Strong starting pitching helps baseball team sweep Calvin, 8-2 and 2-1

OLIVET, Mich. – Behind strong starting pitching performance from freshmen Aaron Gillespie and Zac Walter, the Olivet College baseball team swept a doubleheader from Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) rival Calvin College, 8-2 and 3-1, this afternoon at the Cutler Athletic Complex in Olivet.

THE BASICS
Final Scores: Olivet 8, Calvin 2; Olivet 2, Calvin 1
Location: Cutler Athletic Complex; Olivet, Mich.
Records: Calvin 16-18 overall, 10-12 MIAA; Olivet 7-27 overall, 4-18 MIAA

HOW IT HAPPENED (GAME ONE)

• The Comets wasted no time in taking a 2-0 with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the first inning. Senior Austin Cleaver hit a triple down the right field line, and came around to score on Gillespie's RBI-single. Gillespie advanced to second on junior Colton Dawdy's single, went to third on a wild pitch and crossed the plate on a groundout off the bat of junior Aiden Holliday.
• The top of the lineup helped Olivet push across another run in the third. Cleaver led off with a single, went to third on Gillespie's double just down the left field line and scored on a passed ball.
• The Comets broke the game open with a five-run fifth inning. The big hit of the inning was a two-run double by freshman Alex Parthum.
• The Knights used a two-out hit in the seventh to plate their only runs.

FOR THE COMETS

• Gillespie went the distance on the mound, allowing the two runs on eight hits. He struck out four and walked one. 
• Gillespie helped his own cause at the plate, going 4-for-4 with two singles, two doubles and two runs scored.
• Cleaver also scored twice and had a pair of hits.
• Holliday drove in two runs.

FOR THE KNIGHTS

• Calvin totaled eight hits in the loss.
• Nate DeZwaan and Jonathan Keane each went 2-for-4.
• Keane collected two RBI.
• Jamie Bristol was the losing pitcher after yielding all eight runs (five earned) on 11 hits, while fanning six batters.

HOW IT HAPPENED (GAME TWO)

• Olivet took a 1-0 lead when Holliday deposited the first pitch of the second inning over the fence in left-center field for his second home run of the season.
• The Knights tied the game with a run in the fifth.
• The Comets immediately answered by scoring a run in the home half of the fifth inning on back-to-back-to-back singles by freshman Dillon Mitchell, Cleaver and Gillespie. The last one by Gillespie drove in Mitchell with what proved to be the winning run.
• Calvin did not go down without a fight.
• The Knights had two runs on base with out in the seventh inning. Olivet turned a double play to get out of the jam.
• In the eighth, Calvin had the tying run at third base before a hit batter and walk loaded the bases. Senior Brady Johnson came into pitch and got DeZwann to swing through three pitches for a strike out. The third strike was dropped but junior catcher Connor Murney alertly stepped on the home plate for the third out.
• In the ninth, the lead-off batter hit a double for the Knights but the Comets did not let the runner cross the plate.

FOR THE COMETS

• Walter started on the mound and threw 7.2 innings to earn the win. He yielded an unearned run on 12 hits.
• Johnson recorded the final four outs for his third save this season.
• At the plate, Gillespie notched three hits, all singles.
• The lone extra base hit was Holliday's home run.

FOR THE KNIGHTS

• DeZwaan and Mike Kempton both had three hits. Two of DeZwaan's hits were doubles.
• Colton Wolife also hit two doubles.
• Logan Marshall and Ryan Stewart each tallied two hits.
• Trevor VanDuyn threw all eight innings to be charged with the loss. He gave up the two runs on seven hits.

BEYOND THE BOX

• With the wins, Olivet swept a MIAA doubleheader for the first time since April 12, 2014. That day, the Comets beat Trine twice, 1-0 and 7-5.
• Gillespie finished the game with seven hits in eight at-bats to raise his batting average to .432.
• Cleaver's triple in the first game now gives him four in 2017 to tie the single-season school record.

UP NEXT

• The teams take tomorrow off and will complete the series Saturday afternoon with a doubleheader in Grand Rapids, starting at 1 p.m.