LA MIRADA --- The Biola Eagles (3-1) started off with a small lead on Thursday but Brenden Bell blew things up with a grand slam. BU ended the day with a 12-2 win over MSU Denver (3-1).
Lucas Bixby got the start in game one of a four-game series against MSU Denver. Bixby had a bit of a rocky start as he gave up a home run to the leadoff hitter in the first inning but fortunately, for Biola, he got out of it leaving one on base at the end of the top of the first inning.
Biola headed into the second inning trailing by one, but they knew what needed to be done. Roadrunners pitcher, Carson Brown, walked three of the first four Biola batters he faced in the second inning. With bases loaded and only one out, Tyler White came up to the plate and hit a clean single out to left field bringing in Bell and Bobby Brown. The Eagles opened up a 2-1 lead thanks to a two-out two RBI single from White.
After silent third and fourth innings on both sides, the Roadrunners found a way to get back in the game. The visitors landed back-to-back singles to tie the game at two.
Biola answered back immediately with a rally in the bottom of the fifth. AJ Ortiz and Wyatt Duncan sparked the rally with back-to-back hits to start the frame. Taylor Justus hit a single to left field bringing in two runners to take a 4-2 lead.
The score still rested at 4-2 heading into the eighth as the Eagles looked to add just a few insurance runs. An RBI double from White extended Biola's lead to three before the walks began to pile up and bring in more runs. Bell interrupted the station-to-station movement with a grand slam to deep center field to seal the deal and give Biola a 12-2 lead.
Jake Anderson came into the game and pitched three scoreless innings against the Roadrunners. Anderson struck out two and did not give up any hits as he collected his first save of the season.
Overall, it was a very clean game for Biola with seven of the nine starters getting at least one hit for a total of 12 hits. Offensively, Brenden Bell stood out with a home run, four RBIs, two hits and a walk. Tyler White also had a good game with two hits, a double, and three RBIs.
Bixby pitched a full six innings, picking up his second win of the season. He tallied five strikeouts, one walk and two earned runs. Bixby now has a 4.09 ERA after two very solid outings as an Eagles starting pitcher.
"We played a really clean game all around," said head coach
Jesse Rodgers. "Bixby was great again, defense backed him up, and we got a couple of clutch RBI hits from
Tyler White early before blowing it open late. That is the brand of baseball that we are looking to string together consistently."
Eight runs in the eighth inning was plenty to get another win under the Eagles' belt. BU is now 3-1 on the season and will face MSU Denver in a doubleheader on Friday starting at 11:00 am at Eagles Diamond.
