RIVERSIDE, Calif. --- A perfectly excecuted suicide squeeze by Garrett Leon scored Benji Sutherland with the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning as Biola advanced to the GSAC Championship Game with a 7-6 victory over arch-rival Azusa Pacific University on Thursday afternoon.

The Eagles (36-19) move into the GSAC Tournament Championship game and will face Concordia University needing to beat the other Eagles twice to claim the GSAC Title. The first game begins Friday at Noon with the second following if it becomes necessary.

The game turned into a wild roller coaster ride which featured nearly as many home runs in the one game (four) as had been hit in the previous eight games (six). Two were hit by either team in the back-and-forth game which featured a controversal triple play turned by the Cougars (28-25).

Drake Fages connected on one of those home runs, a monster shot to left-center field in the second. Fages, who is 9-of-14 with six runs scored and six RBIs in the tournament, tied the school record for RBIs in a season with his 75th coming later in the game.

Biola starter Alex Brueske put together a good start for the Eagles, keeping them in the game by holding Azusa Pacific to just five runs over six innings though not receiving a decision in the contest. Kyle Atkins picked up the win with three solid innings of relief.

After a back-and-forth start to the contest Biola came up in the seventh with the score tied at 5-5. After three loading the bases with no one out, Mac Sullivan hit a low line drive to center which was trapped by the centerfield, but called an out by the field umpire, a call made from between the pitcher's mound and second base. 

One missed call led to another. The Cougars got the ball in and tagged second, doubling up the runner there, but the next throw went to third where the runner there was called out despite clearly tagging up before coming home. After a lengthy discussion, the run was awarded, but the runner at first was called out apparently on appeal despite the ball never being thrown to first base. What should have been an RBI-single with the bases remaining loaded and no one out, turned into a triple-play sacrifice fly.

The odd play gave Biola a 6-5 lead heading into the top of the eighth inning, but it was short-lived as Josh Leite led off the frame with his second home run of the game and just his fourth on the season.

But after working out of a bases loaded jam in the eighth and holding the Cougars off the board in the top of the ninth, Biola had a chance to win it. Benji Sutherland, who had just one hit through his first 16 at-bats in the tournament, came through in a big way with a lead-off triple. After Michael Andrews hit a shallow fly to left for the first out, Leon then came through with the suicide squeeze, excecuted perfectly even against the Cougars drawn-in infield to drive home the winning run.

The game got off to an bad start for the Eagles, who allowed two runs to the Cougars in the top of the first. After Brueske hit the leadoff batter, a sacrifice bunt attempt went awry for the Eagles as Brueske fielded the attempt but hit throw went down the right-field line. Both runners were able to move up 90 feet and came around to score on a ground out and a fly out.

Fages cut the lead in half to lead off the bottom of the second, crushing a solo home run to left-center field. It was Fages 75th RBI of the season, tying the school record set by Sam Orr during the 2003 season.

Azusa Pacific got that run back in a similar fashion in the fourth as Josh Leite led off the frame with a shot over the right-center field fence. Anthony Rodriguez would single home another run later in the frame to make it a 4-1 game.

Biola again cut the lead in half in the bottom of the fourth as Fages led the inning off with a double and came around to score on a single by Brian Loard. 

In the fifth, Azusa Pacific got another leadoff home run, this time from Anthony Delgado to stretch the lead back up to three at 5-2.

Biola came back to tie the game with three runs in the sixth. Garrett Leon led off the frame with a solo home run, his fourth of the year and second in his last three games. Fages then drew a walk and two outs later came around to score on a double off the top of the fence in left-center field by Brent Opdyke. Johnny Farrington then drove home Opdyke with a single to tie the game.

Biola now must win twice despite not having any of its starting pitchers available to pitch on Friday. The Eagles are expected to send Jonathan Cade to the mound to make his first start of the season and will hope for the best after that. Biola is already guaranteed a spot in the NAIA National Championship Tournament which begins next week, but it is likely that Concordia must win the tournament and gain the GSAC's second automatic berth to reach the NAIA Tournament.