Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 by Alan Babbitt
The Hope College softball team turned two at Calvin University on Thursday, winning 2-1 and 4-2 to remain with sole possession of first place in the MIAA standings.
The first doubleheader sweep of the Knights since 2014 kept the Flying Dutch one game ahead of Trine University and Alma College with a 9-1 MIAA record.
Hope also improved to 20-8 overall, marking the ninth time in 12 seasons the Flying Dutch have reached the 20-win mark under head coach Mary VandeHoef.
In Game 1, Hope jumped to a 2-0 lead with runs in the first and fifth innings.
In the top of the first, junior cleanup hitter Lexi Potapczak knocked in sophomore right fielder Grace Henry (Hudsonville, Michigan / Hudsonville) from third with a one-out infield single. With 23 RBIs, Potapczak is one of six Flying Dutch with at least 20 RBIs.
The Flying Dutch extended their lead to 2-0 on a fifth-inning RBI double from senior first baseman Kaelin Callow (Plainfield, Illinois / Plainfield) that scored sophomore centerfielder Peyton Benjamin (Eaton Rapids, Michigan / Eaton Rapids), pictured left. Benjamin reached base to start the inning on an error and scored two batters later on Callow's 24th RBI. It was the second time in the game Hope capitalized on a Calvin error.
Winning pitcher Avery Slancik (7-6) went the distance, striking out two while yielding seven hits and two walks. The senior right-hander from Scotts, Michigan (Vicksburg HS) only allowed a sixth-inning sacrifice fly to Addi Warner.
In Game 2, the Flying Dutch charged to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first.
Senior second baseman Arinn King (Hudsonville, Michigan / Hudsonville) doubled home Henry, who led off with a single, and Benjamin, who reached base on an error. King leads the Flying Dutch with 25 RBIs.
Two batters later, King scored on a one-out grounder by sophomore left fielder Vanessa Krombeen (Grand Rapids, Michigan / Calvin Christian), pictured right.
Calvin (19-9, 8-4 MIAA) answered with runs in the third and fourth to make the score 3-2.
In the sixth, sophomore catcher Sydney Zombo (Clinton Township, Michigan / Fraser) scored for Hope when the Knights misplayed King's grounder for an unearned run.
Sophomore reliever Alaina Adams (Oak Creek, Wisconsin / St. Thomas More) earned the win by throwing four innings of one-run relief. Adams (6-1) allowed three hits and one walk while striking out one. Starting pitcher Chloe Haskins (Brighton, Michigan / Brighton) held the Knights to one run on four hits and two walks while striking out five.
Hope's next games are Saturday, April 23, at 1 p.m. against Saint Mary's College at Wolters Stadium. It is Senior Day.
