Biola baseball received nine runs from the top of the lineup as the Eagles ran away from Arizona Christian University in a 9-4 road victory on Wednesday afternoon.
The win is senior starter Nick Turner’s fifth consecutive and brings Biola’s conference record to 12-13.
Inserted into the cleanup spot in the lineup for last weekend's doubleheader against Westmont College, freshman catcher Sam Thorne has refused to relent in his assault on opposing pitching. Thorne recorded his fourth straight multi-hit game, blasting his third home run of the year in the fourth to put Biola up 2-0.
“It don’t think it matters where I hit in the lineup,” Thorne said. “It’s nice to know that [head coach John Verhoeven] has confidence in me but the approach is always the same no matter what spot I’m hitting in.”
Since returning to the cleanup spot — a slot he occupied earlier in the season — Thorne is 8-for-11.
Thorne finished the afternoon going 3-for-5 with a two-run home run and a double.
The 1-2-3 hitters batting in front of Thorne provided the remainder of Biola’s nine-run output. Sophomore leadoff man Paul Slater set the table, going 2-for-5 including an RBI single in the Eagles’ three-run fifth inning. Junior left fielder Vince Lawrence and senior center fielder Benji Sutherland followed with RBIs of their own — a sacrifice fly and a double that plated a run each.
Lawrence tripled in the eighth, clearing the bases to push his day’s RBI total to four.
Turner perfect through four, earns fifth straight win
Biola’s starter Turner mowed through the first 12 Arizona Christian batters, taking a perfect game into the fifth inning.
“After the fourth I started to think about it,” Turner said. “But then I reminded myself that I had such a long way to go.”
The right-hander threw a four-hit shutout in his last meeting with the Firestorm, but only received two runs of support. Wednesday’s nine runs aided Turner in his continued success.
“A win is always a successful day,” Turner said. “When you have a team that gives you nine runs, it makes my job much easier.”
Turner struggled in the fifth and seventh innings, giving up four runs on seven hits in the two frames.
“Shutouts are nice, but at this point, I just want this team to win,” he said.
The win moves Turner to 8-2 on the season. His eight victories are second best in the NAIA and lead the Golden State Athletic Conference.
Third baseman Chriss fitting nicely into lineup
Sophomore infielder Mike Chriss’ three-hit game Wednesday only further solidified his spot in Verhoeven’s lineup as the Prescott, Ariz. native has performed well since taking over the ever-rotating third base position. Starting six of the last eight games at the hot corner, Chriss has batted 6-for-16 — including a home run and two doubles — with two RBIs and five runs.
But Turner is more impressed with Chriss’ improved defensive play.
“Having Chriss at third is like having your own personal vacuum service at the corner of the field,” Turner joked.
Though he made one error in last weekend’s blowout loss to Westmont, Chriss has made a number of spectacular, game-changing plays that have his teammates noticing.
“If a ball is hit to the left side of the infield, everyone already knows it’s going to be an out,” Turner said.
The Eagles’ three-game road series with Arizona Christian concludes today with a doubleheader beginning at noon. Freshman starters Josh Staumont and Trevor Oaks will look to get back on the horse after each losing four of their previous five starts.
