Box Score
IRVINE, Calif. --- Any time your team hits two homeruns in a game it is a big deal, but when it is a late inning in a playoff game and one of your freshmen hits a two-run game-winning blast it makes for a very good day.
 
That's exactly the way the Golden State Athletic Conference Softball Tournament first round game between Biola and Vanguard played out on Friday afternoon as Anjie Amezquita crushed a pitch over the fence in right-center to get Biola a 4-2 win.
 
"Anjie's been working really hard in practice lately and it came through big today," said Head Coach Lorie Coleman. "She came through right when our team really needed her. She's an awesome asset for our program and we're really proud of her."
 
The game was close throughout, as all Biola/Vanguard tilts have been to this point in the season, but in the end a complete game gem from Reba DePriest and timely hitting by the Eagles wins out.
 
Biola got on the board before the Lions as Kasey Hormel and Selina Sherlin singled back-to-back before Hormel scored on an error from Vanguard's shortstop.
 
The Lions came back in the third inning, the inning Biola's allowed the most runs in throughout the season, by scoring two runs on a wild pitch.
 
They held the lead until Kimmy Triolo opened the bottom of the fifth inning with a solo homerun. It was her first extra-base of the season after beginning the season with 16 straight singles. Hormel would reach next on a throwing error and got to third but was unable to score. That sent the game into the sixth with a 2-2 score.
 
"The whole team had to dig in and get it done," said Coleman. "Hopefully we're peaking at the right time."
 
Vanguard led off the sixth with a single, but then a DePriest strikeout and a line drive double play gave the Eagles a chance to take the lead in the bottom of the sixth.
 
They did just that with Amezquita's two-out homerun putting them in the driver's seat and destined for an afternoon matchup with No. 1-seed Concordia for a place in the Championship games.
 
Two quick groundouts and a fly out to Heather Hall in left field ended the game and helped Biola improve to 33-16 and 3-2 against the Lions. Vanguard moves on to face the winner of a game between San Diego Christian and William Jessup for a chance in the other tournament semifinal.
 
DePriest earned the win in this one, going all seven innings and allowing six hits and zero earned runs. She added six strikeouts to her ever-increasing season tally and benefitted from some fantastic defensive plays, including double plays on line drives speared by herself and Sherlin."
 
"That was our plan," said Coleman. "We had to stay defensively strong. Strong defense and strong pitching got us to a point where we were just waiting for those clutch hits, and they came."
 
Biola faces Concordia at 4:15 p.m. on Friday and will be the designated home team after winning the coin flip.