KONA, Hawaii --- Biola Softball takes its bi-annual business trip to the Hawaiian islands over the next week-and-a-half as the teams face all three PacWest Conference Hawaii schools for four games each. 

The Eagles begin on the big island, facing Hawaii Hilo at a new game location (Kealakehe HS) on Monday and Tuesday, before moving over to Oahu to close out the trip against Hawaii Pacific and then Chaminade.

Biola begins its run through Hawaii with a gleaming 9-2 overall record and spotless 4-0 PacWest Conference mark. The team has won seven games in a row, dating back to a one-run win over CSU San Marcos back on Feb. 2.

THIS WEEK: at Hawaii Hilo (7-7, 2-0 PacWest) - Monday March 2 at 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. PT & Tuesday March 3 at 2 p.m. & 4 p.m. PT; at Hawaii Pacific (8-7; 2-2 PacWest) - Thursday March 5 at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. PT & Friday March 6 at 3 p.m. & 5 p.m. PT; at Chaminade (2-2, 0-2 PacWest) - Monday March 9 at 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. PT & Tuesday March 10 at 6:30 p.m. & 8:30 p.m. PT

MULTIMEDIA: Live video and live stats will be provided free of charge for all Biola home contests. Information on live video and live stats made available for road games/tournament games will be listed along with the previews of those games below.

TICKETS: Biola home events are always free to Biola students, staff, faculty and alumni. Children 12 and under are also always free. General admission is $6 and discounted tickets for opposing school students, guests under 18 and seniors are $4. See ticketing information for road contests below each preview below.

BIOLA (9-2, 4-0 PacWest) at HAWAII HILO (7-7, 2-0 PacWest): Monday and Tuesday March 2-3 at 2 p.m. PT (DH) \\ Live Stats \\ Live Video \\ NEW LOCATION - Kealakehe HS in Kona, Hawaii
The road trip begins with a tough test against a Hawaii Hilo team that Biola took three of four from at home last season. The last time Biola faced Hawaii Hilo on the islands was the 2018 season, when the Vulcans took both contests during a doubleheader. Just like in 2018, the heavy rain in Hilo meant the games had to be relocated to the other side of the Big Island to a high school in Kona. The game times remain the same (12pm/2pm HT/2pm/4pm PT). The two teams are 3-3 all-time against each other, with all six meetings being over the last two years. Biola will take its perfect PacWest Conference record up against a Vulcans team that's also been yet to be beat, albeit in just two contests. Hawaii Hilo comes into this four-game set following a pair of wins against Azusa Pacific just last week. Before that, Hilo was just 5-7 on the year in a tough non-conference schedule. The Vulcans went to Tucson for the Cactus Classic, which provided them the opportunity to play the No. 1 team in the country, Texas A&M - Kingsville. Hilo came up short in that one by a 9-1 score line, but they were able to win four of their seven games at the contest. The wins against APU were good matchups with the Vulcans needing a walk-off hit in the eighth to take a 5-4 win over the Cougars. Then, UHH rode the arm of Leah Gonzales to a 5-1 win in the nightcap. Gonzales has been solid for the Vulcans to begin the year, posting a 4-1 record, ERA in the low-3s and striking out 30+ in 41 innings pitched. These two sides both hover between 4.5 and 4.8 runs-per-game on offense this season, but Biola has the clear advantage in pitching staff - at least as seen in the action through the first 10+ contests of the season. The Eagles' staff ERA of 2.38 is top-4 in the conference to this point. Biola's 23 total runs allowed is the second-fewest in the PacWest so far this year. Only Chaminade's 19 is lower. The Silverswords, though, have played less than half the number of games as BU. UHH is led on offense by a trio of returning players: Kiarra Lincoln, Markie Okamoto and Brinell Kaleikini. Lincoln and Kaleikini are one of the top middle infield combinations in the conference, with both earning All-PacWest honors a year ago. Okamoto and Lincoln are working together in a force similar to Biola's Jennifer Morinishi and Ruth Munoz. On the season, Okamoto leads the team with 12 RBI and Lincoln leads the team with 14 runs scored.
 
