Biola softball cruised to two victories on Friday afternoon, Feb. 24, winning 6-1 and 7-1 over La Sierra University. Saturday afternoon, Feb. 25, started out the same way with a 7-2 victory over Northwest Christian University. In the second game of the Saturday doubleheader, with a late rally and a little help from the umpire, Biola pulled off a successful sweep of Northwest Christian, winning 3-2 in walk-off fashion.
Luster and Enriquez carry Eagles through extra innings
Biola sent the second game against Northwest Christian into extra innings thanks to a powerful two-run single to deep right field by sophomore Natalie Parker in the bottom of the sixth. Solid pitching from sophomore CeCe Luster and freshman Sarah Enriquez kept the Eagles close.
In the top of the ninth, with a runner on third and one out, Luster’s clutch pitching brought the Eagles out of a bind. Northwest junior shortstop Laynee Bevans got jammed on an inside fastball, forcing her to pop out to the shortstop. Northwest’s Gabby Stover came up next and sent a hot shot right to Biola freshman shortstop Sarah Stromwall. The hard-hit ball bounced off her glove and was destined for left field, but ricocheted off the umpire’s foot and trickled right back to her. She quickly recovered and flung the ball over to first for the final out.
“I definitely got lucky. I think God was watching out for me right there,” Stromwall said.
Walk-off win caps off four-game series sweep
The defensive spark energized the Biola offense, as they moved a runner from second to third. The Eagles followed that by immediately bringing in the winning run on a shot down the left field line by senior Leslie Larson.
“We were motivated. We held them for two innings before that. I think we knew we could get it done then,” Stromwall said.
Luster and Enriquez were the stars of the weekend. Luster batted eight-for-13 on the weekend, with four runs, seven RBIs and a home run. Enriquez dominated batters, throwing 15.1 innings with eight strikeouts while only giving up one run.
“I try not to focus on strikeouts and stuff like that, I just want to roll ground balls and pop-ups to keep our team in the game,” Enriquez said. “I’m not too into stats. I just want to make sure that I keep my team in the game and that we can compete.”
The Eagles, currently on a five-game winning streak, have an even 6-6 overall record and are undefeated at home on Freedom Field.
Biola advances to the California State University San Marcos Tournament beginning Friday, March 2 to take on Cal State San Marcos and Simpson College.
