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Top Moments Softball makes final

#6: Softball Sweeps Way To Finals

Biola Softball began 4-0 at NCCAA competition. HM - Volleyball sweep of PLNU.

June 29, 2019

LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Each day for the last week of June and first Week of July we will count down Biola Athletics' top-10 moments/achievements from the 2018-19 athletic season. This day represents day five of this countdown and will feature the No. 6 moment of the year.

#6: Softball Sweeps Way To Finals
Biola Softball came into the 2019 National Christian College Athletic Association World Series as the No. 2 seed and top team in its pool. The Eagles lived up to that hype with a tremendous tournament that began with BU going 4-0 while outscoring opponents 24-5 en route to making the Championship game.

Biola did not allow a single run and only allowed a handful of base runners during its first two games of the tournament. They beat Ecclesia and Cincinnati Christian on the first day of the tournament to earn their way out of pool play.

The next morning they were set to take on the other team in their pool that managed a 2-0 record, Judson. This game, which would determine the pool champion and seeding for the semifinals, turned out to be the toughest test on the road to the finals. 

The Eagles scored four runs in the bottom of the first and seemed to be on their way to another big win, but Judson had different ideas scoring one run in the second, third, fourth and fifth innings to bring things close.

Thankfully, Biola managed to add some insurance to its lead with a Tori Apodaca RBI single in the third inning and an Areana Ramos RBI single in the fourth. Biola would go on to win the game and face Concordia Ann Arbor in the semifinals.
 
Semifinal play was also smooth sailing for Biola. BU scored one time in the bottom of the first and then held onto a nerve-racking 1-0 lead until the fourth inning. In the top of the fourth Concordia managed to tie things at one, but in the bottom half Hailey Boyett and Apodaca hit back-to-back RBI doubles to make it a 3-1 game.

Things opened up even more in the next inning when Kayla Neff hit her second homer of the afternoon, a three-run shot, to bring the game to its final resting place at 6-1.
 
On the other side of the bracket, Erskine College (the no. 1 seed) beat Judson 4-0 to book its spot in the championship game.

The two teams would play a thrilling championship game the following day. Biola got an electrifying pitching performance from Paige Austin and held a one-run lead into the sixth inning, when Erskine's tournament MVP turned a pitch into the right-center field gap to drive in two runs and win the game for the Flying Fleet, 2-1.

It was a tremendous tournament for Biola that came up just short of the goal. Austin and Ramos made it onto the all-tournament team for their efforts and Biola also got tremendous tournament production from Ruth Munoz, Hailey Boyett, Tori Apodaca and Kayla Neff.
 
Honorable Mention: Volleyball Gets Revenge At Home
27110
On Sept. 11 Point Loma put a sour taste in the mouth of Biola Volleyball fans by handing BU its first conference loss of the season with a 3-0 win at Golden Gymnasium.

After the loss Biola rattled off wins in 13 of its next 15 matches to set up an intriguing matchup with the Sea Lions back at Chase Gymnasium on Oct. 26. Coming into that matchup Biola was 14-3 in conference and the Sea Lions were 12-3. Point Loma had the previous result in their back pocket and were also confident riding the hot hand of the PacWest's best new player, Rachael Schlect.

Biola was unfazed. The Eagles dismantled a really good Point Loma team to the tune of a 3-0 (25-19; 25-20; 25-13) victory to bounce back in a big way.
 
"That was by far the best match of the season," said senior opposite hitter Karly Dantuma. "It was super cool to see everyone on and working together. It was a good time on the bench and on the court. One we can really feel proud about."

The 25-13 third set win was especially impressive and was keyed by the efficiency of the Eagles' offense. It was a night where both Sierra Bauder and Dantuma recorded hitting percentages higher than the previous program record. Bauder had 13 kills on an .867 clip and Dantuma went for 12 kills at .800.

As a team BU hit .434, which was their top mark of the season by far and the fifth-best single-game output in program history. Biola had 53 kills while limiting PLNU to just 36 and the Eagles also had a large advantage in digs at 47-31.

"I feel bad for Point Loma. They were just on the end of a phenomenal game by our girls," said Seltzer. "I am so proud of them. They played very well. They were so good defensively all the way around. And offensively, holy smokes! Really, that's because we passed so well."
 
Top-10 Moments:
10. Men's Basketball Comes Back At Hawaii Hilo
9. Historic Tennis Victories
8. Swim Team Record-Breaking Efforts
7. Mackenna Mason Sweeps NCCAA Distance Titles
6. Softball Sweeps Way To Finals
5. Monday, July 1
4. Tuesday, July 2
3. Wednesday, July 3
2. Thursday, July 4
1. Friday, July 5

Honorable Mentions:
Connor Kostecka's Bat Produces Two Walk-Off Hits
Paige Austin Carves Up APU
Ryan Thompson Wins PacWest 10k By An Eyelash
Women's Golf Makes A Run At PacWest Title
Volleyball Gets Revenge At Home
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