The softball team clashed with Point Loma Nazarene University on Tuesday’s home doubleheader; unfortunately, their strong offensive efforts were no match for Point Loma’s All-American pitcher, junior Tyler Lent. The Eagles lost both games, 0-8 and 0-7, which snaps their previous three game winning streak, putting their overall record at 3-2 while Point Loma improves to 9-0 overall.
The pitching staff for the Eagles has been superb during the last three games. However, during the first game, the opposing Sea Lions came out aggressively, swinging and putting pressure on Biola’s defense as well as sophomore starting pitcher Erica Moyer. Sophomore Kristin Larson replaced Moyer in the top of the second inning due to two errors, which produced three unearned runs for Point Loma. Nonetheless, Moyer’s earned run in the first inning was good enough to give her the loss. Larson ended up with three earned runs on the day, adding to a final score of 0-7. The offense by the Eagles gained seven hits against the All-American pitcher, but could not put any runs on the board. Top hitters were juniors Krista Johnson and Brittany Bury, both going 2-3.
The Eagles’ head coach Carissa Millsap said, “[Point Loma] have a great pitching staff, no excuses, they are a good team.”
The second game faced similar results due to dominant pitching by Point Loma’s senior Melissa Gomez and sophomore Katie Nagler. They both allowed a combined nine hits with a solid defense behind them. A pitching duel was the highlight of the game early on during the first five innings of play, but at the top of the sixth, Point Loma put up three runs. Two of the runs came from a homerun hit over right field fence by junior Jill Schaefer. The next inning, the Sea Lions scored four more runs, and in the final inning they added an insurance run, making the score 0-8. Losing pitcher sophomore Lyndsie Roberts has plenty of season left to improve her 2-1 overall pitching record. Moyer and senior Keena Levert swung the bat well for Biola, both going 2-4 on the day. Clutch hits in were a no-go for the Eagles with 11 players left on base in the second game and 17 combined in both games.
Biola’s softball team definitely has time to get back to another winning streak that they had in previous weeks. They are looking forward to the six-game, four-day tournament March 3-7 in Panama City Beach, Fla.
“It is the beginning of the season,” Millsap said. “ So hopefully we can gain some momentum before entering the tournament in Florida.”
They hope to stay focused on the goals ahead of them for the rest of the season and not to look back too much on these last two games. The Eagles return to action on Friday with another GSAC doubleheader at Mt. SAC to play Hope International University, known as the Royals.
