Trying to end one of the team’s longest losing streaks of the last four years, Biola baseball posted 13 runs on the board against Whittier College on Tuesday afternoon, abruptly ending their skid with a 13-4 victory.
The Eagles capitalized on a five-run first inning and received a solid outing from sophomore starting pitcher David Schwab, who pitched five innings with just one earned run to his name to pick up his second win of the season.
“I knew that we needed a win today,” Schwab said. “I really wanted to recover from my last outing at Cal State San Marcos, where I was a little shaky.”
Schwab’s five innings on Tuesday stand as his longest start of the season, though he pitched 5.2 innings of scoreless relief in a 7-2 loss to Azusa Pacific University on Feb. 15.
The 6-foot-8 righty has been productive as the team’s fourth starter, compiling a 2-1 record with 13 strikeouts and a basement low 0.92 ERA in 19.2 innings.
“We didn’t know much about Whittier, just that it looked like they could swing it pretty well,” Schwab said. “I knew that I had to go right at them and after the first inning, Nick Oddo and I found a formula that worked for the rest of the game.”
Whittier came into Tuesday’s non-conference matchup averaging more than 10 hits per game, but managed just six hits off Schwab and relievers Garrett Picha and J.T. Mickelson.
Five-run first inning ignites Eagles’ offense
After giving up two unearned runs in the first inning, Biola rebounded with five runs of their own in their half of the frame. Freshman third baseman Sam Thorne and junior second baseman Michael Annunziata both came through with bases-loaded singles, though Annunziata’s single plated three unearned runs because of two separate Whittier errors. Annunziata scored on a wild pitch a batter later to cap off the rally.
"It felt great,” Annunziata said when asked about ending the losing streak. “We know we’re a great team and when we limit mistakes we have the potential to beat anyone.”
Annunziata finished the afternoon going 3-for-4 — his fourth three-hit performance of the season.
The second of senior center fielder Benji Sutherland’s three hits scored a run to make it 6-2 in the second inning and junior catcher Nick Oddo broke the game open with a two-run double down the right field line in the fourth.
Junior outfielder Vince Lawrence also had three hits and scored three times.
“As a team I feel our confidence is back as we prepare for the upcoming conference series against Vanguard [University],” Lawrence said.
The Eagles racked up 13 hits, the first time they’ve recorded more than 10 hits since Feb. 16 against Azusa Pacific.
Vanguard is next in line to continue Golden State Athletic Conference play — a three-game home series that will begin this Friday at 2 p.m. and will conclude with a doubleheader on Saturday at 11 a.m.