BIOLA (9-2, 4-0 PacWest) at HAWAII PACIFIC (8-7, 3-3 PacWest): Thursday and Friday March 5-6 at 3 p.m. PT (DH) \\ Live Stats \\ Live Video
After the four-game set in beautiful Kona, the Eagles catch a plane back to Oahu where they will reside for the next with a pair of series near the Honolulu area. First up is Hawaii Pacific, who hosts Biola on the Sharks' Hawaii Loa campus for a four-game set. Biola is 6-4 all-time against the Sharks, winning the first five in a row during the PacWest Conference era before dropping the game in the last meeting between these two sides back in March 2019. Hawaii Pacific enters the week with a 3-3 record in conference play, having wins over Chaminade (x2) and an upset win over Concordia Irvine. The Sharks won the finale of a four-game set against the Eagles of Irvine, giving CUI just its second loss of the season and spoiling what was a perfect 7-0 PacWest Conference mark. HPU was down 2-0 and 3-2 in the ballgame, but used a three-run triple from senior Sierra Dias to take a 7-4 lead in the sixth inning. Freshman pitcher Ashlee Lavar then put up a 1-2-3 seventh inning to close out a complete game win over Concordia. Lavar comes to HPU from Irvine, California - the hometown of Crystal Rosenthal's Concordia squad. It was a confidence-building win for this HPU team, which has been sort of streaky to start this season. They began 3-0, then lost four in a row, won four more in a row and then lost three in a row. Biola faces the Sharks two days after HPU closes out a four-game set with Azusa Pacific. Head Coach Nikki Udria's side will hope the win streak HPU seems primed for only lasts through the APU series. The Sharks average 4.1 runs-per-game this year and enter this week with a 4.81 staff ERA, allowing on average 5.4 runs-per-game. Biola picked up its three wins in last year's series by out-scoring the Sharks 12-2 in those first three contests. HPU won game four 8-6, powered by a three-hit game from then-freshman outfielder Noel Saunders. Speed is the major weapon for this HPU team - they lead the conference in both steals (26) and triples (10). Defensive positioning will be very, very important for the Eagles in this series.

BIOLA (9-2, 4-0 PacWest) at CHAMINADE (2-3, 0-3 PacWest): Monday and Tuesday March 9-10 at 6:30 p.m. PT (DH) \\ Live Stats \\ Live Audio
The Eagles conclude their long trip against the Silverswords of Chaminade. If all goes well earlier in the week, the Eagles would look for a series win to push them close to 20 season wins by the time they hit this four-game set. Biola is 11-1 all-time against the 'Swords, including victories in each of the last 10 meetings between the two. Biola outscored Chaminade 29-8 in a four-game sweep at Freedom Field last season. In 2018 Biola earned a four-game sweep AT the Chaminade Hawaii home. The highlight of the series was a 12-0 run-rule win powered by an eight-run sixth inning. Biola recorded 15 hits in the win, including a pair of big flies. The ball left in a hurry that weekend, with Biola hitting five homeruns in the series. This time around Chaminade has the benefit of a Madelyn Stockslager who's really come into her own over the past two seasons. The junior was an all-conference player last season as a sophomore. She was the first Chaminade pitcher in almost 15 years to earn all-conference recognition. This year, she's began her campaign with a 2.29 ERA through her first three appearances. It's a small sample size for this Chaminade team as they played just four games total heading into this week. On Sunday, Stockslager went toe-to-toe with CUI's Callie Nunes, the reigning PacWest Conference Pitcher of the Year. The 'Swords ace threw seven innings of one-run ball, but it was not enough to beat the shutout tossed on the other side. Chaminade has two more against CUI and a full four-game series against APU before Biola arrives in the middle of next week. On the offensive end, it's still too small of a sample size to get a good read on who the key contributors will be. Malia Ka`akimaka-Moisa should be one to watch though, as the returning all-conference player has five hits and a couple runs scored in her first five games of the year.

