COSTA MESA -- The final home stand for Vanguard softball, which included celebrating five seniors on Saturday, saw the Eagles of Biola University take both games, though VU was in contention in both. Biola used a two-run home run to win game one 3-1, and the guests kept the Vanguard comeback in check in game two to prevail 8-6. The Lions dropped to 21-30 overall and 14-18 in Pacific West Conference games, while BU improved to 35-18, 28-7.
What Happened? The beginning of game one featured
Andrea Connor getting an honorary start in right field, as her arm injury prevented her from playing on senior day. After a strong ovation for the four-year player,
Mari Ipatzi cleared the top of the first, and VU soon scored the opening run. The sequence began with
Lilyana Roth reaching on an error by the BU shortstop, and she was then bunted to second.
ChaCha Miranda brought her home on a single to center field to put the home side ahead 1-0, and the advantage survived for the next two frames. However, the Eagles knotted the game at 1-1 in the top of the fourth, with a home run to center doing the damage.
The defense picked up a pair of good plays, with
Bella Bastien coming up with a diving stop to end the top of the fifth. The Eagles loaded up the bases against Ipatzi in the top of the sixth, but with one out, a line drive right to
Kamryn Walker started a double play that negated the scoring opportunity. BU had only one hit in the sixth after the team's homer, while VU had a pair in the bottom half but left two runners aboard.
Tied at 1-1, the squads went to the eighth, and after an infield single, a home run put the Eagles ahead 3-1, and Biola got three outs in the bottom half to end the contest.
Biola had the only two errors in the game and a 6-5 edge in hits in the first meeting on Saturday . BU left five runners on base, and VU stranded three. Ipatzi got on strikeout in her outing and got the loss, dropping to 9-7, though she was only one K behind Biola's DJ Symons, who got the win. Miranda had a 2-for-2 contest to lead the lineup.
Game 2
Vanessa Robles got three groundouts to open her account in game two, and the offense again conjured an early lead.
Megan Ireland was hit by a pitch, and Roth tapped a single through the infield to put two aboard. An infield single for
Kamryn Walker loaded up the bases, and a single to right field by
Preslee Brower put the Blue and Gold up 1-0.
Kayla Rodriguez got the second RBI of the game on a groundout, as VU led 2-0 after one stanza.
Unfortunately, the Eagles tallied three runs on five hits in the top of the second, yet the Lions found an equalizer in the bottom half.
Adriana Portillo led off with a double to the left-field fence, and after getting to third on a grounder, a sacrifice fly by Ireland made it 3-3. However, another trio of BU runs came across in the third, and the visitors led the rest of the way.
The Lions did not turn tail, though, and put up two runs in the bottom of the fifth, with Ireland starting the rally with a walk. Roth bunted her to second, and after Ireland swiped third, Walker's single to left field made it 7-4. A double to the left-center gap by Miranda easily scored Walker, making it a two-run game.
Roth led off the bottom of the seventh with a double, and she was eventually scored by a Brower single to right field, but Biola got the final outs after that to win 8-6.
The Eagles held a 15-11 edge in hits in the twin bill. Each side had one error, and Biola left eight runners on base, while VU left seven. Robles took the loss and dropped to 3-10, and she and
Mia Iacomini, who went the final 1.2 of the game, each had one K. Walker went 3-for-4 to pace the lineup, with Brower (2-4) and Portillo (2-3) also garnering multi-hit games. Brower tied Cami Lara of Biola with a game-high two RBI.
After the game, the quarter of Bastien, Connor, Ipatzi, Ireland, and Robles were celebrated for their achievements and journey in the program.
What's Next? The Blue and Gold head to San Rafael for the makeup of the Dominican series next Friday and Saturday.
