Tensions were high on Saturday as two new conference rivals collided.

In their first meeting since Arizona Christian University joined the Golden State Athletic Conference, both Biola and Arizona Christian benches emptied and stormed home plate in the fourth inning of Saturday afternoon’s series opener. The Firestorm won the game 6-4 thanks to a two-run sixth and a two-run seventh, but not before things got heated.

Sophomore right fielder Paul Slater took a pitch off the wrist from ACU right-hander Alika Pruett in the bottom half of the fourth and started toward first base before the home plate umpire called him back for leaning into the pitch. By the time Slater was back in the box, Pruett had walked toward the hitter’s circle and began yelling at Slater.

“He said, ‘If you want me to hit you, I’ll hit you,’ and I just looked at him,” Slater said. “Then the catcher thought I was walking into [Pruett’s] face and as I kept walking to the batter’s box the pitcher kept trying to be tough on me and stood in my way. So I just kept walking and finally the catcher came up and pushed me.”

Both benches had emptied by this point, and after a lengthy discussion between the two-man GSAC umpiring crew, the decision was made to toss Biola junior right-hander Will Emerson and ACU second baseman Jake Wakamatsu.

It’s unclear as to why these two were ejected.

“The pitcher and the catcher should’ve got tossed,” Slater said.

Slater led off the game with an opposite field single to extend his hitting streak to nine games.

Eagles blow two-run lead, fall to 4-3 in conference

Redshirt freshman Trevor Oaks got the nod for the fourth time this season, and struck out a career-high nine batters in only 5.1 innings, bringing his season total to 27 — best among GSAC pitchers. But Oaks was pulled after loading the bases in the sixth, and on just one pitch, junior left-hander Sage Poland gave a two-run single off the bat of ACU catcher Joel Thys that tied the game at four apiece.

Thys paced the Firestorm in the victory going 2-for-3 with 3 RBIs.

ACU added two more in the seventh and held the Eagles hitless in the final three innings as Jordan Bryson picked up his second save of the year.

Three-run fifth gives Eagles cushion

Freshman third baseman Sam Thorne got the scoring started in Biola’s three-run fifth inning with an RBI-double. Sophomore first baseman David McNeill gave the Eagles the lead with a sacrifice fly and junior second baseman Michael Annunziata followed with an RBI-single to make it 4-2.

Biola had just two hits the rest of the game.

Thorne’s run-scoring double gives him 15 RBIs on the year.

Senior center fielder Benji Sutherland went 2-for-5 in the loss, extending his team-leading hit streak to 10 games. Left fielder Luke Klocek and shortstop Johnny Farrington, both juniors, also picked up two hits.

Tomorrow’s game will start at 2 p.m. with senior right-hander Nick Turner on the mound.