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Box Score 2 FULLERTON, Calif. --- Biola fell victim to a pair of walk-offs against Hope International University, losing 3-2 on a walk-off home run and falling 7-6 in eight innings in the night cap of a GSAC doubleheader at Craig Park on Tuesday.
The Eagles fall to 15-27 on the season and to 1-13 in GSAC play while the Royals end the day at 24-26, 4-10 in conference action.
It was a rough day all around for Biola which held three different leads in the seventh inning or later, but was unable to close out either contest.
In game one, Biola opened with two runs in the top of the first to take the early lead. Chelsea Limm led the game off with a single up the middle. Brooke Madrid followed with a double to left to put two in scoring position with no one out. CeCe Luster then followed with a sacrifice squeeze to bring home Limm with Natalie Parker following with a single up the middle to score Madrid and make it 2-0.
Biola would put at least one runner on base in five of the next six innings, but could not add any insurance.
Hope broke through with a run in the fourth inning, but still trailed by one heading to the seventh. After a groundout to open the inning, the Royals would get a single to put the tying run on base. Biola starter Sarah Enriquez would then get a strikeout for the second out. But after Enriquez got a first-pitch strike on Hope first baseman Katie Gripp, Gripp got a hold of a pitch and sent it over the right-centerfield fence to give Hope the walk-off win.
The Royals rode that momentum to an early lead in game two, scoring once in the first and again in the third to take a 2-0 lead.
Biola could not get much going offensively in the second game, managing just four hits through the first six innings and failing to score a run.
That would change in the seventh as the Eagles were down to their last chance. With one out, Natalie Parker singled through the left side and advanced to second as Kayna Lamb reached on an error by the Royals. After a strikeout, Madrid then found herself down to Biola's final strike, down in the count at 1-2. However, she laced a double to left-center to bring home two and tie the game. Luster then followed with a two-run homer to left-center to put Biola on top 4-2.
But once again the Royals would rally, taking advantage of an error to open the inning and scoring two runs with two outs to tie the game and force extra innings.
In the eighth, Biola's international tiebreaker runner moved to third early in the frame on a wild pitch, but back-to-back groundouts kept her there. The Eagles got a big break as a throwing error allowed the go-ahead run to score and extended the inning. Parker made them pay with a single to right which scored Sarah Stromwall to make it 6-4 heading to the bottom of the eighth.
Hope scored the tiebreaker runner with a single to right and put the go-ahead run on as the next batter reached on a bunt single. Both runners moved up 60 feet on a heads up play as the Eagles failed to watch the runners and they advanced into scoring position.
Hope would tie the game on a infield grounder which the Eagles attempted to get the out at home but were late. The Royals then won the game as a throw to first was dropped after what looked to be a routine out in front of the plate.
Sarah Enriquez suffered the loss in both games, coming on in relief in the second. She would only allow one earned run of the five scored in the second game, but still fell to 8-12 on the season.
Biola closes out the season at home on Saturday, hosting Azusa Pacific University in a GSAC contest beginning at Noon. Be sure to arrive early to help celebrate senior day as Biola honors its lone senior Leslie Larson before the start of the game.
