Eagles Excel In Nail-Biter

Biola gets just enough offense to get a win in game one at HNU.

 MORAGA, Calif. --- Biola Softball has its first PacWest Conference win of the new season thanks to a complete game from Paige Austin and clutch early hitting from the senior Andi Hormel.

The Eagles dismissed Holy Names 2-1 in game one of Friday's doubleheader up north. It was not an ideal game for either side as both squads dealt with unusually frigid conditions that made offense hard to come by.

Both teams managed base runners in most half-innings with the cold making it hard to find the umpire's tight strike zone, but good defense (just one error overall) led to most jams ending before damage could be done.

Biola scored the first runs of the game in the top of the second inning. Ruth Munoz hit a triple with one out in the inning and she and Caitlin Fowble would both come around to score when Hormel found the base of the left-field fence with her second double of the season.

That double was one of three on the day for Biola. Kayla Neff hit the two other two-baggers, but neither of those would result in any insurance runs, making every inning of work a stressful one for the Eagles' ace, Austin.

The sophomore wiggled out of bases loaded jams in the second and third innings to maintain the two-run advantage, but she surrendered a no-out run in the fourth to make things about as tight as they could get. HNU led-off that fourth inning with a one-out triple. That runner would score when the next batter singled as part of a stretch of three consecutive hits for the Hawks.

Thankfully, the damage was limited to one run because Austin rolled a pair of groundouts to end the inning. She would go on to allow only one base runner over the final three innings to hold the Hawks at the one run and pick up her second win of the season.

The one runner over the last three innings was a big relief after the tight zone allowed walks to pile up and got HNU 12 different runners in her first four innings.

Both teams finished with six hits and combined for nine walks on the afternoon.

Neff would finish 3-for-3 and Munoz went 2-for-2 and reached on a walk.

Biola improves to 6-7 overall and 1-2 in the PacWest following the win. Holy Names drops to 1-5 (0-1 PacWest). The two teams have a second game scheduled for Friday, with first pitch somewhere around 2:35 p.m.

 Recap, photo courtesy of Biola