As their first NCAA Division II season starts winding down, the baseball team finds itself clinging to a fourth-place spot in the PacWest and needing, like every Biola sport, a top-five finish in conference to quality for playoffs via the National Christian College Athletic Association. The Eagles’ margin for error went down even further on April 19, when they lost to the fifth-place Dixie State University Trailblazers by a score of 8-3.

BEYER’S STRUGGLES SPELL DOOM

Senior pitcher Micah Beyer’s streak of quality starts was snapped when Dixie State tagged him for five runs (four earned) over just three innings of work, after which he was removed from the game. It easily marked the worst outing of the season for the Eagles ace, whose ERA on the year jumped from 1.92 to 2.36. Beyer did not receive much help from his defense either. A passed ball and a throwing error from junior catcher Anj Bourgeois brought home the first two runs of the game for the Trailblazers, and they scored another after an error from sophomore third baseman Jacob Portaro prolonged the first inning.

Dixie State’s starter held the Eagles without a hit until senior first baseman Colton Worthington’s double in the fourth inning. Two batters later, freshman outfielder Ryan Gallegos launched a three-run home run to bring Biola back within two. Gallegos’ sixth longball of the season ties with Worthington for most on the team, and his 39 RBIs also lead the Eagles. However, Biola’s bats could not get anything else going for the rest of the game. Redshirt freshman pitcher Christian Hammar continued his late-season surge with a valiant four shutout innings in relief, but Dixie State scored two in the eighth and one in the ninth to put the game out of hand.

The Eagles drop to 25-14 overall and 17-12 in the PacWest, with their lead over the Trailblazers in the standings now down to two games. The series continues with a doubleheader on April 20 at Eagles Diamond starting at 12 p.m.