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Mady Pahl swings vs. Alma
Lynne Powe
Pictured, junior Mady Pahl
0
Alma ALMA 17-12
2
Winner Hope HOPE 24-10
Alma ALMA
17-12
0
Final
2
Hope HOPE
24-10
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Alma ALMA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 0
Hope HOPE 0 0 0 0 0 2 X 2 4 0

W: Vermeesch, Samantha (8-5) L: M. Kenney (10-5)

6
Winner Hope HOPE 25-10
2
Alma ALMA 17-13
Winner
Hope HOPE
25-10
6
Final
2
Alma ALMA
17-13
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Hope HOPE 0 0 0 0 2 4 0 6 12 0
Alma ALMA 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 9 2

W: Mellec, Hailey (3-2) L: M. Westall (6-8)

Game Recap: Softball | | Alan Babbitt

Softball Takes Two from Alma, Sets Up First-Place Showdown

A diligent and determined Hope College softball team has earned an opportunity few outside of its circle projected at the start of the season.

The Flying Dutch are playing for an MIAA regular-season championship during the season's final week after sweeping a doubleheader from Alma College, 2-0 and 6-2, on Thursday at Wolters Softball Stadium.

Hope, picked fifth in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll, leads the league by one game with an 11-1 league record. Two doubleheaders remain against two nationally-ranked opponents. 

Defending MIAA and NCAA Division III national champion Trine University visits Wolters Stadium for Senior Day on Saturday, April 27, at 1 p.m. The Flying Dutch play Calvin University on Friday, May 3, at 3 p.m. Trine is in second place in the MIAA standings, Calvin third.

No matter the outcome, the Flying Dutch clinched a spot in the four-team MIAA Tournament on Thursday-Friday, May 9-10, hosted by the regular-season champion. Taking two from Alma guaranteed that opportunity.

On Thursday, Hope (25-10 overall) used timely hitting, flawless defense and unflinching pitching to turn back the Scots twice.

In Game 1, junior shortstop Mady Pahl (Beaverton, Michigan / Beaverton HS) ripped a two-out, two-run double in the bottom of the sixth inning to break a scoreless tie. 

"I felt the whole game we had good at-bats [in Game 1]," head coach Michelle Brander Metiva said. "Their pitcher did a really good job throwing off our timing. I felt we still stuck with it. Mady just jumping on that pitch was a great at-bat."

The go-ahead hit that scored senior centerfielder Peyton Benjamin (Eaton Rapids, Michigan / Eaton Rapids) and freshman third baseman Eliana Ruhrup (Mattawan, Michigan / Mattawan) developed after an obstruction ruling on Benjamin's stolen-base attempt kept the inning going for the Flying Dutch.

Winning pitcher Samantha Vermeesch (Ithaca, Michigan / Ithaca) fired a complete-game shutout that featured her second double-digit strikeout game of the season with 10.

The righthander allowed seven hits but did not walk a batter. Vermeesch (8-5) thwarted Alma's final rally in the seventh by retiring the final two batters on flyouts and stranding runners at first and second.

In Game 2, Hope grabbed a 2-1 lead in the top of the fifth when senior leftfielder Emily Martin (Whitehall, Michigan / Whitehall) smacked a two-run triple.

The Flying Dutch loaded the bases in the sixth, then tacked on four more runs for a 6-1 lead. 

Senior designated hitter Grace Henry (Hudsonville, Michigan / Hudsonville) delivered a two-run single. The next batter, senior first baseman Jennaka Bultman (Shawnee, Kansas / Shawnee Mission), followed with a two-run single of her own.

Three Hope pitchers combined to allow nine hits but only two runs.

Freshman reliever Hailey Mellec (Commerce Township, Michigan / Walled Lake Northern) tossed three scoreless innings to earn the decision. Mellec (3-2) struck out one and walked one.

Hope did not commit an error over 14 innings.

Brander praised her team's pitching against Alma (17-13, 4-6 MIAA).

"Alma takes some big swings and, from the beginning, they had some good contact," Brander said. "We knew we needed to keep mixing it up. We have a great staff, and they all throw a little differently. We were mixing it up to keep them off-balance."

 
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