Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 COSTA MESA, Calif. --- When the season schedule was released and Vanguard vs. Biola was scheduled as a series during the final weekend of the regular season it was a big deal. These two teams were picked to finish first and second in the Golden State Athletic Conference and would seemingly have a whole lot to play for at this point of the year.
 
There was a whole lot of the line during Saturday's doubleheader, but not in the manner in which either team was probably hoping for. Biola needed two wins over the Lions in order to make its way into the GSAC Tournament, while the Lions were looking for wins to improve their middle-of-the-pack standing.
 
Ultimately, Vanguard was able to secure as season split against Biola by winning both games of this doubleheader and ending the Eagles' season with no playoff possibilities. The Lions stole a 1-0 win in the opener and followed that up with a 6-2 win in what turned out to be the final game of the season for Head Coach Lorie Coleman's squad.
 
The Eagles end the year with a 21-30-1 overall record and disappointing 7-17 record in GSAC play. It was a challenging year from the standpoint of wins and losses, but a great year in terms of team growth, experience and the formation of a true team. Coleman returns all but four of her roster of 20 for the 2017 season.
 
The game one loss was crushing because Biola needed a pair of victories in order to sneak into the postseason and it did just about everything it could in the opener to ensure that could happen.
 
Coleman's pitching staff of Kendall Maddox and Kaile Chavez combined to hold the Lions to just two hits in the first game, but the second of those hits ended up coming back to bite them.
 
Vanguard's Kristyn Whitley led off the bottom of the fifth inning with a double, the only extra-base hit of the ballgame, and came around to score the only run of the game as the Lions secured the win late.
 
The Eagles managed to get two runners at first and second with just one out as they attempted to save the season in their last at-bats in the top of the seventh, but a popup and groundout ended the game with their offense held off the board and their postseason shot officially out the window.
 
Vanguard's starting pitcher, Alexandra Olvera, pitched the entire first game and held Biola to five base runners as she used a complete game shutout to improve to 17-8 on the season.
 
Knowing that game two would be their final game of the 2016 season the Eagles went out with hopes of ending well and leaving it all on the field. They did just that as they managed two runs and six hits against the Lions' Taylor Doyle, but a five-run third inning helped the Lions jump ahead for good in their 6-2 win.
 
Staring at a 6-0 deficit the Eagles mustered up some offense late as they scored once in the fifth and once in the seventh in what turned out to be the final game of the careers of Iliana Morales, Kendall Maddox, Bria Madrid and Heather Hall.
 
Those seniors were heavily involved in the scoring of those final two runs of the season. A Hall walk with the bases loaded brought the first run around while both Madrid and Morales were on base.  Then Maddox added an RBI with a two-out single in the seventh that brought Morales around to score and pushed Madrid to third base.
 
So, Team 23 has seen its final action on the field of play, but it will still have plenty more in store for them through the final few months of this school year as they continue their walk with the Lord and walk to a degree together as sisters on the field and off.