The Eagles finished their series against the William Jessup Warriors with two solid wins on Saturday. The first game started at 11 a.m., resulting in a 9-0 shutout for the Eagles, while the second game started around 2:10 p.m. and ended with a much closer score of 4-2 in the Eagles favor. These two victories improve their win streak to four games, moving their overall record up to 10-15 and their Golden State Athletic Conference record up to 8-13. They remain tied with Arizona Christian University in conference record, but Biola’s better overall record means they take over fifth place in the GSAC standings.

“Our pitchers threw fantastic this weekend,” said junior Julian Jarrard. “And we put up runs, we played good defense, and just did everything very well this weekend.”

The first game of the day was a hit-fest for Biola, as they racked up nine runs off of 13 hits, while Jessup only connected for three hits, and were denied the opportunity to bring anyone home. For Biola’s offense, the runs started accumulating early, as senior Andy Smith crossed the plate for the Eagles’ first run off an errant pitch from Jessup’s starter. Biola scored next in the third inning, when an RBI single from Smith brought home junior Andres Rodriguez, followed by a ground-out RBI from sophomore Jeremy Barth that brought home Smith. In the fourth, an RBI single from senior Rob Groeschell brought home Jarrard. The Eagles scored two more runs in the fifth, then three more in the sixth to truly put the game out of reach for Westmont.

The second game of the day turned out to be a lot closer, and more of a pitcher’s duel. Junior Eric Diomartich started out the game on the mound for the Eagles and put on a solid performance for Biola, pitching 5.1 innings, allowing one hit and one run as well as getting eight strikeouts. His relief, freshman Daniel Jang, allowed one run and three hits in his 0.2 innings pitched, setting the stage for sophomore Jimmy Gallarda to come in and try and get his fourth save. He was successful, only needing nine pitches to take care of Jessup’s last three batters.

On the offensive side, all of Biola’s runs came in the middle three innings, as they scored one in the third, two in the fourth and their final run in the fifth.  Smith posted the first RBI of the afternoon in the third, grounding out to the shortstop, but in the process allowing Rodriguez to come home. Sophomore Andrew Frank then contributed in the fourth with a two-run single to center field, bringing home Jarrard and Groeschell. Gallarda then finished off the scoring for the Eagles, scoring off of a sacrifice fly from senior Tanner Swire. The Warriors gave the Eagles a little scare in the sixth, as they scored both of their runs in that inning. However, Biola’s pitching and defense stood their ground, shutting down the Warriors’ offense to give them the 4-2 victory as well as the series sweep.

The Eagle’s next opponent is the Vanguard University Lions, a team that sits just above them in the GSAC rankings. The series takes place at Vanguard, and the first game starts at 2 p.m. on Friday, March 13.