No. 8 Warriors Make a Victory Out of One Run

Gallarda is second in the NAIA in innings pitched (39) and sees his ERA shrinks to 1.62.

Box Score SANTA BARBARA, Calif. --- In a game where it is unreasonable to expect to reach base more often than not, a winning team needs a play or two to break their way every now and then. In Biola's 0-1 loss to No. 8 Westmont, it only took one moment going the home team's way to make The Eagles 10-5 on the season.

Two wins during Saturday's doubleheader will bring Biola within a game of .500 in Golden State Athletic Conference while Friday's victory sits The Warriors at 1-1 in conference.

Westmont starter Matt Hartman sprayed nine ground balls with eight fly balls and struck-out 10 in the shutout victory. The junior-righty survived eight three-ball counts and 130 pitches to hold Biola to six baserunners.

Senior Jimmy Gallarda counterpunched Hartmann zero for zero on the scoreboard in nearly every frame, seeing the same number of batters that his opponent faced while tossing eight innings for the complete game.

Conveniently for Westmont, Luke Coffey found solid contact on a 1-1 pitch to begin the fourth inning with the first run of the game just 90 feet away from scoring. A suicide squeeze from the Westmont backstop plated what would be the only run Hartman would need to make the lead stand up for the victory.

Westmont could not manage to get another runner to third until the eighth inning, but the results were not as advantageous as the first time.

With shortstop Bryce Morrison rounding third base on a two-out single by Travis Vander Molen, left fielder Jeremy Barth sized up home plate and delivered a heatseeker to end the bottom of the eighth inning. The one-hop throw to catcher Rawley Hughes beat the runner by three steps.

Gallarda finished with his second-consecutive complete game: eight innings of one-run ball, seven strikeout and seven runners allowed to reach in 107 pitches.

Determined as they were, the Eagles could not turn the momentum to advance a runner past second in the ninth. As Hartman's pitch count soared, Biola found it difficult to lift a ball to the outfield in the three batters that came to the plate after Sam Thorne led off the frame with a single.

The Eagles wait in anticipation and determination for tomorrow's doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for 11:00 a.m.

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Players Mentioned

#7 Jeremy Barth: OF; 6' 4"; Senior; L/R

#16 Jimmy Gallarda: RHP/1B; 6' 3"; Senior; R/R

#19 Rawley Hughes: C/1B; 6' 0"; Senior; R/R

#14 Sam Thorne: IF/RHP; 5' 8"; Senior; R/R

Players Mentioned

#7 Jeremy Barth
: 6' 4"; Senior; L/R
: OF

#16 Jimmy Gallarda
: 6' 3"; Senior; R/R
: RHP/1B

#19 Rawley Hughes
: 6' 0"; Senior; R/R
: C/1B

#14 Sam Thorne
: 5' 8"; Senior; R/R
: IF/RHP

Players Mentioned

Players Mentioned

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