WHEATON, Ill. - Today the Calvin baseball team began competition at the Wheaton Invitational where it fell to Marian University 13-7. 
 
Marian (5-6) struck first when it scored four runs in the bottom of the second inning. However, Calvin (7-7) didn't wait long to respond when sophomore Landen Mikula (St. Johns, Mich./St. Johns) knocked a two-run homer over the left field fence in the top of the third.
 
In the bottom of the fourth inning, the Sabres were able to string together enough hits to tack on three runs and extend their lead to 7-2.
 
Looking to bounce back in the top of the fifth, senior Ryan Brown (Caledonia, Mich./Caledonia) grounded into a double play which distracted the Marian defense and allowed Josh Winkle (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) to cross the plate. A few plays later, Mikula scored on a balk to cut the Sabres lead down to three.
 
In the top of the sixth, sophomore Ryan Schummer (West Lafayette, Ind./Central Catholic) stepped into the batter's box and sent a rocket home run to right center to make the score 7-5.
 
The Knights continued to chip away at the Sabres lead in the top of the seventh inning when senior Gabe Bonemer (Okemos, Mich./Okemos) singled through the left side to score Matt Reynolds (Hopkins, Mich./Hopkins) and bring the Knights within one.
 
Unfortunately for the Knights, Marian responded quickly in the bottom of the seventh when they scored six runs of their own to reclaim the momentum. Calvin pushed one more run across the plate in the top of the ninth but would not be able to close the gap as they fell 13-7.
 
Senior Nolan Coil (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso) started the game on the mound for the Knights where he recorded three strikeouts. James Ross (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) entered the game in the fifth inning and notched three strikeouts before Ben Ferguson (Grandville, Mich./Grandville) and Kyle Koning (Kalamazoo, Mich./Kalamazoo Christian) also made an appearance.
 
UP NEXT: The Knights will be back in action tomorrow in the Wheaton Invitational when they take on Saint Mary's University at 11AM (CT) and Wheaton College at 2PM (CT).