WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - The Calvin baseball team jumped in front early and never looked back on the way to a 15-6 win over Franklin College on Tuesday.
The Knights sent 10 batters to the plate in the top of the first and knocked out Franklin starting pitcher Damian Tillie after 0.1 innings on the way to five runs in the frame. Seven of the first eight batters in the first inning reached base, with
Matt Raymond (Chicago, Ill./Loyola Academy) starting the scoring with an RBI-double and
Matt Reynolds (Hopkins, Mich./Hopkins) following with a two-run single.
The bats kept rolling through the Franklin bullpen, scoring five more runs in the fourth thanks to a two-run single from Raymond and a three-run double by
Patrick Gillen (Jensen Beach, Fla. Jensen Beach), and then adding two more in the fifth to push the lead to 12-0.
The Grizzlies were able to get on the board for six runs in the late innings, but the Calvin bullpen got through the final four innings to secure the win.
The early runs were more than enough for freshman starting pitcher
Alex Owen (St. Johns, Mich./St. Johns), who didn't allow a hit through his first four innings and pitched 5.0 scoreless innings with seven strikeouts and only two hits allowed to move to 1-0 on the season.
The Calvin offense finished with 19 hits, with each of the nine starters recording at least one hit.
Dylan Williams (Cedar Springs, Mich./Cedar Springs) and Reynolds each recorded three hits. Gillen led the team with four runs batted in.
COACH'S COMMENT: "Another great start from a freshman pitcher (
Alex Owen) for his first career win," Calvin head coach
Kevin Van Duyn said. "Anytime you can put 19 hits together, that's a great day for the line-up. I thought this was our most complete game so far on the trip."
NEXT UP: Calvin University baseball returns to action in Florida on Thursday, March 2, when it plays Saint Mary's (Minn.) at 1:30 PM.
