After their three-game series at Westmont College from Feb. 24-25, the Eagles are 0-5 in the Golden State Athletic Conference. Their losing streak grew to four games on Feb. 28 after a 4-1 loss to Bethesda University, bumping Biola’s overall record to 10-8.
A pitcher’s duel
Despite the strong effort put forth by senior starting pitcher Jimmy Gallarda, the Eagles lost a 1-0 pitcher’s duel to open their series at Westmont. After three shutout innings, the Warriors drove in the game-winning run with a groundout in the bottom of the fourth.
The Eagles’ offensive struggles only continued in their 6-1 loss to the Warriors in the first game of the doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 25. Shortly after sophomore centerfielder Jerron Largusa put the Eagles ahead 1-0 with a home run in the first, their lead vanished as the Warriors scored four runs by the fourth.
Out of the four runs junior starting pitcher Micah Beyer allowed through seven innings, three came from faulty fielding. In the end, the Eagles committed a season-high four errors.
Although Biola’s bats caught fire in the series finale, an extra-inning error proved the deciding factor as the Eagles lost 6-5. Tied 4-4, freshman pinch hitter Andy Van Antwerp doubled, putting the Eagles ahead 5-4 in the tenth.
However, once an RBI single drove in the game-tying run in the bottom of the tenth, an outfield error allowed the game-winning run to cross the plate as Westmont completed the sweep.
Eagles cannot contain the fire
Following their tough series against Westmont, senior starting pitcher Gabe Ihrig fell victim to a lack of run support in Biola’s 4-1 loss to Bethesda. As the Flames took a 3-0 lead by the end of the third, Bethesda held the Eagles hitless through 4.1 innings. Once sophomore third baseman Joey Magro broke up the no-hit bid in the fifth, junior catcher River Fawley doubled in the Eagles’ only run of the game in the seventh.
Regardless of their winless record, the Eagles’ next series is against the only team in GSAC with a worse record. Starting on Friday, March 3 at 2 p.m. the Eagles play a conference three-game series at William Jessup University.
