Even with 11 games left before playoffs, the Biola baseball season is far from over. Following their sweep of San Diego Christian College from April 7-8, the Eagles put up just five hits in their 9-0 loss to Menlo College on April 12 to fall to fourth place with a 13-9 Golden State Athletic Conference record.
Sweep of Hawks
Although the Eagles hosted the Hawks at Eagles Diamond, Biola played as the away team. The Eagles initially planned to travel to San Diego for the series, but when the Hawks’ field became unplayable, Biola made accommodations to host the games.
Home team or not, the Eagles managed to complete their second sweep of the season against the Hawks, limiting them to just four runs per game.
“That was our goal, we didn’t want to take two out of three like we have against other teams,” said senior starting pitcher Jimmy Gallarda. “We knew we needed a sweep to really make a statement and get to where we want to be — and that’s atop the conference.”
Sophomore center fielder Jerron Largusa’s home run in the fourth inning provided enough offense for the Eagles to outlast the Hawks 5-4 in the opening game on April 7. Gallarda improved to 7-2 while limiting the Hawks to three runs and striking out seven, which puts him in a three-way tie for the most wins in the GSAC.
Despite facing early deficits in both games of the doubleheader on April 8, the Eagles rallied to an 8-4 victory in game one and junior first baseman Colton Worthington’s homer helped Biola to a 6-4 victory in game two.
Eagles shutout
The Eagles traveled to Menlo College on April 12, where the Oaks rudely welcomed them with a 9-0 shutout. The Eagles only came up with only five hits and one walk while the Oaks leaped on junior starting pitcher Wyatt Haccou, who is now 6-3 after allowing seven hits and seven runs.
With only a few non-conference games scattered through the rest of their schedule, Biola wraps up against Menlo with a home doubleheader on April 13 and then moves on to three-game meetings at home against Westmont College on April 21-22 and first place Vanguard University on April 28-29.
