Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 COSTA MESA, Calif. --- Biola Softball has had a few challenging days the past few times out, but Friday was definitely not one of those challenging days as the Eagles held their own and then some against No. 17 Vanguard.
 
Biola showed its ability to bounce back in the opener, rebounding from trailing (or sitting in a tie with) the home team three different times en route to a thrilling 6-5 victory. Game two was just as tight as both teams put up zeroes into the sixth inning before the hosts scored two to force a split with a 2-0 win.
 
Kaile Chavez pitched the complete game in the opener and earned her sixth win of the season after Maranda Galindo singled to push home the game-winning run in the top of the sixth.
 
The Eagles outhit the Lions 11-9 in game one and scored two-thirds of their runs with two outs in order to complete the upset and hand the Lions their fourth Golden State Athletic Conference loss of the season.
 
The top of the fifth inning was the key to the Biola victory. Rather than get down and out after allowing three runs to Vanguard in the bottom of the fourth inning the team jumped right back up and put up a four-spot in the fifth.
 
The big inning began with a string of three consecutive singles from Hailey Boyett, Andi Hormel and Kasey Hormel. The Eagles would end the inning with six hits, all of them singles, as they stole the lead back at 5-4 and began the work of forcing Vanguard's starting pitcher out of the game.
 
The Lions tied things up in the bottom half of the inning by taking advantage of a leadoff single and stolen base. It was one of just three leadoff batters that were able to reach off of Chavez.
 
The final blow happened in the top of the sixth when Galindo took a two-out, two-strike pitch right back up the middle to drive in Boyett and push Biola one run up. It was Galindo's only hit of the day.
 
Outside of Jay Perez, who went 3-for-4 in the opener, multi-hit games weren't prevalent up and down the Eagles' lineup, rather the team spread out the offense with all but one of the starters having one hit or more.
 
Perez and Selina Sherlin were the biggest run producers in the opener. They both had two RBI and Perez scored a run herself.
 
The second game followed a completely different script as the two teams combined for only seven hits and the two late-game Vanguard runs.
 
Kimmy Triolo went over five innings of scoreless ball for Head Coach Lorie Coleman. It was not a perfect outing, but impressive and effective all the same. The senior held the potent Vanguard lineup to just two hits, both singles, over the course of her stay in the game but walked 11 Lions.
 
She was able to weasel her way around the walks for much of the game, but it finally caught up late in the game when the No. 17 Lions did exactly what good teams do and finally took advantage of their opportunity.
 
After getting the leadoff batter to ground out Triolo walked the next two batters before being removed in favor of Paula Damas. The first batter Damas faced executed a squeeze play to perfection to push home the first run of the game. The second run scored on a fielding error and that would be all the offense in the game.
 
The Eagles got five hits of their own and had runners get into scoring position in four of the seven innings, but could not get someone to home plate against Vanguard's Courtney Thornhill who went the distance in the win. She struck out five and walked none in a solid performance.
 
The closest coach Coleman's squad got to scoring was in the first inning when they had a runner gunned down at home plate.
 
Biola moved to 17-14-2 (6-8 GSAC) after its latest split. The Lions dropped to 35-9 (12-4 GSAC). The team continues play on the road next week with a doubleheader at Embry-Riddle on Thursday and Arizona Christian on Friday.