The crucial last two weeks of the season are over, and the Eagles are in great shape. They ended with a 4-3 win in Tuesday’s final away game against Fresno Pacific, but their victory was no walk in the park.
Biola led Fresno by one run until the fourth inning when starting pitcher junior Derek Dietzen struggled to find control. He gave up three walks to the first three Fresno batters, which resulted in two earned runs that put the Sunbirds ahead.
Dietzen was pulled after a solo home run by junior Case Rigby. The Eagles’ left-handed reliever, junior Adam McNaught, came in and did his job by not allowing any runs in his two innings of work, giving the Eagle offense time to tie up the game.
The Eagles battled back all the way to the top of the 9th inning, when senior outfielders David West and Chris Foreman worked together to produce a one-run tie breaker.
West started off the comeback by contributing a timely triple, which foreman followed by unselfishly laying down a squeeze bunt that scored the go-ahead run.
Junior pitcher Billy Vopinek’s closing performance was outstanding as he pitched his 17th save of the season. Vopinek has been an excellent pickup for coach John Verhoeven, and he will be a key factor in their playoff run.
The comeback Eagles defied incredible odds by obtaining a playoff spot among top ranked NAIA competitors such as No. 11 Fresno and No. 12 Azusa Pacific. Although the Eagles are not currently ranked, their clutch performances during the second half of their season have given them a definite third-place spot in the GSAC playoffs. The Eagles finished their overall season 33-20 and 23-13 in GSAC.
Another key win was the Eagle Diamond doubleheader versus Azusa last Saturday, which ended in Biola’s favor.
They key element to the Eagles’ first win was undoubtedly their pitching performance. Starting pitcher senior Brain Albert earned his fifth win by holding Azusa to two earned runs in six innings of work. Biola’s offense put up four runs to combat any offensive push by Azusa. Their 4-2 win in their first game was followed by an even larger 7-3 win.
The Eagles unleashed their offense on Azusa pitchers, giving up 15 hits in seven innings. However, the highlight of the game was freshman pitcher Nate Coronado picking up his eighth no decision on the season. He remains at a solid 4-0 record, even though his team has won every game that he has pitched. Although he has never pitched in the playoffs at the college level, Coronado’s arm will be a useful tool if Biola plans to go far.
The Eagles continue play in the five-team GSAC tournament next Tuesday at Point Loma, where they will hope to make up for last year’s surprising defeat to Concordia in the NAIA Regional II Tournament.
