Box Score

ALEXANDRIA, La. --- "Adventure is out there." Boy was the kid from Pixar's UP right when he said that. Monday's game between No. 18 Biola and Belhaven (Miss.) was quite the adventure from start to finish, but when the dust settled it was Biola on top 2-0.
 
The game was moved from 2:30 p.m. up to 8:00 a.m. to try and avoid incoming thunderstorms, but that only lasted three full innings before a three and a half hour rain delay set the teams back and caused a virtual restart in the fourth inning around 1:30 p.m.
 
Even with all the distractions senior Reba DePriest never lost sight of the ultimate goal – a win. She got that with a complete game shutout of the Blazers, striking out 11 batters and holding the Mississippi natives to just three hits in the game.
 
"We feel great about where we are at," said Head Coach Lorie Coleman. "Our defense stayed solid and Reba was strong. There were so many distractions and interuptions today that it became all about trying to keep us focused and determined so we could come through with that clutch moment."
 
The Eagles needed every bit of DePriest's dominant performance as they had some struggles of their own getting runners around the bases. Biola got one run on each side of the rain delay to build its lead, scoring once in the first and again in the sixth.
 
The first run came on a misplay by the Blazers' substitute left fielder as a Bria Madrid single down the left line ended up getting all the way to the wall allowing Selina Sherlin to score all the way from first.
 
That lead would hold steady until the delay as DePriest was setting down Belhaven batters left and right. She had faced the minimum nine batters through the first three inning before God gave the team a homework break.
 
She turned up the heat on the Blazers when they got back on the field, striking out nine over the final four frames.
 
The only spot of trouble she got in came in the sixth inning, when a two-out walk allowed Belhaven's top hitter to come to the plate with a chance to reverse the advantage with one big hit. An 11-pitch at-bat ended in a walk to put runners on first and second, but DePriest struck out the very next batter to end the threat.
 
DePriest and Bria Madrid had it working in the clutch moments in this one, getting four inning-ending strikeouts and feeble ground ball outs to end the other three innings.
 
"We brought in a new pitch today, the back-door curveball," said DePriest. "I've had it pretty much my entire life, but we thought we'd try something new and it worked out in our favor."
 
Biola added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth inning when a lead-off double from Kasey Hormel turned into a run following a Sherlin single and Madrid sacrifice bunt.
 
Those three players combined for five of Biola's six hits in this one. Hormel had a fantastic batter's eye, going 3-for-3 and never getting more than two strikes on her.
 
"I think everyone worked together as a team really well," said DePriest. "We got some clutch hits and it was a good win."
 
DePriest locked it down in the top of the seventh with back-to-back strikeouts and a groundout.
 
The win secured Biola's spot in the winner's bracket semifinal. That game is scheduled for 10:00 am (PT) on Wednesday and will be against the winner of LSU Alexandria vs. Kansas Wesleyan.

For complete tournament coverage visit: http://athletics.biola.edu/sports/2015/5/8/LSUAlexandriaTournament.aspx?id=207