Box Score
WALESKA, Ga. --- Hope is something so small, and so immeasurable, but the whole stadium, and everyone viewing at home, could feel Biola's hope of reaching the NAIA Softball World Series fleeting after a nine-run inning sixth inning by No. 9 Reinhardt helped them take charge of Wednesday's bracket final.
 
It was an inning that no one could possibly see coming as CeCe Luster and Reba DePriest were in the middle of doing what they had done all season long, dominating hitters. However, a nine-run frame followed by a four-run inning keyed the host school's 16-6 come-from-behind victory that ended Biola's season in its tracks.
 
It was an unexpected and disappointing end to what has been a marvelous, exciting season for Biola's "team 21." The Eagles achieved everything they had set out to do at the beginning of the season and then some, including reaching Head Coach Lorie Coleman's goal for wins. She was aiming to corral 35 victories, and the team one-upped that mark with a final record of 36-14. The 36 wins come at the end of a long road that has seen the Eagles increase their win total from 15 to 25 to 36 over the previous three years.
 
Biola also earned four All-GSAC student-athletes, including their first Golden State Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year award in over a decade. DePriest took that crown after breaking Biola's all-time single-season strikeout record. She finished the year with 233 strikeouts, including seven in her four-plus innings of work today.
 
She started in the circle for Biola as they looked to knock off Reinhardt just one day after suffering a 10-5 loss to the Lady Eagles. She got off to a shaky start by allowing a bases loaded situation almost immediately, but showed her poise by allowing just one run in the first inning.
 
Biola quickly got that run back and more as they put up a three-spot in the second inning, and, after they used some timely hitting to get three more in the third, seemed to have a firm grasp on the game with a 6-3 lead and DePriest shutting down the Lady Eagles.

Biola's six early runs came courtesy of RBI production from Luster, who had a phenomenal run at the tournament by racking in four RBI and three runs scored, Kasey Hormel, Ashley Spadt and Mackenzie Magro. Hormel equaled Luster with two RBI, both coming on a pinch-hit single in the third inning.

"Our offensive strategy was to make their pitcher throw as many pitches as possible early, and it was very effective," said Coleman. "We were saving Kasey to come in at a big time. We got to use her in a clutch situation and she came through, just like I knew she would."
 
The hope of forcing a second game with a win seemed to be overwhelming as the game progressed. Even the Reinhardt broadcasters conceded it seemed as if a second game was a given as Biola's 6-3 lead remained intact as the two teams headed into the sixth inning.
 
All signs were positive for Biola as Reinhardt entered into its final six offensive outs, as DePriest and Luster had just combined to throw back-to-back scoreless innings and the Lady Eagles had just three hits in the contest.
 
A leadoff hit-by-pitch, followed by a walk and sacrifice bunt seemed threatening, but Biola was still in good shape with a three-run lead and runners on second and third with one out. They could trade a run for an out and still be looking really good.
 
However, three more walks and two wild pitches suddenly shifted the momentum and scoreboard of the game as Reinhardt took the lead back for the first time since the second inning, and there was still just one out.

"We had them all the way up to that point," said Coleman. "Our pitchers both just ran out of gas."
 
More mishaps finding the strike zone and finding outs in the field led to the huge run production of Reinhardt and eventually led to the host school winning their own bracket with a 10-run win.
 
It was an unfortunate ending for a team that fought hard all season for the respect it deserved at the national level. It was Biola's second trip to the NAIA Softball Championships in school history, and the team put up a fight throughout the double-elimination tournament, but two rough innings leave Biola finishing its season in the wrong city in Georgia, while Reinhardt punches its ticket for the NAIA Softball World Series in Columbus, Georgia.

"We took it as far as we could," said Coleman. "I was really proud of the team and the way they fought through a lot of adversity.What matters most at the end of the day is the behavior of our girls and how much character they showed throughout this tournament."