“I have never had a team that hates losing so much … It’s the will to win that drives this club,” says Eagle Coach Verhoeven.

His team had a successful week in GSAC play, winning three of four games in region. The Eagles took a home game against Cal Baptist last Thursday, 7-4, and split at Fresno Pacific on Saturday, winning the second game of the doubleheader in extra innings. They then beat Westmont 12-0 on the road in Santa Barbara yesterday.

Senior Josh Baas got the ball in the game against Cal Baptist. He threw 6 2/3 strong, allowing two runs on six hits, but struck out eight to pick up his third win of the season. He had offensive support early, when junior Hawkins Gebbers blasted a three-run shot in the third inning. The third was followed by a four-run fourth from the Eagles, capped by another three-run homer, this time off the bat of senior Matt McQueen.

It was Gebbers’ third home run of the season and McQueen’s second. Cal Baptist scored two runs in the seventh and two runs in the ninth to make the game interesting, but Biola’s quick start was too much to overcome.

Biola then traveled to Fresno over the weekend to take on No. 23 ranked Fresno Pacific in a doubleheader. The Eagles came away with a split, losing the first game 13-0, but taking the second 9-6.

“We did really well to come away with the split. We were doing nothing all day … but the guys refused to lose and took one from them in the end,” Verhoeven said. “Fresno must have been really disappointed.”

Senior Jimmy Johnson looked to improve on his perfect record to start the year, but had his first bad start of the season. He went just four innings, allowing eight runs on seven hits. He walked four batters, and hit one in his short outing.

Fresno scored five runs in the second inning, capped by a two-out, two-run single off the bat of Thomas Raymundo. They added three more in the fourth, chasing Johnson to get the Biola bullpen early. Fresno then scored off of each Biola reliever over the span of the next four innings, setting the game even further out of reach for the Eagle offense.

Fresno starter Chris Schwinden needed little help at all. He held Biola to just three hits and no runs through eight innings of work. He struck out ten Eagles, picking up his third win of the year. Eagle ace, Jimmy Johnson fell to 5-1.

The Biola bats came alive in game two, as the Eagles racked up nine runs on fourteen hits to the 9-6 victory. But the offensive charge started slow. The Eagles left runners on base in three of the first four innings, with no runs to show for it. It wasn’t until the fifth inning, when Biola was already down 2-0 that the Eagles finally put a run on the board, snapping a 14-inning scoreless streak when Gebbers knocked a two-out, two-run double in the fifth to tie up the game. Biola then added three more in the sixth, capped by a two-run single by junior Nick Rotkowitz, putting the Eagles ahead for the first time all day, 5-4.

Biola expanded the lead to 6-4 in the seventh on a McQueen RBI single, but Fresno tied the game again in the bottom of the inning on a Justin Keeney home run, sending the game to extra innings.

The Eagles responded, scoring three runs in the top of the eighth, to shut down the Fresno rally. Sophomore Justin Rodriguez quieted the Sunbird’s bats in the last two innings to pick up his first win of the year. Verhoeven was impressed with his team’s ability to respond and leave with a split against Fresno.

“Seeing a team come back like that, refusing to lose, that is as good as it gets for a coach,” he said.“I really like the makeup of this club.”

Biola then traveled to Santa Barbara yesterday to take on Westmont. The Eagles were impressive early on, scoring four runs in the first inning and never looking back en route to their 12-0 victory. Senior Josh Baas picked up his fourth win of the year, tossing six innings of one-hit baseball.

The Eagles improve to 14-7 overall, and 9-6 in GSAC play.

Biola has their first big test of the season this weekend, as they play host to rival Azusa Pacific in a doubleheader at home. First pitch, at noon at the Eagles’ diamond.