Box Score SANTA BARBARA, Calif. --- Sometimes when you run up against good pitching there just is not much you can do to get around it. Unfortunately, that was the case on Friday for Biola Baseball, as the Eagles were shutout by Westmont's Russell Harmening.
 
Harmening came into the outing as the hardest-to-hit pitcher in the Golden State Athletic Conference (.156 BA against), and that mark improved even more in the junior's complete game dandy.
 
Two pivotal moments of offense accounted for seven of the Warriors' eight runs, helping them hand the Eagles a fourth loss in a row.
 
The first of those moments came in the bottom of the second inning, when Biola's starter Garrett Picha got two outs within the first three batters faced and seemed to be on his way to matching Harmening with two scoreless innings.
 
Biola's ace allowed a double that setup runners on second and third for Rudy Leon, who had the lowest batting average in the Warriors' lineup. That batting average did not matter though, as a routine groundout by Leon turned into the first two runs in the game after a throwing error. The error kept the inning alive and Westmont would tack on one more before Picha got a flyout to end the frame.
 
Both teams went quiet until the fifth inning when two singles and a walk loaded the bases for Westmont's DH Blake Matthias. Matthias muscled one just over the wall to blow the game wide open and leave Picha in a big deficit.
 
Continuing to show his toughness on the mound, Picha pitched his way out of that inning without allowing another run, before eventually getting pulled in the sixth after issuing his fourth walk of the afternoon.
 
Garrett Stevenson took the ball from Picha to make his first appearance of the season for Head Coach Jay Sullenger. It did not go as well as he may have hoped as he made an error, allowed a single and hit a batter to get Westmont to its 8-0.
 
On a positive note, Brandon Valente came in with one out and the bases loaded and did not allow a run to score while wiggling out of the inning. He had a strong showing in relief, pitching the final 2.2 innings without allowing a hit to the potent Warriors offense.
 
Of course, the story continued to be Harmening, who faced just the minimum until the eighth inning of this one, and he had the Biola hitters mesmerized with continual mixing of pitches and locations.
 
Biola got two hits off the junior hurler in the ninth inning, which brought their game total to just three. However, he worked out of that mini jame, forcing a lineout and deep fly out to end the game. He finished with eight strikeouts, 12 fly outs and five groundouts.
 
Biola drops to 4-9 (2-8 GSAC) with the loss, while the upstart Warriors improve to 11-2 (6-2 GSAC).
 
The Eagles will look for some kind of offense tomorrow as it plays the final two games of the series in Santa Barbara.