COSTA MESA, Calif. — Biola broke open a tie game with a four-run seventh inning and held on for a 7-4 victory over Vanguard in Game 1 of a doubleheader at Dean Harvey Field, giving the Eagles their third consecutive win in the four-game series.
Jonny Tewinkle delivered the go-ahead blast, a two-run homer to right field that erased a 2-2 deadlock and ignited the decisive rally. James Whitman followed with a triple to right center, and Kyle Rogers capped the surge with a two-run homer of his own, blasting a ball to left field and pushing the lead to 6-2. Biola's power surge in this series has officially moved the team into third overall in the conference in homeruns this year with 55.
Luke Ballantyne turned in a strong start on the mound, working 6.2 innings while allowing seven hits and just two earned runs. He struck out seven batters and kept the Lions off balance after a shaky second inning, retiring the side in order in the third, fourth, and sixth frames.
Biola fell behind early after a rare middle-infield error opened the bottom of the second. A couple RBI singles made it 2-0 in favor of the home team. Ballantyne limited the damage by getting Tristan Gallegos to ground out to end the inning.
The Eagles answered in the fifth. Kevin Villegas led off with a single and Luke Caruso followed with a single to right center. After a Tewinkle flyout moved Villegas to third, Whitman drove him in with an RBI single through the right side. A Vanguard error on a pickoff attempt then allowed Caruso to score, and just like that the game was knotted at 2-2.
The seventh inning changed everything when Tewinkle jumped on a 2-2 pitch and drove it out to right field for a two-run homer, giving the Eagles a 4-2 lead. Whitman ripped a triple to right center and rumbled around the base paths, and then Rogers crushed the very next pitch over the left-field fence to make it 6-2.
Noe Novella relieved Ballantyne and navigated through the seventh before pitching a clean eighth inning. Blake Wentz came on for the ninth and worked around a leadoff walk and a pair of stolen bases, surrendering an RBI groundout to Bennett Vondrak that made it 7-4 before getting the final out on a popup to shortstop.
Biola collected 15 hits in the victory, with Whitman going 3-for-4 with a triple, an RBI, and a hit by pitch, while Tewinkle finished 3-for-5 with the homer and two RBI. Caruso added two hits, including the double, and drove in a run on a sacrifice fly in the ninth that provided an insurance tally.
Biola moved to 24-23 on the season and 20-19 in PacWest play. They continue to hang around, not yet eliminated from playoff contention. The Eagles and Lions will play Game 2 of today's doubleheader at Dean Harvey Field. Follow that game live at this link. Follow free live statistics at this link.
