LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Less than 24 hours after scoring a season-high 16 runs in a loss, Biola set a new season-best, tallying 18 runs en route to an 18-6 win over Vanguard in a GSAC game on Thursday afternoon at Eagles Diamond.

The Eagles added a win and a loss to their record on the day as the two teams completed a game which had been suspended earlier in the season. The Lions held on to a 6-5 lead to pull out the victory. Biola ends the day with a 17-15 overall record and is 10-9 in GSAC play. Vanguard moves to 13-14 and to 9-11 in the GSAC and see a five-game winning streak snapped.

Senior second baseman Hawkins Gebbers had a banner day, going 5-of-6 from the dish with three doubles, five runs scored and three RBIs. Gebbers' five hits were the most by a Biola player since current assistant coach Chris Weems collected five in a game at Westmont in March of 2006.

He upped his average over thirty points on the day when his 3-for-5 performance in the suspended game was added to the season stats. Overall he is now batting .339 on the season with an impressive .587 slugging percentage.

The game was a see-saw battle with both offenses carrying over momentum from Wednesday's 18-16 slugfest which Vanguard won on its home field. The Lions struck first with a run in the top of the first on a home run off the bat of Jason Schaniel. 

Biola answered back with a run on a pair of hits as Nick Rotkowitz singled with one out followed by a double by Gebbers to put runners at second and third. Taylor Loop then plated the tying run with a sacrifice fly.

The Lions scored another in the second, benefiting from a fielding error by the Eagles. Biola matched that run with one of its own in the bottom of the inning. Billy Vopinek and Chad Pace opened the frame with back-to-back singles with Vopinek coming around to score on an RBI groundout by Vinnie Fayard. 

After holding the Lions scoreless in the third, Biola took its first lead of the last two games. Gebbers hit a one out single which was followed by a two-out single by Brent Chavez to put runners on the corners. The Eagles then executed a perfect double steal with Chavez taking second and Gebbers coming home on the throw down.

The Lions were able to get one run closer in the fourth on an RBI single by Keegan Freeman, but Biola responded quickly with a three spot in the bottom of the inning. Gebbers came to bat with runners at second and third and two out, but Vanguard decided to pitch to him. He made them pay with a two-run double to deep left-centerfield. Gebbers then came around to score as Loop blistered a single up the middle to make it a 6-3 game.

After an odd fifth in which neither team scored, Biola stretched the lead to six with a three run inning in the sixth. Loop collected his third RBI of the game with a single up to left center to score Rotkowitz, who had led off the inning with a walk. Chavez then drove a double to right-centerfield to clear the bases and put the Eagles up 9-3.

The Lions closed the gap back to three in the top of the seventh inning on a three-run home run by Nicholas Akins. After crushing the shot to left-centerfield, Akins flipped the bat and stared over at the Biola bench all the way down to first. All the show-boating seemed to do, though, was fire up the Eagles, who would respond with nine runs over the next two innings while the Lions would get just one hit the rest of the way.

In the bottom of the frame, Biola erupted for a five spot, sending 10 batters to the plate in the inning. Chavez brought home the first with a bases-loaded, RBI groundout followed by back-to-back hit batters--the second of which gave Pace an RBI. Daniel Bodemer then followed with an infield single to bring home the third run of the frame with David West closing out the inning with a two-run single up the middle.

After the Lions went quietly in the top of the eighth, Biola added four more runs in the bottom of the inning. Rotkowitz and Gebbers opened the inning with back-to-back doubles followed one out later by a sacrifice fly by pinch-hitter Josh Burket which sent the Vanguard left fielder right up to the fence. Vopinek then kept the inning going with a single. Pinch-hitter Gil Banwart then capped the scoring with a deep home run to right field, the first of his career.

Biola starter Calen Pennington picked up his first victory as an Eagle, going five innings, allowing three runs on seven hits while striking out three. 

The Eagles return to action on Saturday (Mar. 28), hosting No. 3 Point Loma Nazarene in a GSAC doubleheader beginning at Noon at Eagles Diamond.