LA MIRADA, Calif. --- The 2018 Biola Softball season came to a close at Freedom Field on Saturday with one of the most festive Senior Day ceremonies in any Biola sport. The Sherlin family, and all the families, came out in full support of Biola's two seniors, Selina Sherlin and Terri Van Dagens, as Biola dropped a pair to No. 16 Concordia University Irvine.
The first game of the doubleheader was another terrific pitcher's duel featuring Van Dagens and the other team's ace. The game went into extra innings before CUI managed to escape with a 2-1 victory by taking advantage of a leadoff double in the ninth.
The second game was close all the way into the fifth inning with Paige Austin duking it out with former PacWest Pitcher of the Year, Grayson Harvey. It was 2-0 Concordia through four, but then the visiting Eagles hung five runs on the board in the fifth to blow the game wide open at 7-0, which is where it would settle in.
The first game deserves all the attention as it had every bit of intrigue you may expect out of this long-standing softball rivalry. Van Dagens was once again sharp from the very start. She held Concordia without a hit until the fourth inning and only allowed four hits over the course of her complete game (extra-inning) performance.
Biola's only offense came in the bottom of the first inning as Jay Perez deposited a ball just a few inches over the right field wall for her second homerun of the season.
It looked as if that would be the only damage the Eagles would need to beat freshman sensation Callie Nunes as Van Dagens and her teammates took the field for the top of the seventh with the 1-0 lead intact.
The first batter of the inning lined one hard to the warning track, but Areana Ramos ranged over and snagged it for the first out of the frame. Then Van Dagens went to work against Kaylie Palazzolom who had been kept off the base paths throughout the game so far.
Palazzolo hit a frozen rope line drive that just cleared the wall in left field to tie the game and one and knock the wind out of the Eagles' sails. Van Dagens would get a lineout and strikeout to keep the rest of the frame clean and give her teammates a chance to win it with a walk-off in the seventh.
Biola went down 1-2-3 in the seventh to setup extra innings. All stayed tied at one until the top of the ninth when Amy Eilefson led off with a double and was scored two batters later when Palazzolo hit a double of her own to drive in the game-winning run and get her second RBI of the day.
The Eagles had no answer against Nunes, who did not allow a single hit from the fifth through ninth innings, and dropped the nail-biter in the opener. That secured the season series win for CUI, with two of the games being decided in extra-innings.
It became the Eagles' sixth one-run loss of the season, dropping their record to 6-6 in one-run ballgames.
Game two saw Sherlin play her final game for the Eagles, and the senior managed a 2-for-2 performance, including a lined shot double in her final collegiate at-bat. The double made everyone's heart jump as it looked off the bat as if it could leave the yard.
Van Dagens also got an at-bat in the second contest. It was her first and last collegiate plate appearance. She took two balls and took a hearty swing-and-miss, but ultimately struck out in the most fun plate appearance of the afternoon.
The season comes to a close at 33-19 for Biola. They go 16-16 in their first year of PacWest Conference play. Concordia improved to 44-12 (26-6 PacWest) with the wins and clinched at least a share of this year's PacWest Conference Championship.
Thank you to Terri Van Dagens, Selina Sherlin and their families for all you've poured into the program at Biola these last four years.
Thanks also to the Eagles' coaching staff for delivering a memorable first NCAA Division II season. The team will close this chapter on Sunday evening with its annual banquet.
