Box Score
WALESKA, Ga. --- It began as a close, low-scoring pitcher's dual, but it ended as a slugfest with a garnish of fielding errors as the No. 1 seed, Reinhardt, earned a 10-5 win over No. 2 seed Biola to advance to the Reinhardt Bracket Championships.
 
Following the loss, Biola must win the loser's bracket championship this afternoon at 1 p.m. in order to face No. 9 Reinhardt tomorrow in the championship.
 
"They are a power-hitting team," said Head Coach Lorie Coleman. "That is what they pride themselves on. Our girls never stopped fighting and showed great pride, even when things got away a little bit at the end of the contest."
 
Headed into the game the matchup was simple, it was solid hitting (Reinhardt) versus solid pitching (Biola), but the outlook quickly began to shift beginning in the top of the first inning.
 
After a 1-2-3 top of the first from the arm of CeCe Luster, Biola's bats got to work and put the first run of the game on the board as Luster crossed the plate off a Brooke Madrid single.
 
Biola's offense seemed to immediately have its timing down on Reinhardt's stud pitcher, Madison Luck.
 
A solo homerun in the first at bat of the top of the second tied the game at one, which was where it would stay after Reba DePriest came to the circle in the second frame and got locked into a dual with Luck until the top of the fifth inning.
 
The Eagles seemed to have a complete breakdown in the top of the fifth as the Lady Eagles of Reinhardt showed why they are considered among the top offensive teams in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.
 
The Lady Eagles grabbed a 6-1 lead in the inning after picking up just one hit, a 3-RBI double off the bat of Randi Wimpy. The lady Eagles were aided by some walks and a hit-by-pitch call that allowed Tyler Sampson to reach first base early in the inning off a pitch that appeared to be fouled off the handle of the bat.
 
The inning was nearly completely erased in the bottom half when Biola rallied for four runs of its own and made the game a 6-5 contest headed to the final two frames.
 
The Eagles were outhitting Reinhardt through most of the contest, and the sixth inning was no different, as Biola's runs came off two hits in the inning, one from Luster and one from Heather Hall.
 
Luster had a marquee day at the plate, going 4-for-4 and scoring two runs.
 
"CeCe showed total leadership today," said Coleman. "She stepped up at the plate the whole game, and she had a great attitude when trying to make up for some of the things that went wrong in the circle at the plate."
 
She was in the circle as Biola looked to hold down Reinhardt in the top of the sixth in the newly minted one-run contest.
 
Unfortunately, she immediately was met by some of the biggest bats on the Lady Eagles' bench, and Kendall Hahn single was followed by an Alexis Chumbler two-run homerun that began to open the game up once again.
 
Two more unearned runs would follow, and eventually the Lady Eagles ended up walking away with a 10-5 win in a contest that was a lot more competitive than the final score would suggest.
 
"Our pitching just was not where it needed to be today," said Coleman. "We realize now that if we meet them again it is going to be a hitting battle, and we just need to score a lot of runs."
 
Luck earned her 33^rd win of the season, while DePriest suffered just her third loss of the 2014 campaign.
 
The Eagles will have to work harder in order to earn a trip to the NAIA Softball World Series, as they must win this afternoon against Taylor and twice tomorrow against Reinhardt to punch their ticket back to Georgia.
 
Follow the afternoon contest by visiting the tournament central page for live stats and video links.