LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Biola used a 10-run second and talled all of its runs with two outs, cruising to a 16-4 win in the first of a four-game series against The Master's College on Wedensday afternoon, remaining just one game out of first place in the conference with three regular-season games left.
The Eagles improve to 31-17 on the season and stay in second-place in the GSAC with a record of 23-10. California Baptist defeated Point Loma Nazarene 11-9 in Riverside to maintain its slim lead in the conference.
The Mustangs drop to 24-23 overall and to 15-18 in conference, missing a golden opportunity to move into the sixth and final playoff spot as the current sixth-place team Azusa Pacific lost in 14 innings at Westmont.
Biola's bottom of the order did much of the damage offensively as Johnny Farrington and David McNeill combined to go 5-for-7 with four runs scored and five driven in from the No. 8 and No. 9 spots.
The offense also helped Biola starter Kevin Ryan improve to 7-0 on the season. Ryan allowed three earned runs over eight innings, allowing 13 hits, but working out of numerous jams to stay perfect.
The Eagles struck early with two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Michael Andrews doubled with one out and with two out, Drake Fages drove him in with a double. Fages then came around thanks to a single by Mac Sullivan to make it 2-0.
The Master's got one run back in the top of the second, but Biola erupted for 10 runs, again all with two out. With two out and one run scoring on an error, Andrews and Boone Farrington hit back-to-back doubles to make it 5-1. After a walk to Fages, Sullivan collected his second-straight RBI-single, the first of six consecutive hits by the Eagles.
Brian Loard followed with a two-run double with Garrett Leon driving home one with a single. Johnny Farrington singled with McNeill knocking in two more with a single. Benji Sutherland capped the inning with a single to drive home another run. When the dust settled, Biola had 10 runs on eight hits and held a commanding 12-1 lead.
The Mustangs scored a run in the top of the fifth only to see Biola answer back with a four-run bottom of the inning--again all coming with two out. With two on and two out, Leon drove home a run with a single up the middle, followed by a walk to load the bases. McNeill then cleared them off with a double down the left-field line to make it 16-2.
The Master's added one run in each of the sixth and seventh innings, but Ryan worked out of a couple of jams in each inning to keep the lead. Nate Coronado came on in the ninth and gave up one hit but held the Mustangs off the board.
Biola wraps up the home portion of its regular-season schedule, hosting The Master's in the second game of the four-game series on Thursday at 3:00 p.m. The series concludes on Saturday with a doubleheader at The Master's College beginning at Noon.
