Concordia lays 9-0 egg on Biola in semis

Biola loses to Irvine in the semifinals at the Golden State Athletic Conference.

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Junior Heather Hall cheering in support of her teammate up at bat. | Melanie Kim/THE CHIMES [file photo]

Tyler Gunhus, Writer

Friday night’s game versus Concordia University Irvine went anything but Biola’s way.

The Eagles dropped the semifinal match in the Golden State Athletic Conference to the Irvine Eagles by a score of 9-0 in a suffocating performance both at the plate and in the field.

Senior ace Reba DePriest was saddled with her ninth loss on the season, giving up two earned runs on four hits in two innings of work. Sophomore Kimmy Triola and freshman Terri Van Dagen closed out the game in relief for Biola.

Concordia started off hot as Charlotte Foster blasted a solo shot in the first off DePriest in the first inning. A couple more runs would come around to score in the third, giving Concordia a 3-0 lead. GSAC player of the year Ryan Ferguson hit her first home run of the tournament for Concordia in the fifth to make it 4-0. This held until the seventh, when the floodgates opened and Concordia rallied for five runs with two outs, capping the 9-0 game.

Yet for as much as pitching and defense struggled throughout the game, the inability to produce offensively is was what ultimately deflated the Eagles.

While Biola had no problems getting on base, bringing runs home could not have been a bigger struggle throughout the seven innings.The Eagles left 10 on base and six of the seven innings featured at least one Biola baserunner.

There were scoring opportunities throughout the game for Biola to tack on runs. Bases loaded with no outs in the third was followed by two strikeouts and a groundout to end the inning. Two on and one out in the fourth was all for naught after back-to-back infield fly outs. The frustrating trend continued throughout the rest of the game, as Biola finished 0-8 with runners in scoring position

It should be noted that both teams were hampered by an egregious strike-zone that at times seemed to extend into the batter’s box. Biola suffered the most from calls, with five strikeouts looking throughout the contest. Brittan McGue, who improved to 17-4 on the season for Concordia, picked up the win as she was consistently able to exploit the outside corners of the zone.

Biola now face the daunting task of potentially three straight games on Saturday. They will first face off at 10 a.m. against San Diego Christian College, who are riding a three-elimination game win streak. Should the Eagles pull of the victory, they will move on to the GSAC championship game to play Concordia and would need two wins for the title.

 

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