On a miserable weather afternoon for baseball, the Scots hosted Calvin College in a doubleheader at Klenk Park on April 19. Alma won 6-5 in game one with the nightcap suspended because of rain/snow/cold.

Today, the second game was completed as Alma turned a 2-2 game into a 7-4 victory on a nice and sunny afternoon. With the game one victory, Alma is now 8-16 in the MIAA and 12-21 overall, while Calvin fell to 14-10 in the league and 15-19 in 2013.

In game one, Calvin took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first without any hits but had two walks and took advantage of a balk. The Scots tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the frame as Fr. CF John Mireles (Lansing, Mich./E. Lansing) led off with a single. He stole second base and moved to third on a ground-out before scoring on an error by the catcher.

The Knights scored two runs in the top of the second as they recorded one hit and had runners score on a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly for a 3-1 advantage. They added a single run in the top of the fourth to make it a 4-1 game.

The Scots answered in the bottom half of the fourth as Jr. 1B Alex Kravat (Auburn, Mich./Bay City Western) singled and moved to second on a wild pitch. So. LF Mostafa Ghonim (E. Elmhurst, N.Y./WC Bryant) hit an RBI double that scored Kravat to make it 4-2.

After Calvin increased the lead to 5-2 in the top of the fifth on an unearned run, the Scots answered with a half inning that would prove to be the difference in the game.

Alma tallied four runs on four hits in the fifth that put them ahead 6-5. Big hits in the frame came from So. 2B Jose Rosado (Corona, N.Y./Bryant), who had a RBI double, a RBI single by So. RF Blake Leddy (Saginaw, Mich./Swan Valley) and a two RBI single by So. LF Roderick MacNeil (Brethren, Mich./Brethren).

Each team had chances to score in the sixth but left runners on base, setting up a climactic seventh inning.

The Knights were able to load the bases off of Alma P Eric Strickler (Lapeer, Mich./Lapeer East) with two outs. However, Strickler dug down deep and stuck out the next batter to earn his second save of the season, preserving the 6-5 win.

Strickler pitched 1.2 innings, allowing one hit with three walks and two saves, while the winning pitcher was Fr. Blake Ordiway (Holly, Mich./Holly). Ordiway threw 1.2 innings and allowed one hit and half one walk en route to his first collegiate victory.

So. P Jose Velez (Tampa, Fla./S. Fort Myers) started for Alma and went 3.2 innings. He allowed two hits, with four earned runs, five walks and seven strikeouts. Kravat went two for three with two runs scored for the Scots in the win.

The nightcap only lasted two innings before the persistent snowfall and wet field conditions precipitated the suspension of the contest with the game tied at 2-2.

The Scots scored a run in the bottom of the first as Sr. SS Ryan Henris (Saginaw, Mich./Nouvel Catholic) singled to lead off the frame and eventually scored on a double steal. Calvin answered with two in the top of the second on two hits and were helped by a balk from Scots starting Jr. P Kevin Thompson (Petoskey, Mich./Petoskey).

A single by Fr. C A.J. Acton (Temecula, Calif./Linfield Christian) eventually led to the tying run when Henris tripled him home with two outs and making the score 2-2.

After a scoreless top of the third for Calvin, the Scots scored two in the bottom of the frame. The Scots had two hits and were helped by two errors, with the one RBI coming from Sr. 3B Matthew Cresswell (St. Louis, Mich./St. Louis). Alma added one more in the fourth on a RBI doubled by Kravat that scored Acton, who had singled.

Alma held the 5-2 lead until the top of the sixth when Calvin notched two runs off of Velez to cut the gap to 5-4. Alma responded with two of their own in the bottom of the frame on RBI's by Leddy and Sr. PH Cameron Schmidt (Port Austin, Mich./North Huron) to make it 7-4.

The Knights did not go quietly as they loaded the bases against Velez in the top of the seventh. With one out, Strickler came in to pitch and he closed the door to nail down the win and earn his fifth save of the season.