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Abie Nowak celebrates double play
Edward Jacobs, Jr.

Rise To The Occasion

Two wins in two days against the top-2 ranked teams in DII has Biola all smiles in Denver.

May 28, 2021

By: Neil Morgan, Associate Athletic Director
Box Score
DENVER, Colo. --- Mistake-free softball is what it takes to win at the highest level. Mistake-free softball is exactly what Biola's gotten both on the base paths and in the field for the most part this tournament.

Biola's Friday opponent, No. 1 Augustana, did not play mistake-free softball in game five of the NCAA Division II Softball Finals. A Kayla Neff home run, Paige Austin shutout paired with a late defensive lapse from the pressured Vikings turned into a decisive 3-0 victory for the Eagles.

The win pushed Biola to 2-0 so far in the tournament and puts Head Coach Nikki Udria's team just one win away from the Championship Series. They will play at 3 p.m. PT on Saturday against either West Texas A&M, North Georgia, Valdosta State or Saint Anselm.

"I'm proud of the girls. I knew it was going to be a close game," said Udria. "They're a great team [Augustana], and I'm just really proud that we were able to do it all together and come out with the win. At the start of my career as a coach, I told them that I expect us to be a championship team, and I think today that we proved that Biola is a championship team."

A lot of attention was put on the Augustana offense headed into this one since they were the top seed in the tournament and cruised to a 10-1 win in their opener. Instead, Biola's pitching and defense once again rose to the occasion, holding the Augustana team to just four hits and gunning down lead runners to get out of jams throughout the day. 

In the batter's box the Eagles got to work right away, putting pressure on the Vikings' number one pitcher in the top of the first.

Ruth Muñoz and Abie Nowak both got singles to put runners on the corners with just one out for Biola right out of the gates. A strikeout and pop out ended the first still scoreless, but the few hits gave Biola the confidence it needed at the very start of this one.

Right after that effort, Paige Austin went out and set down the top of the Augustana lineup in order, highlighted by a long, ranging grab in left field by Jennifer Morinishi. We'll talk more about her defense a bit later on.

Things were quiet for a while after that as both pitchers settled in. But, the pressure got ratcheted right up in the bottom of the third as Augustana got their first two batters on base with a pair of singles to left field and started to awaken in the dugout.

But, Austin rolled back-to-back ground balls to Ruth Muñoz who made two force outs at third to get the Eagles nearly all the way out of the jam. Austin didn't need the defense to get the last out as she froze the batter with one of just two strikeouts on the day to pick up two LOB.

That defensive effort set the stage for Kayla Neff to come up to the dish with a chance to see some pitches as the leadoff batter in the fourth inning.

Neff turned a pitch around into the mile-high air and saw it carry far over the center field fence for a solo home run to give Biola the first lead of the game. It was Neff's team-high fifth big fly of the year. 

"I talked with Kayla before her at bat and I just kind of whispered in her ear a little secret and she was able to just connect, and I think that's what she's been looking for," said Udria. "Sometimes, in the game of softball, we complicate things a little bit too much. She's a great player. She's had a lot of success in her time here at Biola and it's her senior year and she just needs to keep it simple. She was able to do that and square the ball up and finally get a good piece of one. So I'm really proud of her."
 
"It's awesome to be able to come here and play, you know, on the biggest stage," said Neff. "I've been telling my teammates I'm just so proud of where we've come. This is it - the nerves are there, but this is as far as we have come and I'm proud no matter what happens."

A 1-2-3 bottom of the fourth instantly had Biola suddenly counting down the defensive outs as they saw the possibility of another "upset" victory.

After Augustana once again got a runner to scoring position in the fifth and another runner on base in the sixth, the Eagles turned their attention to picking up some insurance runs. Biola's commitment to executing using small ball once again paid dividends in a wild top of the seventh inning.

A Raylene Roybal hit-by-pitch, Kylie Velasco sacrifice bunt and Rilee Ruvalcaba two-base single set up two runners in scoring position with one out for Madison Blossey.

Blossey, the rally-igniter in yesterday's win, was given the call to lay down a bunt as part of a rare Biola squeeze play. She executed a solid bunt and Augustana misplayed balls thrown to home plate and second base, allowing Blossey all the way to third and letting both runs score.

"This is a cool shout out to Maddie Blossey," said Udria. "Early on in her career she had an injury to her knee and she was only able to bunt for a long time. Our faith is a big part of our lives. And to see God's hand on that and her ability is cool. Why she was she injured? Well, now she's in the college world series and able to put down a squeeze bunt. It's a really cool testament to His faithfulness."

Austin came out set to face 7-8-9 in the Augustana lineup with just three outs left to get to keep Biola at the top of the winner's bracket. After issuing a lead-off walk, Biola's defense once again answered the bell.

First, it was Austin herself getting a sacrifice bunt attempt and hurling the ball to second base to nab the lead runner for the first out. Austin's been playing tremendous defense throughout these first two days of the tournament, resulting in three assists in each ball game.

With one out and the number nine hitter at the dish, Morinishi moved herself so she was just about 15 feet behind the third base bag and right on the left-field line. Turns out her knowledge of the opposing batter was right on the money as a looping line shot went right to her and she was able to come up throwing to end the game with an improbable 7-3 double play.
 
The Eagles out-hit Augustana 5-4 and played their second-consecutive error-free ball game. Austin improved to 14-6 with the win and improved her ERA to 1.30 with her sixth shutout of the year.

Biola will need to wait until the conclusion of the first game of play on Saturday to know who its next opponent will be. The Eagles will play the winner of the morning game in the third game of the day at 3 p.m. PT. The morning game will be an elimination game between Saint Anselm and the winning team of tonight's matchup between North Georgia and Valdosta State. The winner of the morning game will play Biola at 3 p.m. PT. Biola will need one win to advance to the championship series. The other team will need to beat Biola twice to advance.  
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