Box Score LA MIRADA, Calif. --- The sun was shining, the cleats were polished and everything on the field was fresh as could be as Biola opened its home baseball season with a doubleheader against Antelope Valley on Saturday afternoon.
 
It was a wild afternoon of baseball as the two teams combined for 31 runs over 17 innings at Eagles Diamond. The two contests today followed the series opener that saw Biola beat UAV 6-0 on Friday night.
 
Game one was a back-and-forth affair that saw some good, and some not so good, pitching performances on both sides as UAV took a 10-5 win in extra innings. Game two looked as if it would be another tough one for the Eagles, as UAV took a five-run lead early on. However, Biola got some offense to come back, and the game eventually ended in an 8-8 tie when it was suspended due to darkness.
 
"The first weekend is always hard, because you are setting your pitchers up for the rest of the year," said Head Coach Jay Sullenger. "I was glad to see the guys fighting through, I saw a lot of promising signs today."
 
Jess Yancosek got the start for the Eagles in the day's opener. He struggled to find the strike zone early in the game, and it helped the UAV find a way to get their timing down in the first few innings.
 
The Pioneers got two runners on quickly, and then Eric Vegas got a double to score them both and give UAV a 2-0 advantage after the top of the first.

After giving up the runs, Yancosek got back on track and starting shutting down the Pioneers lineup when he had to be removed in the third because he hit his opening series pitch limit.
 
Bryan Castelli came in and picked up right where Yancosek left off, hurling four shutout innings to keep Biola in the game. He allowed four hits over his 12 outs, and struck out two batters.
 
"We ran into a pitch count issue with Jesse (Yancosek), he got into trouble early, but he righted the ship and was throwing great when I had to pull him after the third," said Sullenger. "Bryan came in after that and did a fabulous job, he really shut them down. He has good stuff, but even more important than that, he has a heart to compete."
 
The Pioneers got a fantastic start out of Bobby Diaz, who went 7.1 innings and allowed only two runs. He was getting the Eagles to just miss on his pitches, forcing 13 fly outs on the afternoon.
 
He was absolutely dominant through the first seven innings, but Biola found the chink in his armor early in the eighth. Tanner Swire, Rob Groeschell and Johnny Farrington loaded the bases for Paul Slater to open the inning. Slater hit a sacrifice fly to score one run, then Boone Farrington walked to force in the second to knot the game at two.
 
Three runs by UAV in the top of the ninth made hopes look bleak for Biola heading into the final frame.
 
Mike Annunziata opened the ninth with a scorching single, Swire added another base knock to put runners on first and second for Johnny Farrington. He singled down the right field line to bring the game within one. Luke Klocek followed with a long double that tied it at five.
 
A five-run top of the 10^th gave UAV their first win of the season and saddled Konanui Olson with his first loss.
 
"Wow, that was quite an adventure," said Sullenger. "It was a good ballgame; at the end of the day you have got to just tip the cap to them as they won that ballgame."
 
Tyler Bernheisel claimed his spot as the third starter of the weekend for the Eagles. He threw two very strong innings before he got into trouble in the third. The Pioneers jumped out to a five run lead after a five-hit inning saw them take claim on the late game early.
 
It would not be so, as the Eagles again showed their resilience with a five-run inning of their own in the bottom half of the third. Sam Thorne got in on the action, picking up his first RBI of the day on a sharply hit double.
 
Antelope Valley got the bats warmed up immediately in the top of the fourth, building a three-run advantage with just 12 outs left in the Eagles' offense.
 
Biola needed every one of those 12 outs, as it took them until they had two outs in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game at eight.
 
After their three hit, three-run inning the game was called due to darkness. It is listed as a tie, but the extra innings will be played March 28^th when the Eagles travel up to Lancaster for a fourth game against the Pioneers.
 
"Once again, the guys answered the bell," said Sullenger. "It speaks a lot to their character. I am excited to see them finish the job and get some wins as the season goes on, that is the next step for us."
 
Biola starts conference play with a road series at The Master's College, which begins next Friday.