosted the Flying Dutchmen of Hope College on Friday afternoon at nearby Fifth Third Ballpark. In order to claim a top-four spot, Calvin had to win at least one game or see Olivet drop at least one game to Kalamazoo. Both scenarios worked out for Calvin on Friday as Kalamazoo defeated Olivet 4-1 earlier in the day while Calvin split its doubleheader with Hope. In game one, the Knights got off to a tough start, giving Hope a 4-0 lead in the first en route to a 6-5 loss. In game two, it was Calvin that jumped out to an early lead it would not relinquish, scoring six in the first inning on its way to an 8-1 victory. Calvin will close out the regular season on Saturday at Hope with a doubleheader slated to start at 1 p.m.
Calvin’s Jalen Bouma Named MIAA Baseball Player of the Week
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Calvin shortstop Jalen Bouma, a freshman from Ann Arbor (Huron HS) is this week’s MIAA Baseball Player of the Week. Last week, Bouma hit .471 (8-for-17) and drove in seven runs as the Knights took three out of four in an MIAA weekend series against Albion. He went 3-for-5 with four RBIs, including a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth, to lift Calvin to a 6-5 win over the Britons, then later went 3-for-5 with three RBIs in an 18-0 win over Albion. Bouma, who is being honored as Player of the Week for the first time in his career, added three runs, two doubles and two stolen bases for the series.
MIAA Tournament Berth Remains Elusive For Calvin Baseball Team After Loss at Alma
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
ALMA - A berth in the upcoming four-team MIAA Tournament remains elusive for the Calvin baseball team. The Knights need either a win or an Olivet loss this week to clinch their first-ever league tournament berth. On Tuesday, Calvin got neither as it dropped a 7-4 decision at Alma in a conference game that originally began on April 19 but was suspended after two innings because of weather with the game tied 2-2. Calvin will now prepare for a four-game weekend series with rival Hope. The Knights will host Hope Friday night in a twinight doubleheader at Fifth Third Ballpark in Comstock Park with first pitch slated for 5:30 p.m. On Saturday, Calvin will travel to Hope’s Boeve Stadium for a 1 p.m. twinbill.
Baseball Nipped by Cornerstone 9-8 in Non-Conference Game
Monday, April 29, 2013
Calvin dropped a non-conference 9-8 decision at Cornerstone University Monday afternoon. The Knights are now 15-19 on the season.Calvin held an early 4-0 lead but Cornerstone tied the game with four runs in the bottom of the second. Calvin regained the lead with two runs in the top of the third but the Golden Eagles scored three in the fifth and two in the seventh while Calvin came up with single runs in the seventh and eighth.Calvin used four pitchers in the game with sophomore Tom Bouwkamp (0-1) taking the loss in defeat. Max Crimp, Jeremy Kamp and Austin Juza also saw time with Crimp receiving the start and tossing the first three innings for the Knights. Calvin had 14 hits in the loss with freshman Jalen Bouma leading the way by going 3-for-4 with a double. Over his last five games, Bouma is batting .524 (11-for-21) and has raised his season batting average to .311. Also collecting two hits apiece were sophomore Grant VanPutten, senior Mike Fuller, junior Jack Jorgenson and senior Tyler Tos. Freshman Travis Kraai also had a triple with two runs batted in. Calvin is back in action on Tuesday when it travels to Alma to resume a conference game that was suspended because of weather on April 19 with the teams tied 2-2 after two innings. The resumption of the game will begin at 5 p.m. on Tuesday.
Baseball Sweeps Twinbill at Albion - Moves Closer to MIAA Tournament Berth
Saturday, April 27, 2013
ALBION – Calvin moved closer to securing a berth in the upcoming four-team MIAA Tournament with a doubleheader sweep at Albion Saturday afternoon, winning by scores of 18-0 and 5-2. Calvin is now 15-18 overall and more importantly 14-9 in the MIAA. The Knights are in firm control of fourth place in the league standings and within striking distance of third place Trine. In Saturday’s opener, Calvin exploded for 19 hits while sophomore Nate Schepers and Ben Guilfoyle combined on the shutout with Schepers picking up his third victory of the year. Freshman Jalen Bouma went 3-for-5 with three runs batted in while sophomore Ben Wohl also had three hits. Collecting two hits apiece for the Knights were senior Tyler Tos, sophomore Grant VanPutten and freshman J.R. Frederick. In game two, junior Cory Laster went the distance to pick up his third win of the year. Laster struck out one and scattered five hits. Calvin struck for four runs in the second inning and added a single run in the third to build a five-run cushion. Albion scored two runs in bottom of the seventh before Laster ended the comeback attempt. Wohl had two of Calvin’s eight hits while freshman Travis Kraai drove in a pair of runs. Calvin will travel to Cornerstone on Monday for a 3 p.m. game.
