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photo by Lujan HEADING HOME: Rhonda Volkers leads the Knights with 5 doubles and 20 total bases in league play entering the season’s homestretch.

The Calvin softball team is taking it one fight at a time.

At least that’s the philosophy their coach, Amber Warners, espouses as the team faces a critical home game against MIAA second-placers Olivet College tomorrow. Obviously, she noted, the game with Olivet is an important one; after all, both are “up there” in MIAA rankings (with Calvin at number four).

A victory would boost Calvin’s place in Michigan collegiate softball’s pecking order. It would also bring the team within range of first-place Alma and third-place Hope while permanently routing charges that the Knights are youthful and inexperienced.

On the other hand, Warners says, “For us, every game is important … A win is a win, and a loss is a loss.” This Zen-like emphasis on process, rather than specific results, helps the team concentrate on the big picture – overall improvement and effort – which is important when your team has suffered a four- game MIAA losing streak, as the Knights have in the past two weeks. Losses to St. Mary’s and nationally-ranked Alma have hurt the team’s MIAA record, but Warners hopes they don’t hurt its outlook.

This year’s team is a relatively young one, with only three seniors and three juniors. Much of the important action in recent games has been seen by freshmen and sophomores, including an RBI from sophomore Sarah Van Houten in the April 15th loss to Alma, and two-hit efforts from freshman Lyndsay Heinkel and sophomore Susannah Knust in the April 15th St. Mary’s game.

photo by Lujan PITCHING IN: Marissa Slager leads the Knights in innings pitched, collecting 3 wins, 9 strikeouts, and an ERA of 3.94 in 5 league appearances. She also is fifth on the Knights in batting with a .286 average. The Knights are in fourth place.

The starring role of players like Heinkel and Knust leads Warners to declare that “I don’t think of this group as young anymore … We have experience now.” With the season half over and seventeen games under the Knights’ belt, six of them victories, the team hopes to have its dues paid up going into the 1 p.m. contest against Olivet. Given Olivet’s record and MIAA standing, Saturday’s action promises to be close and competitive, but Warner’s hope for the team is simple enough.

“My wish is that we just come out really confident in our ability and play like that.”