By Greg Chandler

The Hope College softball team staged a thrilling comeback Thursday afternoon to complete a sweep of a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association doubleheader at Kalamazoo College.

Trailing 6-2 going into the bottom of the seventh, the Flying Dutch erupted for five runs, including three with two outs, to edge the Hornets 7-6. Hope overcame an early 3-1 deficit in the opener to defeat Kalamazoo in six innings, 13-3.

The Flying Dutch improved to 7-1 in the MIAA and 16-6 overall with the sweep.

In that second game, senior third baseman Bre Nolan of Metamora, Michigan [Lapeer HS] and junior catcher Haley Bennett of Livonia, Michigan [Franklin HS] opened the seventh with singles. Sophomore right fielder Grace Henry, pictured right, of Hudsonville, Michigan [Hudsonville HS] continued her hot hitting with her seventh hit of the day, an RBI single to left, to cut the Kalamazoo lead to 6-3.

Then after back-to-back outs, senior first baseman Kaelin Callow of Plainfield, Illinois [Plainfield HS] delivered a single to left-center, scoring pinch-runner Emily Martin of Whitehall, Michigan [Whitehall HS] to pull Hope within 6-4. Henry took third on the single and Callow advanced to second on the throw home, putting the tying runs in scoring position.

A Kalamazoo error on a ground ball by junior designated player Lexi Potapczak of Naperville, Illinois [Benet Academy] allowed Henry and Callow to score, tying the game at 6-6.

Then, sophomore left fielder Vanessa Krombeen of Grand Rapids, Michigan [Grandville Calvin Christian HS] came through with the walk-off blow, a double up the gap in right-center that scored Potapczak with the game-winning run.

Sophomore right-hander Alaina Adams of Oak Creek, Wisconsin [St. Thomas More HS] picked up the win in the relief to improve to 4-1 on the season. Adams pitched the last 1-1/3 innings, allowing one hit and striking out two.

In the opener, Kalamazoo scored all three of its runs in the first inning to take a 3-1 lead. But the Flying Dutch quickly erased the lead in the top of the second when junior shortstop Cayley Ebeling of Shelby Township, Michigan [Utica HS] belted a two-run homer over the center field fence, her third homer of the season.

The Flying Dutch then took the lead in the fourth with three runs, starting with a walk, sacrifice bunt, throwing error and a passed ball that allow Ebeling to score the tie-breaking run. Henry later added a two-run single as the Hope lead grew to 6-3. 

In the fifth, Henry struck again, doubling down the left-field line to score two more runs. She then came around to score on a single by sophomore center fielder Peyton Benjamin of Eaton Rapids, Michigan [Eaton Rapids HS], and Hope led 9-3.

Hope then tacked on four more runs in the sixth to activate the run-rule, capped off by Henry's fifth RBI of the game on a double to right-center. She went 4-for-5 in the opener with two runs scored, then followed with a 3-for-4 performance, including a home run, with two runs scored and two RBIs in the nightcap. In MIAA play so far this season, Henry is hitting .500 [16-for-32] with two home runs, 10 RBIs and 10 runs scored.

Ebeling scored three runs and drove in two runs in the first game. Bennett slammed her second home run of the season as part of a 2-for-3 performance in game two.

Senior right-hander Avery Slancik of Scotts, Michigan [Vicksburg HS] improved to 6-5 on the season by picking up the win in the first game. She scattered seven hits over five innings, striking out two and walking four.

The Flying Dutch now head to Indiana for a stretch of three doubleheaders in four days, starting with a twinbill on Friday at Franklin College. First pitch is 3:30 p.m.