LAST TIME OUT: Biola kept its winning ways going with a pair of victories over Great Northwest Athletic Conference power Concordia Portland. The Eagles came from behind in game one, scoring four runs in the bottom of the seventh to walk it off with a 5-4 win. Game two saw the early scoring come from Biola and a late surge by the Cavaliers fall short. Jennifer Morinishi won her first game of the 2020 season, coming on in relief in the second inning and holding the Cavs at bay. If not for a two-run homerun to tighten the game to 4-3 it would've been a nearly perfect performance from the sophomore. For the second week in a row Biola's offensive effort was paced by Morinishi and Munoz who combined for seven hits, four extra-base hits, four runs and six RBI. Morinishi drove in the three runs that won the game in the opener for her second walk-off hit of the year. Not a bad contribution from those two in a doubleheader sweep where Biola scored just nine total runs. 

WHO'S NEW?: Biola has five newcomers on its 2020 roster. All five of them are freshmen. See more about each new player below.
 

• Rilee Ruvalcaba
• Loren Meza
• Raylene Roybal
• Alexis Lara (RS)
• Niki Ibarra (RS)

IT'S REAL STARTING NOW: The 2020 Biola Softball season has added significance in that it's the Eagles' first as full members in NCAA Division II. Back on July 12, 2019 the Biola campus received a call from the NCAA Division II Membership Committee notifying BU of its successful completion of the membership transition process. The change became official as of September 1 and now Biola is officially eligible for NCAA postseason play, national and regional rankings and official NCAA postseason honors. The Eagles will be competing for a chance to compete at NCAA Division II regionals, super regionals and finals at the end of the season. The PacWest Conference does not currently host a postseason conference tournament, making a postseason appearance all the more meaningful. Last season, Concordia Irvine went 47-8 overall and 30-3 in PacWest Conference play to represent the conference in NCAA postseason. The Eagles of Irvine rode the arm of Callie Nunes, the reigning PacWest Pitcher of the Year and first-team All-American, all the way to the Super Regional final, where they came up short 4-3 against UC San Diego. 

UPCOMING MILESTONES:
Tori Apodaca - 100 games played (89)
Tori Apodaca - 100 putouts (82)
Paige Austin - 400 IP (312)
Paige Austin - 40 wins (34)
Paige Austin - 50 starts (33)
Paige Austin - 25 complete games (22)
Paige Austin - 10 saves (9)
Paige Austin - 500 strikeouts (355)
Paige Austin - 1,500 batters faced (1,359)
Paula Damas - 25 wins (19)
Paula Damas - 100 appearances (75)
Paula Damas - 40 starts (31)
Paula Damas - 300 IP (227)
Paula Damas - 150 strikeouts (108)
Paula Damas - 1,000 batters faced (1,066)
Ari Gonzales - 50 games played (50)
Ari Gonzales - 100 putouts (73)
Haley Martinez - 100 games played (100)
Jennifer Morinishi - 100 IP (67)
Jennifer Morinishi - 500 batters faced (331)
Jennifer Morinishi - 50 games played (54)
Ruth Munoz - 100 games played (100)
Ruth Munoz - 75 runs scored (74)
Ruth Munoz - 100 hits (89)
Ruth Munoz - 50 walks (37)
Ruth Munoz - 200 putouts (184)
Ruth Munoz - 200 assists (133)
Kayla Neff - 150 games played (147)
Kayla Neff - 100 runs scored (71)
Kayla Neff - 200 hits (151)
Kayla Neff - 50 doubles (41)
Kayla Neff - 20 homeruns (14)
Kayla Neff - 100 RBI (86)
Kayla Neff - 50 walks (48)
Kayla Neff - 800 putouts (707)
Kayla Neff - 100 assists (82)
Kylie Velasco - 100 games played (80)
Kylie Velasco - 100 putouts (91)
Kylie Velasco - 100 assists (68)

NEXT WEEK: vs Dominican (7-8, 4-2 PacWest) - Tuesday March 17 at 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. PT & Wednesday March 18 at 11 a.m. & 1 p.m.; vs Concordia Irvine (11-2, 5-1 PacWest) - Saturday March 21 at 12 p.m. & 2 p.m.