By Mitch Blankespoor
WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - The Kalamazoo College baseball team split a twinbill with Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) foe Calvin College Monday, Mar. 24. The Hornets won the first gmae 4-3 and fell 15-1 in game two.
In the first game sophomore Dylan Pierce went the distance for Kalamazoo scattering five hits over seven innings. The Dexter native gave up two earned runs and three walks while striking out three.
Offensively, Kalamazoo got to Calvin pitcher Nate Schepers in the first two innings. Junior Carter Chandler drove in two runs in the frame after senior Mark Zughaib and junior Scott Devine reached base via a walk and a fielder's choice respectively.
In the second, freshman catcher Brett Garwood walked to start the inning. After a sacrifice bunt and a groundout, freshman shortstop Mitchell VanKoevering singled to center field driving in Garwood.
After the Knights got a run back in the home half of the second, the Hornets threatened again in the third. Kalamazoo got runners on second and third, but two groundouts ended the inning.
Calvin tied the game in the fourth inning when J.R. Fredrick found a whole driving in two runs.
Neither team would score until the seventh. Devine's sacrifice bunt became more than routine when Ben Guilfoyle, Calvin's pitcher, threw over the first baseman's head. Zughaib scored on the play.
Calvin's last chance, the bottom of the seventh yielded now runs. Despite the Knights getting the leadoff man on base for the fifth time in the game, Pierce forced the game-ending double play of the 4-6-3 variety.
Freshman Ian Kobernick led Kalamazoo going 3-4 on the day. As a team, Kalamazoo totaled 10 hits to Calvin's five.
"We have shown signs we can compete with the top teams in our league, and we did that in game one," Kalamazoo Head Coach Mike Ott said. "Dylan Pierce threw a phenomenal game exactly when we needed it."
Game two was not so pretty from a Hornet perspective. Kalamazoo surrendered 15 total runs in the game and allowed Calvin to score in all but one inning.
Kobernick drove in K's only run in the fifth inning.
"They [Calvin] showed why they were a good team in game two," Ott said. "I'm still proud of our guys for taking game one."
Freshman Ty Rock took the loss for Kalamazoo giving up six earned runs on nine Calvin hits in two innings of work. The lone pitching bright spot of game two came from Steve Simmons who did not give up a hit in 1.2 innings.
"This gives us a chance to get a split in the series if we can win Monday," Ott said. "We want to put ourselves in a position to make the league tournament."
Kalamazoo will play the final two games of its spring trip Mar. 25 against Colby and Mar. 26 against Thomas.