Biola baseball suffered their first loss of the season last week but responded well, winning their next contest to bring their record on the year to 2-1.

The Eagles played the University of La Verne at home on Friday, falling 2-1 in a pitching duel. But they beat La Verne the next day on the road, 7-2, scoring all their runs in the first three innings and never looking back. In game one, junior transfer Brian Albert got the ball for the first time as an Eagle. He threw remarkably, allowing just two unearned runs in seven innings. But Albert got zero run support from an offense that was unable to come up with clutch hits all day long. The Eagles scored just one run in the game’s final inning, thanks only to defensive mistakes by La Verne. Albert picked up the loss in game one, as the Eagles suffered their first defeat of the season.

“Our hitters have some early season jitters; they are all pressing a little bit,” said Head Coach John Verhoeven in response to his club’s lackluster early season offensive performance.

“Our hitting is a little shaky. We are not very disciplined at the plate,” he added. “We are swinging at a lot of bad pitches.”

Senior Jimmy Johnson got the ball for the Eagles in game two at La Verne on Saturday. He looked impressive, throwing six strong innings and allowing just one run on four hits.

He received some early run support, capped by a three-run homer off the bat of junior Hawkins Gebbers in the third inning. Junior shortstop Nick Rotkowitz also helped offensively, with two hits and a run scored. Senior Kris Cook blasted a solo home run in the third inning, putting the Eagles up 7-0.

“We have all the pieces; everyone just has to play to their potential and we will be fine,” Verhoeven said. “Our pitching has been outstanding. The staff has really matured since last season.”

The pitching staff has allowed just two earned runs this season and walked only five batters. Pitchers with typically high pitch counts, like Johnson and junior Derek Dietzen, have thrown late into games with few pitches, showing good command and game control.

“I really admire the maturity level of our returning pitchers,” Verhoeven said.

The Eagles return to action, starting GSAC (Golden State Athletic Conference) play at home with a doubleheader against San Diego Christian this Saturday. First pitch on the Eagles Diamond is at 11 a.m. Verhoeven expects a challenge in the upcoming game for the Eagles.

“San Diego Christian should be a very decent team,” Verhoeven said. “They were good enough to take two from us last year. We are going to need to play well.”

Verhoeven will send Dietzen to the mound in game one and Johnson in game two.