The Hope College softball team battled with determination on day two of the MIAA Tournament on Thursday, securing a 9-5 victory against Calvin University in one elimination game before dropping a second elimination game to top-seeded and host Trine University, 5-2.
The Flying Dutch completed the season with a 22-17 record.
Hope started the day strong, notching a third win over the Knights (22-18) in just six days. A doubleheader sweep on Saturday propelled the Orange and Blue into postseason play.
The Flying Dutch wasted no time setting the tone, as junior Gianna Kerschbaum (Baroda, Michigan / Stevensville-Lakeshore HS) drove in the game's first run in the bottom of the opening inning.
Kerschbaum kept the momentum going in the second, launching a bases-clearing double to extend Hope's lead to 4-0. Calvin chipped away at the deficit with a home run in the fourth and scoring on a wild pitch in the fifth, narrowing Hope's advantage to 4-3.
The Flying Dutch responded swiftly with a clutch two-run single from freshman Mia Vanderheide (Caledonia, Michigan / Jenison International), reestablishing a multi-run lead, 6-3.
Calvin threatened once more in the sixth, cutting the margin to a single run, but Hope countered again with another offensive surge, tacking on three runs to secure the victory.
Kerschbaum led the charge with five RBIs on two doubles, while senior Mady Pahl (Beaverton, Michigan / Beaverton) added two hits.
The Flying Dutch swiped six bases in the contest, utilizing their speed to keep pressure on Calvin's defense.
In the circle, Kerschbaum earned the win, allowing just three hits over four innings, while sophomore Hailey Mellec (Commerce Township, Michigan / Walled Lake Northern) stepped in to close out the game, earning her first save of the season.
Against fifth-ranked Trine, the Thunder jumped ahead quickly, launching a two-run homer in the first inning. Hope responded in the second when freshman Mikayla Derks (Saint John, Indiana / Iliana Christian) knocked an RBI single to trim the deficit to 2-1.
After Trine added another run in the second, Hope kept the pressure on in the third, as freshman Jalen Fossitt's (Onondaga, Michigan / Leslie) RBI single brought home another run to make it 3-2.
The Thunder, however, pushed across two more runs in the fourth. Despite Hope's persistence at the plate, the Flying Dutch couldn't manufacture a late rally.
Derks paced the offense with three hits, while Fossitt and sophomore Sophie Stironek (Lake Orion, Michigan / Lake Orion) each recorded two.
Kerschbaum pitched a complete game, striking out five in six innings.
