LA MIRADA, Calif. --- The baseball and softball schedules include more contests than any other team on campus, yet the student-athletes in these programs consistently strive for success in classroom as well as on the diamond, and that resulted in three student-athletes earning Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-District status.
 
Boone Farrington, Rob Groeschell and Celina Thornton each earned their first career honors as Academic All-District athletes after earning at least a 3.30 grade point average, serving as a starter on their team and getting voted on by sports information directors across all of the colleges and universities in district four.
 
Farrington's award comes couples with her recent honor as an All-GSAC athlete. He worked his way to a 3.74 cumulative GPA in his senior year as a sociology major. He has been named a NAIA Scholar-Athlete in the past, but becomes Biola baseball's third student-athlete to earn Academic All-District status. He ended the season leading the baseball team in numerous offensive categories as he raked in his second All-GSAC honor.
 
Groeschell began the season as Biola's best offensive threat, and despite a few setbacks ended the year at the top of the order and producing for Head Coach Jay Sullenger. Groeschell's 3.61 cumulative GPA as a business administration major helped him become one of just three Academic All-District outfielders out of district four. This is Groeschell's first academic award in his time at Biola.
 
The Eagles' two baseball honorees gave them the second-most honors in the Golden State Athletic Conference. Concordia had three members of their baseball team get honored. Overall, six members of the 11-man team came from the GSAC.
 
The GSAC was not as prominent on the softball list, as Thornton and Brittani McGue of Concordia were the only two GSAC softball players to earn Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-District recognition.
 
It is Thornton's fourth career academic recognition, as she is already a two-time GSAC Scholar-Athlete and once a NAIA Scholar-Athlete. She becomes the first Biola softball player to receive recognition as an Academic All-District athlete and has a chance to become the team's first-ever Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-American.
 
Thornton has worked a cumulative 3.61 GPA over her past four years of going double-duty as a Christian ministries major and Biola's starting catcher.
 
All Academic All-District players are now eligible to be voted as Academic All-Americans. Those winners are slated to be announced May 19. Softball has never had an Academic All-American, and any baseball winners would join Benji Sutherland and Nick Turner as baseball's only winners.