Facing the possibility of their sixth straight Golden State Athletic Conference loss, Biola baseball dramatically broke out of their offensive slump with a 17-2 blowout victory over Vanguard University in game one of Saturday’s doubleheader.
“Rise and shine … let’s make it a good day,” junior first baseman Nick Oddo tweeted this morning.
Oddo and the Eagles made it a great day, pounding out 17 runs on 13 hits to hand Vanguard its most lopsided loss since a 26-10 beating from California Baptist University on May 11, 2010.
The Eagles’ 17-run outburst accounts for more runs than Biola had scored in the previous six GSAC games combined.
Eagles get big performance from first four hitters
Oddo — who entered today’s games in a 2-for-17 slump and a 17-game homerless streak — homered in his second at-bat to cap off a five-run second inning. His single in the first inning got past Vanguard first baseman Jordan Mould and gave Biola their first lead in a conference game since Feb. 10 against Arizona Christian University.
“I felt good at the plate,” Oddo said. “I took it one pitch at a time and let the game come to me instead of being too aggressive and good things happened.”
The first baseman went 3-for-5 in game one with a double, a home run and five RBIs.
Hitting right in front of Oddo in the lineup was center fielder Benji Sutherland who knocked in five RBIs of his own. The senior picked up two hits — both doubles — in his highest RBI output of his career.
Junior left fielder Vince Lawrence managed to plate three runners without registering a hit as the transfer from West Los Angeles Junior College used two RBI-groundouts and a sacrifice fly to record his second three-RBI performance of the season.
Sophomore right-fielder Paul Slater doubled for the 13th team this year — a number that still leads all NAIA hitters — but it was his single in the fourth that put two runs on the board.
Fifteen of the Eagles’ 16 RBIs came from the first four hitters in the lineup.
Turner overshadowed in blowout win
Senior starting pitcher Nick Turner was overlooked in a game muddled by offense. He pitched six innings of scoreless ball and earned his team-leading fourth win.
“Our team has been playing without heart. We haven’t believed in ourselves,” Turner said. “We played with heart in game one.”
Turner lowered his ERA to 2.63 while striking out five and walking only one.
Biola’s wild pitch problem seemed to be under control until junior lefty Sage Poland threw three meaningless wild pitches to senior James Petrilli in the seventh inning.
Turner paired up with freshman catcher Sam Thorne in the win — the third time the battery have connected for a victory.
