Box Score LA MIRADA, Calif. --- It was definitely one of the strangest competitions on Eagles Diamond in recent memory, but in the end a win is a win, and Biola earned a 6-5 win in walkoff fashion over No. 24 Vanguard on Wednesday afternoon.
It was a story of redemption for
Andres Rodriguez, as the sophomore began his day with three errors at third base over the first the innings, but ended it with a three-hit day including the walkoff single.
"Andres has been swinging it better in this latter half of the year," said Head Coach
Jay Sullenger. "He is taking advantage of the opportunity. His adjustments at the plate have become visible as he's become a much more complete hitter. He is a talented kid, so I am glad it is starting to work out for him and the team."
Rodriguez teamed with
Johnny Farrington to provide plenty of offense for the Eagles on an afternoon when they needed it. It seemed as if Farrington was almost always on base causing some kind of disruption for the pitcher, and it led to him scoring two runs. The pair combined to go 6-for-6 with four runs scored, an RBI and two walks.
Biola's offense is what helped keep them in the game despite a clear disadvantage in the field, where they gave up five errors, resulting in two of the five Vanguard scores. The Eagles also had some struggles on the bases with a pickoff and a very rare popup triple play killing two of their rallies late in the contest.
The Eagles got some solid pitching from
Eric Diomartich as he went five innings and struck out seven while allowing just two runs to the Lions. He was laboring with his pitch count due to all the strikeouts and had to be removed earlier than Sullenger would have hoped.
Bryan Castelli came in to relieve Diomartich and held down the fort well, despite giving up a two-run homerun in the eighth inning.
It was that homerun that gave Vanguard a 5-2 advantage headed into the bottom of the eighth inning. The Eagles got some scoring done quickly and had two runners on and no one out as
Sam Thorne took the box in a now 5-4 ballgame.
Thorne hit a looping popper straight behind the shortstop, Nick Rodda, who slid straight backwards to catch it and then caught the Eagles runners off guard at second and first to end the inning with a triple play and steal the momentum from the Eagles.
A strong inning from Castelli in the top of the ninth helped setup a great potential for scoring in the bottom of the ninth as Sullenger's revamped bottom of the lineup was due up.
Sullenger moved some pieces around in today's starting lineup, putting
Rob Groeschell and
Michael Annunziata in the eight and nine spots to offer a different look to the Lions' pitching staff.
"This guy on the mound got us really good last time, so I wanted to be aggressive with some adjustments," said Sullenger. "I went off some feel stuff and wanted to give the young guys some opportunities at the top. I had to get creative and that is just where we landed."
The Eagles made Sullenger look like a genius, as
Johnny Farrington, in the seven slot, led off the inning with a double. He advanced on a Groeschell single that knocked Roberto Johnson out of the game. He then scored on a throwing error by the new pitcher, Jordan Moak, as he attempted a pickoff at first base.
Groeschell advanced to second on that play and was moved to third on an
Aaron Chavez groundout. Then, a
Luke Klocek walk was followed by the big walkoff single from Rodriguez, ending a wacky day with a big win for Biola.
The Eagles improve to 13-34 (9-22 GSAC) and drop the No. 24 Lions to 27-17 (18-13 GSAC). The season-series concludes tomorrow as these two teams meet for a noon doubleheader at Eagles Diamond.
