COSTA MESA, Calif. — All the weight was lifted off the shoulders of the Biola Softball team as Kendall Nakano floated around the bases in the top of the eighth inning out at Vanguard on Saturday afternoon.
The Eagles' star sophomore just managed to blast a two-out, two-run homer to lift her team out in front during the opener of a doubleheader at the VU Softball Field.
Jackie Ibarra turned out to be the game-winning run as she singled to start the rally and then came home on the big fly.
The 3-1 extra-inning victory was a show of guts for Head Coach Kristin Halte's softball team. The Eagles fought from behind against one of the better starting pitchers in the conference in Mari Ipatzi to retain a chance to play for a second-straight PacWest Conference title.
Biola committed two fielding errors in the bottom of the first inning, which allowed the Lions to move out in front 1-0.
The score would remain that way until finally the Eagles managed to break through with a run of their own in the top of the fourth. This run also came via a big fly as the Biola Athletics Newcomer of the Year, Lillianna Garcia, touched them all for the 10th time this season. She's feasted on Vanguard pitching in 2026, with this being her third homer against the Lions.
That homer momentarily propelled Garcia past Nakano for the team-lead in RBI.
After the unfortunate run surrendered in the first inning, DJ Symons locked in for coach Halte and her teammates in the pitcher's circle. Symons would end up working the complete eight innings and give up zero earned runs and only five hits to the home team's hitters.
Both teams managed to get runners in scoring position in the sixth inning, but Biola had the best chance to break the tie in that frame. Ibarra, Nakano and Garcia all worked their way on base to load the bases with one out. But, a gut-wrenching inning-ending double play ended the threat.
After two quick outs in their half of the eighth, the extra-inning pressure level was rising on Biola as the favorites, as they had the disadvantage of being the visiting team.
As she has all season, Ibarra came through with a clutch contact to extend the inning. Then, Nakano's big blast came on the second pitch of her at-bat and made all the difference in the game.
Symons set down the Lions in order in their half of the eight to lock up her 15th win of 2026, tying Kayla Bousquette for the team lead.
Biola improves to 34-18 overall and 27-7 in league play. They will finish off their regularly scheduled regular season with one more contest in Costa Mesa later today. Watch live at this link. Follow free live stats at this link.
