LA MIRADA, Calif. — All season long the Eagles have struggled to find run support when Paige Austin is in the circle. That was absolutely not the case on Saturday afternoon in the opener of the team's doubleheader with rivals, APU.

Biola would run-rule the visiting Cougars with a final score of 11-1 being recorded via a two-out, three-run double from Brie Nowak.

The win pushes Biola out to a good start to this season's Cornerstone Cup matchup with the Cougars. Austin went the distance and had just one run allowed in her six innings of work. 

The Cougars actually scored the first run of the game on a two-out, two-strike wild pitch that allowed their leadoff batter to score from third base. Biola would go on to score 11 unanswered runs, beginning with a five-run outburst in the half-inning immediately following APU's score.

The Eagles benefited greatly from Azusa Pacific errors in the field, scoring seven of their 11 runs as unearned. The Eagles only managed six hits in the entire ballgame, only two more than the Cougars, but recorded the double-digit outburst due in part to four APU errors.

Biola scored five in the third, three in the fourth and those last three in the sixth to break what was a four-game conference losing streak.

Brie Nowak had two hits in the game. She was the only Eagle with multiple knocks, going 2-for-4 with a 3-RBI ballgame. Allie Beck also filled up the scoresheet out of the leadoff spot. She had just one hit, but scored two runs and drove in one other.

It was a bit of a tough-luck outing for the APU starting pitcher, Sydnie Sahhar who gave up eight runs in 3.2 innings, but only one of those runs were actually earned by her. The Biola bats struggled at first against APU's reliever Liz Phillips, but eventually got enough ducks on the pond to set up Nowak's game-winning double in the sixth.

The top of the lineup was especially productive in this go-around as the no. 2 and no. 3 batters Madison Blossey and Jennifer Morinishi each scoring three times to account for more than half of the BU offense.

The win allows Biola an advantage in this year's four-game Cornerstone Cup matchup with the Cougars. The two teams face off again in game two at Freedom Field, beginning right around 3 p.m.

Biola improved to 11-9 (6-5 PacWest), while APU dropped to 12-12 (6-5 PacWest). Both teams are right behind the three Hawaii schools in the standings and face the three Hawaii schools here in SoCal the next two weeks.

Before today's doubleheader the team held an on-field ceremony to honor the 2021 NCAA Division II West Region Championship and national runner-up finish. The Eagles sport a brand new championship banner in right-center field at Freedom Field.