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Sam is back

Baseball Brandon Taylor, Sports Information Assistant

Birds Of A Feather Homer Together

Biola uses four homeruns and three other extra-base hits to beat Hope International, 10-3.

Sam Thorne went 3-for-4 with a triple and a homerun is his return to the lineup.
Box Score LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Consistent two-strike production can be one of the most encouraging or most deflating aspects of baseball depending on which end of the stick your team gets. Nine times during Friday's game between RV Hope International and Biola a starting pitcher did the work of getting two strikes on a hitter only to see it spoiled with a knock.

Three of the first four two-strike hits belonged to the Royals and resulted in three runs. But the final five came off the Eagles' bats and propelled Biola to a 10-3 victory in game one of the weekend series. With the win the 21-11 Eagles (9-7 GSAC) close within a game of the 16-7 Royals (10-6 GSAC) with an all-important doubleheader scheduled for Saturday.

The contest started off with a bang as five runs scored in the first inning and a half. The Royals scored three of those runs by way of the longball: leadoff hitter Cameron Baranek put barrel to a 1-2 fastball to give the visitors the early lead in the first. That smash was followed by Brandon Gonzalez' two-run round tripper in the second when he connected on a 1-2 fastball.

Biola responded to Baranek's blast with hard hit baseballs of their own in the bottom half. Colton Worthington's one-out double was cashed in immediately on Sam Thorne's RBI triple. It was Thorne's first at-bat in three and a half weeks and was just the beginning of Biola's consistent production.

On the heels of Jeremy Barth's sacrifice fly to post Biola's second run, starter Jimmy Gallarda quickly settled in and adjusted to the Royals' two early homeruns.

The senior right-handed pitcher got out of a bases-loaded, no out jam in the second inning to escape with just a 3-2 deficit. He didn't allow another run in his next five innings of work. After starting the game 3-for-4 with two-strike counts, Gallarda put a stopper in the Royals offense by forcing them to go 0-for-9 in two-strike situations during the rest of his outing.

He finished with 11 swing-and-misses, seven strikeouts and six ground outs on the way to his sixth victory of the year and his ninth consecutive start of seven innings or more.

"Friday games are known to be tight ball games and Jimmy did a great job mentally of relaxing, settling back in and getting us a bunch of zeroes for us," said Head Coach Jay Sullenger. "He led us today and can handle games like this. That why he is pitching Fridays for us."

Once Gallarda got his groove back, Biola took the lead and put the game away in the fourth and fifth innings. The Eagles hit four homeruns during those two frames, with three of them coming on two-strike counts with two outs, to chase Hope International starter Dominic Potlongo after 4.2 innings. 

Jerron Largusa lit the first firework with a mile-high two-run homerun to left to put Biola up 4-3 in the fourth. Then Worthington and Thorne got in the bash brothers act again with back-to-back solo jacks off Potlongo in the fifth.

Biola's seventh and final extra-base hit on Friday came two batters after Thorne when Rawley Hughes hit a homerun to make it 8-3. His ball was absolutely crushed to straightaway center field.

"Our confidence is definitely building and we've been excited about the way the lineup is producing," said Sullenger. "We've also been really excited about getting Sam Thorne back in the middle of order, and we got a lift from him today. We talked offensively about trying to make a statement today and I think the guys came out and did that. Potlongo has good numbers and has pitched well for them. We did a good job staying back on the ball and executed the game plan really well."

Reliever Sean McCarrell gladly took two additional insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth to help him complete his two innings of relief work. McCarrell did an excellent job of neutralizing a determined Royals team that was straining to keep the game close.

He erased a leadoff double in the eighth by inducing a line-drive double play ball into the glove of Anj Bourgeois and stranded the bases loaded with a strikeout to end the game.

These two teams will clash again tomorrow at Eagles Diamond for a doubleheader. First pitch of game one is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. Keep an eye on this website and our social media channels for game time changes in case of weather.
 
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Players Mentioned

Jeremy Barth

#7 Jeremy Barth

OF
6' 4"
Senior
L/R
Anj Bourgeois

#8 Anj Bourgeois

IF
5' 11"
Sophomore
L/R
Jimmy Gallarda

#16 Jimmy Gallarda

RHP/1B
6' 3"
Senior
R/R
Rawley Hughes

#19 Rawley Hughes

C/1B
6' 0"
Senior
R/R
Jerron Largusa

#77 Jerron Largusa

OF
6' 2"
Sophomore
R/R
Sean McCarrell

#2 Sean McCarrell

IF/RHP
5' 9"
Senior
R/R
Sam Thorne

#14 Sam Thorne

IF/RHP
5' 8"
Senior
R/R
Colton Worthington

#24 Colton Worthington

OF/1B
5' 11"
Junior
R/R

Players Mentioned

Jeremy Barth

#7 Jeremy Barth

6' 4"
Senior
L/R
OF
Anj Bourgeois

#8 Anj Bourgeois

5' 11"
Sophomore
L/R
IF
Jimmy Gallarda

#16 Jimmy Gallarda

6' 3"
Senior
R/R
RHP/1B
Rawley Hughes

#19 Rawley Hughes

6' 0"
Senior
R/R
C/1B
Jerron Largusa

#77 Jerron Largusa

6' 2"
Sophomore
R/R
OF
Sean McCarrell

#2 Sean McCarrell

5' 9"
Senior
R/R
IF/RHP
Sam Thorne

#14 Sam Thorne

5' 8"
Senior
R/R
IF/RHP
Colton Worthington

#24 Colton Worthington

5' 11"
Junior
R/R
OF/1B
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