Baseball traveled to Hope International University on Tuesday hoping for a better result than their 11-0 drubbing at the hands of the Royals in their first game of the season. However, the narrative remained much the same as HIU won by 11 runs yet again in a 14-3 victory over the Eagles.
Biola got on the board in the first inning when senior left fielder Jerron Largusa’s sacrifice fly scored sophomore shortstop Connor Kostecka. The Royals responded in the third with a grand slam that started the avalanche of runs against the Eagles. Another run came home in the inning to make it 5-1, HIU.
Senior second baseman Joey Magro pulled his team closer with an RBI single to score junior designated hitter Andy Van Antwerp. Kostecka followed that up with another single to score right fielder Miguel Abascal, closing the gap to 5-3.
That would be the closest the Eagles would get, though, as the Royals’ offense exploded in the sixth and seventh innings. They posted three runs in the sixth and six in the seventh to crush Biola’s hopes of a comeback and came away with a 14-3 victory.
The Eagles (3-2) now head to Hawaii to take on Hawaii Pacific University on Saturday at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m.
