Freshman third baseman Sam Thorne capped off a big offensive day with a grand slam in the fifth inning of game two as Biola baseball piled on the runs to hand Westmont College its worst loss in almost a year.
Thorne finished the day going 4-for-7 with six RBIs, all of which came in Biola’s 12-2 game-two win over Westmont.
“The grand slam felt good,” Thorne said. “To be honest I was more happy with the two RBIs in the first inning because it came with two outs and it gave us the lead.”
The right-handed hitter from Watsonville opened the scoring up with a two-out, two-run single in the first to give Biola the early 2-0 cushion.
Turner picks up second consecutive win
Senior right-hander Nick Turner threw five innings of one-run ball while striking out six to pick up his second straight win. Turner allowed only four base runners, including three hits and one walk, all while lowering his team-leading ERA to 0.64.
“I had a ton of confidence after our team put up a seven-spot,” Turner said. “It’s a huge victory when we can sweep on the road.”
Biola picked up its first road sweep since taking two from Concordia University Irvine in April 2011.
Two-run Klocek double puts Eagles ahead late in game one
Trailing by one heading into the eighth inning of game one, junior left fielder Luke Klocek delivered a clutch two-out, two-run double giving Biola a 4-3 lead, the eventual final score.
Freshman right-hander Josh Staumont took the mound for the first time since contributing 5.1 innings to last week’s combined no-hitter against The Master’s College and managed another solid outing, striking out four over five innings while giving up just one run.
“I felt great today,” Staumont said. “I had a few walks but overall I was happy with my performance and the outcome of the game.”
Staumont left in the fifth with the lead before Westmont struck for two runs off sophomore left-hander Garrett Picha in the seventh.
Sutherland extends hit streak to nine
With a hit in each of today’s games, senior center fielder Benji Sutherland upped his team-leading hitting streak to nine games, going 2-for-7 with four runs scored.
Biola received another good offensive performance from junior catcher Nick Oddo. The transfer from Citrus College picked up his fifth and sixth RBIs of the season after returning from academic ineligibility.
The Eagles will open up a three-game home set with new Golden State Athletic Conference member Arizona Christian University starting at 2 p.m. next Friday, Feb. 8. Freshman right-hander Trevor Oaks will likely take the mound and look to improve Biola’s GSAC-leading 4-2 record. ACU will enter Friday’s matchup with a conference record of 3-3 after splitting today’s doubleheader with Vanguard University.
