The pairings and schedules for Baseball, Girls Soccer, and Softball have been announced.  You can get them from the MHSAA Website, under the Announcements Tab, or by following the links below

Baseball District Schedule

Girls Soccer District Schedule

Softball District Schedule

Trent Miedema (left) and Jalen VanDyke (right) supply the Covenant Christian baseball team with timely hitting and solid pitching and have helped the Chargers to an 8-3 start this season. (Supplied photo)

By Greg Chrapek | Advance Newspapers 
on April 28, 2018 9:59 AM, updated April 28, 2018 10:28 PM

WALKER – Outstanding team chemistry is producing positive results for the Covenant Christian baseball team this spring.

A tight-knit squad playing a challenging independent schedule, the Chargers opened the season with eight wins in their first 11 games. A Division 3 school, Covenant Christian is taking down several bigger schools along the way. The Chargers swept a doubleheader against West Ottawa of the OK Red Conference and split doubleheaders with Lowell and Zeeland East.

A pair of veterans, senior Jalen VanDyke and junior Trent Miedema, are among the Chargers turning in solid seasons and are examples of the team-first attitude within the squad.

VanDyke, in his fourth season on the varsity, plays center field, pitches, and has stepped in to help at shortstop.

“Jalen bats three or four in the lineup and is a good contact hitter,” said Covenant Christian coach James Schimmel. “His pitching is probably his best attribute. He can throw a lot of different pitches and take a lot of different approaches to batters. He’s able to make adjustments on the mound and keeps a cool head on the mound.”

Miedema is in his third season on the varsity. Miedema is a starting pitcher and plays primarily third base when not on the mound.

“Trent is very intense and wants to win,” Schimmel said. “He is one of those kids who wants to strike everyone out and hit a double or a triple every at-bat.

“He has really worked on his game the last couple of years. He put in a lot of time in the offseason working on his pitching and hitting. He tweaked his swing some this offseason, and it’s paying off as a junior. Baseball is his sport and he will play in college somewhere.”

Both Miedema and VanDyke personify what the Chargers look for in a teammate.

“Trent and Jalen are team players,” Schimmel said. “Our entire team is like that this year. We have a group of guys that are really out to make each other better. These guys are there for each other, on and off the field. They care for one another and are real tight. We are having a real good season so far and it’s a fun group of guys to watch.”

WALKER – Thanks to some solid pitching, key hits and the ability to persevere in close games, the Covenant Christian baseball team is off to a fast start this spring.

Covenant Christian ran its record to 7-2 for the season after sweeping a doubleheader from West Ottawa on Monday. Covenant won the first game 2-1 behind a strong outing from pitcher Trent Miedema. Miedema allowed no earned runs and scattered three hits over six and a third innings.

Covenant completed the sweep with a come from behind walk-off victory in the nightcap of the doubleheader. Down 3-1 going into the bottom of the sixth inning, the Chargers cut the deficit to one run on a pinch- hit single by Brady Kuiper.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, the Chargers loaded the bases with one out. Blake Kamps delivered the key hit with a walk-off single that plated the tying and winning runs. Kamps also picked up the win on the mound.

The doubleheader sweep against West Ottawa followed up a doubleheader split against Zeeland East on Friday, April 20. Covenant Christian won the first game 7-6 before dropping the second game.

“Those were some awesome wins against two top-tier programs,” said Covenant Christian coach Jim Schimmel. “They were great wins for us going into the heart of the season.”  

By John Raffel | Advance Newspapers 
on April 07, 2018 5:20 PM

GRAND RAPIDS -- Covenant Christian baseball coach Jim Schimmel has a good reason for wanting spring weather to take hold, as his Chargers are slated to have a talented team this season.

This is his 13th season as coach. Covenant Christian was 14-9 last year and lost 1-0 to Calvin Christian in the district semifinals.

“We’re looking to maybe get redemption on that this year and see how far we can go,” Schimmel said. “It’s always tough with the pitching limitations. We’ll see what we can do.”

Key returners include senior Jalen VanDyke, a pitcher, shortstop, and infielder.

“Pitching is probably his best position,” Schimmel said. “It’s his best strength. Hitting is a close second. He had our best on-base percentage last year.”

Junior Trent Miedema is primarily a pitcher, but also plays third base.

“He has a very live arm,” Schimmel said. “He’s a grown a lot stronger from even last year. He has a good fastball, a good slider. He’s the same as Jalen, they both have good stuff and are tough to hit.”

Senior catcher/first baseman Nate Nagelkerke is also a key player for the Chargers. Senior Trenton Koole is coming off the basketball state semifinalist Covenant Christian team and will play pitcher and shortstop.

“He’s a quiet leader,” Schimmel said.

Senior Brice VanOverloop also played basketball and is expected to make key contributions on the diamond.

“The group we have this year is very talented, very fast,” Schimmel said. “They all play multiple positions. They all hit the ball really well. I see us having another productive year.

Covenant Christian is an independent school.

“We play a lot of big schools. It shows us how well we’ll stand up against schools in district and regional play,” Schimmel said.