Sophomore Mackenzie Magro catches a ball in the outfield during the game vs. Menlo College on Feb. 14. The softball women continue to add W's to their record. | Melanie Kim/THE CHIMES
Saturday’s doubleheader against Arizona Christian University and Tuesday’s twin-bill against San Diego Christian College proved extremely profitable for Biola softball as the Eagles won all four games. The victories push their winning streak to 12-straight games, having not lost since a Feb. 22 shootout with No. 8 Cal State San Marcos.
After throwing a combined no-hitter in last week’s matchup against Corban University, senior CeCe Luster and junior Reba DePriest continue to dominate from the mound for the Eagles. The two have given up just a combined six runs in the past six games.
Luster currently has a 1.34 ERA on the season, while DePriest boasts an impressive 0.37 ERA, sitting just outside the national top-10. In 75 innings of work this season, DePriest has only given up four earned runs.
Equally impressive is her strikeout totals. DePriest has recorded 110 Ks this season which places her second in the nation in strikeouts. With a little over 10 SO per game, DePriest is the last person opposing batters want to be facing.
The pitching duo has helped the Eagles win games as well as crack the national top-5 in team ERA, averaging .93 runs against per game. However, pitching isn’t the only part of Biola’s game they have improved over the past year.
Although not usually as consistent as pitching for Biola, the bats came alive in the doubleheader with San Diego. The Eagles scored seven in the first game and 10 in the second against the Cougars.
Juniors Sarah Stromwell and Brooke Madrid each went 4-6 on Tuesday, with Madrid adding three RBIs and Stromwell picking up several extra-base hits. She doubled down the left field line in the first game, scoring two runs to get the ball rolling for the Eagles.
Although unranked in the preseason poll, the Eagles are likely to jump up into the mix when the first rankings list comes out on March 18. Biola currently leads the Golden State Athletic Conference with three more wins than defending national champs and No. 1 ranked Concordia University Irvine.
With 18 games still remaining in the regular season, there is no reason to believe that this team will finish well beyond the 25-28 2013 season. The combination of a deadly pitching duo and a strong offensive unit could be exactly what it takes for this team to punch its ticket to the national stage.
