Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 
by Tom Renner
The Hope College baseball opened MIAA conference play by splitting a doubleheader Friday at Kalamazoo College.
The Flying Dutchmen came storming back to win the nightcap, 20-1, after the Hornets won the opener, 6-3.
The same teams meet again Saturday for a league doubleheader at Boeve Stadium beginning at 1 p.m. Hope is 7-4 overall while Kalamazoo is 8-1.
Senior
Evan Maday (Grand Rapids, Michigan/East Kentwood) enjoyed a career day on the bases, highlighted by becoming Hope's all-time leader in stolen bases. He stole five bases in the doubleheader to raise his career total to 61, three better than the previous career mark of 58 steals by Mitch Van Putten from 1982-85.
At the plate, Maday was 4-for-7 on the day highlighted by a three-run home run in the nightcap.
"Evan is absolutely a great player, but he's a better kid," said coach
Stu Fritz. "He leads by example and he goes get it, be it at the plate, on the bases, and in centerfield."
In the nightcap, Hope exploded for six runs in the fourth inning to break a scoreless tie.
The Flying Dutchmen batted around in three consecutive innings to build the lead to 19 runs after six innings. It is Hope's first 20-run game since 2015 (22-1 vs. Finlandia) and the first against an MIAA opponent since 2010 (20-6 at Olivet).
Starting pitcher
Al Vasquez (Chelsea, Michigan/Chelsea) received credit for the win (3-1). Helping combine for the five-hitter were
Graham O'Gorman (Champaign, Illinois/Champaign Central),
Eli Kane (Holland, Michigan/Black River) and
Micah Holzwarth (Libertyville, Illinois/Libertyville).
Joey Merucci (Northville Township, Michigan/Detroit Catholic Central) and
Robbie Stuursma (Grand Rapids, Michigan/East Grand Rapids) each had three hits while Maday, Barrett and
Andrew Gilpin (Brighton, Michigan/Brighton) each had two.
In the opener, starters
Kameron Miller (2-2) for the Dutchmen and Jack Brockhaus (3-0) for the Hornets were locked in a pitching duel through five innings. Miller retired 10 consecutive batters at one point.
Kalamazoo scored an unearned run in the second inning and Hope answered with a run in the top of the sixth on an RBI single by Maday. The Flying Dutchmen had the bases loaded with no outs, but were unable to score again.
The Hornets responded with five runs in the bottom of the sixth inning chasing Miller who allowed just one earned run. He finished with three strikeouts and no walks.
Hope tried to make a game of it, scoring twice in the top of the seventh inning off RBI singles by
Spencer Cable (Hudsonville, Michigan/Hudsonville) and Maday who was two-for-three in the game with two RBIs. Hitting doubles were
Grant Barrett (Chelsea, Michigan/Chelsea) and
Andrew Gilpin (Brighton, Michigan/Brighton).
