BOX SCORE
LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Cal Baptist scored four early runs and held on late to hand Biola a 7-4 loss in a GSAC game on Thursday afternoon on Eagles Diamond in La Mirada.
The Eagles fall to 19-11 overall and 13-10 in the GSAC while the Lancers improve to 22-13 and 12-12 in conference.
Cal Baptist jumped out quickly by scoring four runs off Biola starter Josh Baas. With one out, the Lancers pounded out four straight hits capped by a two-run single by Garrett Gipe which chased Baas.
Biola slowly climbed back into the game, scoring one in the bottom of the second on an RBI-single by David West to score Danny Morrow. It was the first run in 18 innings for the Eagles who had suffered back-to-back shutouts for the first time since 1989.
Biola added two more in the third on an RBI-single by Morrow then added another as Scott Nelson scored on a wild pitch.
Cal Baptist tried to pull away, but had little success coming through with runners on base. In the sixth the Eagles added another run on an RBI-single by Gipe, then another in the eighth on a clutch two-out single by pinch-hitter Kevin Wright.
The Lancers picked up another big insurance run in the top of the ninth as Steve Sanchez hit his first home run of the season.
Biola mounted a rally in the bottom of the ninth, loading the bases with no one out. Scott Nelson put a charge into the crowd with a deep drive to dead centerfield, but Jordan Monroe caught the ball at the fence, turning it into a long sacrifice fly.
Two pitches later, the baserunners moved up 90 feet on a wild pitch, but Cal Baptist reliever Steve Goins got Nick Dietzen to pop out on the infield then striking out Danny Morrow to end the game.
Brendon Daily picked up the win in relief for the Lancers, going 5-2/3 innings, allowing just four hits while striking out eight to improve to 2-1.
Gipe lead Cal Baptist by going 3-for-4 on the day with three RBIs while Brandon Peters was 2-for-2 with two walks and a pair of runs scored.
For Biola, Chris Foreman was 3-for-5 to lead the way while Danny Morrow went 2-for-5.
Both teams were unable to take advantage of numerous chances in the game as the Lancers stranded 15 runners and the Eagles left 10 on base.
Biola has now dropped six of the last seven games after a school-record tying 14 game winning-streak.
The Eagles look to end the streak on Saturday (Mar. 31) as they travel to Vanguard University for a GSAC doubleheader. The teams will complete a game from earlier this season with the Lions leading 8-2 with one out in the bottom of the sixth inning. That game will continue at 11:00 a.m. before the start of the regularly-scheduled doubleheader.
