The Eagles continued to prevail over Chaminade University in the last day of their back-to-back doubleheader at Freedom Field on Tuesday night. Biola remained behind for most of the first game, but flipped the switch on the Silverswords late and pulled off the 5-4 walk-off win. The second game showed domination from the Eagles, who clinched the series sweep with a 10-2 romp.
SLOW START
The first game of the night did not start out in Biola’s favor, as the team started slowly. Chaminade took control of the first five innings, racking up four runs by the end of the second.
Freshman pitcher Jennifer Morinishi shifted momentum of the game around, as her performance from the mound put a stop to the Silverswords’ drive.
Freshman right fielder Sicili Brittingham brought junior catcher Kayla Neff home to give the Eagles their first run of the game in the bottom of the fourth. Brittingham drove in a run of her own in the sixth alongside senior outfielder Areana Ramos to put the Eagles back in the game only down one, 4-3.
Senior third baseman Missy Poti launched one into right-center field to bring senior shortstop Andi Hormel and Ramos home, winning the game for the Eagles, 5-4.
“We did really good. We came out the first game, it was a grind but we pulled it out, never gave up, so that was good,” Hormel said.
BACK IN RHYTHM
The Eagles rode the energy from the end of the first game into the start of the nightcap. Biola came out on fire, scoring four runs in the first two innings highlighted by Ramos who tripled to right field, bringing Neff home.
The Eagles remained in complete control for the rest of the game. The fourth and fifth innings brought in six more runs to turn the game into a blowout.
“These games are really tough. It’s hard when you play the same team four times, so I was really proud of how the girls just stayed focused in the last game and into the last out and drove in some runs. It was good to see us hit the ball consistently,” said head coach Nikki Udria.
The Eagles did it all in the final game of the series. They ended the night with zero errors and 10 hits. Udria wants her team to continue this same level of play into next week’s match up.
“I’m really excited about the situation that we’re in. We’ve got a lot of practices to get better on stuff, to clean some things up and just go after them. They are a good team so we are excited for the good competition. It’s always fun when we get to play APU,” Udria said.
The Eagles (16-10 overall, 11-5 PacWest) will take on rivals Azusa Pacific University during free Chick-Fil-A day at Freedom Field for another doubleheader on April 6 at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.
