GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Calvin University baseball team defeated Aquinas College in a mid-week non-conference tilt by the score of 8-4 on Tuesday.

Calvin (16-16) out-hit the Saints 11-7 and built an early 8-1 lead before cruising the win.

Matt Raymond (Chicago, Ill./Loyola Academy) put the Knights on the board in the opening inning with an RBI-single to score Patrick Gillen (Jensen Beach, Fla./Jensen Beach), who started the rally with his 12th double of the season.

After Aquinas (26-20) knotted the score at 1-1 with a run in the bottom half of the first inning, the Knights took control for good with a five-run fourth inning. Calvin needed only three hits in the inning to score those five runs as it took advantage of two walks and one hit batter. Gillen had an RBI-single in the inning, and Raymond added a two-run single of his own to cap the scoring and give the Knights a 6-1 lead.

Calvin continued to add to its lead in the fifth inning when Ryan Brown (Caledonia, Mich./Caledonia) was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, and Gillen followed with a sacrifice fly to push the advantage to 8-1.

That would be more than enough offense for the Knights, who used five different pitchers who held the Saints to seven hits while striking out 11 in a bullpen game.

Kyle Koning (Kalamazoo, Mich./Kalamazoo Christian) started the game with three strong innings, allowing one run on three hits with six strikeouts. Alex DeAngelis (Plymouth, Mich./Salem) came in for the next two innings and earned the win (2-0) before Calvin Miller (Fremont, Mich./Fremont), Ben Ferguson (Grandville, Mich./Grandville) and James Ross (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) pitched the final four frames to secure the win.

Raymond led the Calvin hitters with three RBI and two hits. Gillen and Will Mueller (Aurora, Ill./Metea Valley) each added two hits, while Gillen, Raymond and Gabe Bonemer (Okemos, Mich./Okemos) each scored two runs.

COACH'S COMMENT: 

NEXT UP: Calvin baseball will return to action on Thursday, April 27, when it hosts Hope College at 4:00 PM for the start of a weekend series.