HOLLAND, Mich. – The Calvin University baseball team opened its weekend series against Hope College with an 8-4 road win on Thursday.
 
Calvin (17-20, 8-11 MIAA) was in control from start to finish and pounded 15 hits off Hope (19-17, 12-7 MIAA) pitching, while Nolan Coil (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso) and Matt Reynolds (Hopkins, Mich./Hopkins) held the Flying Dutchmen bats at bay.
 
The Knights opened the scoring in the first inning on an RBI-groundout from Patrick Gillen (Jensen Beach, Fla./Jensen Beach), but Hope answered with a run of its own in the bottom of the inning to tie the game 1-1.
 
Calvin started to pull away with two runs in the second inning, and then added to it with a three-run Gillen home run in the fourth that scored Will Mueller (Aurora, Ill./Metea Valley) and Ryan Brown (Caledonia, Mich./Caledonia) to push the lead to 6-1.
 
The offense continued to push in the fifth inning, as Mueller singled home Logan Nelson (Fremont, Mich./Fremont), and Aidan Jaworowski (Zeeland, Mich./Zeeland East) followed with a sacrifice fly to give the Knights an 8-1 advantage.
 
After allowing one run in the first, Coil threw four scoreless innings until giving up a solo home run in the sixth. The Flying Dutchmen scored twice in the seventh, but Reynolds came in to record the final out, and then pitched two more scoreless frames to close the game.
 
Coil (5-2) earned his third win in MIAA play after pitching the first 6.2 innings and allowing four runs on nine hits while striking out one to earn the win. Reynolds struck out three and allowed only one base runner in his 2.1 innings in relief.
 
Gillen finished the day 3-6 with four runs batted in. Gillen's 11 home runs are just one shy of the program's single-season record, and his 44 RBI are tied for third most in a single season.
 
Nelson also finished with three hits in the game, while Brown, Nelson and Josh Winkle (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) each scored two runs apiece. Winkle, Mueller, Caden Penn (Macomb, Mich./Lutheran North) and Nate Mason (Portage, Mich./Portage Northern) each recorded two hits.
 
COACH'S COMMENT: "Very proud of the way we responded today," Calvin head coach Kevin Van Duyn said. "We were ready from the first pitch on. Great job by Nolan Coil for a terrific outing, and Matt Reynolds for shutting the door late in the game. We are excited to finish up the series at home tomorrow."
 
NEXT UP: Calvin baseball will return to action tomorrow (Friday, May 3) when it hosts Hope for a doubleheader starting at 1:00 PM.