By John Leerar

The Calvin baseball team won both ends of a twinbill against the Britons of Albion College Saturday Afternoon. They won the first game 1-0 before taking the next game 3-2.

The opener was a low-scoring affair, with neither team managing a run for the first five innings. In the bottom of the sixth, junior Grant Van Putten (Holland/Holland Christian HS) singled to left before stealing second. A fly out by senior Matt Schepel (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) advanced Van Putten to third, after which he scored on a wild pitch.

That run proved to be the decider, as Calvin went on to win 1-0.

Senior southpaw Cory Laster (Ludington/Ludington HS) pitched an absolute gem, going the distance while allowing just four hits and striking out four. He improves his record to 3-2 on the year.

In game two, four Knight errors led to two Albion runs, allowing the Britons to take a 2-0 lead. The score remained that way until the bottom of the seventh.

In the seventh, Calvin loaded the bases with two out. Walks to sophomore Travis Kraai (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) and Matt Schepel allowed the Knights to tie the ball game up at two runs apiece.

With junior Peter Cupery (Holland/Holland Christian HS) at the plate, the Britons were caught off guard when Van Putten stole home on a throw back from the Albion catcher to the pitcher. Van Putten was safe, and the Knights went home victorious, 3-2.

"Grant has done that before (stolen home) and he had the green light to go," said Calvin head coach John Sparks. "He timed it perfectly and made a huge play.  With his speed, he can create a lot of havoc on the basepaths."

The steal of home was Van Putten's 22nd stolen base of the year on 24 attempts. He is currently ranked third nationally in stolen bases per-game. He is one shy of matching his own Calvin single-season record of 23 steals set a year ago. In addition, he is the Calvin career leader in stolen bases with 66.

Senior Grant VanderWall (Wyoming/South Christian HS) earned the win, pitching all seven innings and giving up no earned runs on six hits with four strikeouts.

"We had some trouble getting things going offensively today," Sparks said. "We found ways to win two games. I give the guys a lot of credit for hanging tough."

With the win, Calvin improves to 14-11 on the year, with a 9-7 record in the MIAA.

The Knights return to action on Tuesday, when they travel to Aquinas for a non-conference doubleheader.