Box Score
LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Biola Baseball beat William Jessup 5-2 on Friday afternoon to win its second game in a row. It is just the second time through the first 23 games this year that Biola has back-to-back wins.
 
It came behind a great day of fundamental baseball, as Garrett Picha utilized contact pitching a very strong defense behind him to work 7.0 innings of five-hit ball. Biola got a single run in each of the first five innings to get itself in position to get the win.
 
"It's a nice Friday win," said Head Coach jay Sullenger. "We haven't had a ton of them, but it makes a big difference on a weekend when you can get out and play some good baseball."
 
Biola played excellent baseball throughout, getting runners over on stolen bases, bunts, balks, groundouts and more in a very-much small ball kind of victory.
 
The scoring began in the bottom of the first inning, when Andy Smith and Tanner Swire led off the game with back-to-back singles, got moved over on a groundout and then Smith scored on a groundout by Jeremy Barth.
 
The Warriors answered right back in the top of the second, getting their first two hits and first one run of the game. Jimmy Gallarda opened Biola's second inning by reaching and advancing to second on an error. He came around to score when Rob Groeschell singled to the outfield and then got gunned down trying to reach second as WJU seemingly forgot about Gallarda.
 
Biola's remaining three runs came in succession over the next three innings, two coming off plays that also resulted in out, and one coming as Andres Rodriguez scored on a balk after launching a one-out triple down the right line.
 
"We took advantage of a few mistakes by them, but also got good execution on our part," said Sullenger. "Pich a gave us a chance to win, we made some good plays on defense and really just had good, clean baseball."
 
In addition to scoring a run on his 1-for-3 day at the dish, Rodriguez was instrumental in keeping runs off the board in support of Picha. He made five assists in five chances at third base, including being involved in relay plays to catch runners at home and making a sweet diving grab and throw on a ball down the line.
 
After Picha's seven innings were up, Sean McCarrell pitched a scoreless eighth and Jimmy Gallarda got his third save with a 1-2-3 ninth inning.
 
Biola scored its runs on 10 hits and zero errors, while Jessup plated two on its nine hits and committed one error. Five of the Warriors' nine hits were doubles, but the Eagles' trio of arms stayed locked in to keep the damage from the extra-base knocks to a minimum.
 
The win pushes Biola up to 8-15 (6-13 GSAC), while the loss drops William Jessup deeper into the cellar at 3-15 (3-14 GSAC). The two sides meet again for a doubleheader beginning at 11:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. Biola students get free steak by showing their ID to the AS representatives at the field.