DENVER, Colo. – Biola’s postseason journey has been littered with challenging opponents, but no obstacle has been able to stop the Eagles yet, as they soared into the NCAA Division II Softball Championship Series. Biola got its third win in a row in Denver over a top-2 ranked team in the nation, beating North Georgia for the second time in three days, 5-2, on Saturday.
 
Biola has been the toughest team to score against in the NCAA Division II Softball World Series, starting the tournament with 20-consecutive zeroes on the board for their opponents. The Eagles built a 5-0 lead over North Georgia with the help of a 3-run home run by Kayla Neff and were three outs away from victory before allowing their first run of the tournament.
 
North Georgia had threatened the inning before and finally got through in the bottom of the seventh with a bases-loaded single into rightfield followed a walk to make the score 5-2. That brought the game-winning run to the plate with two outs, so head coach Nikki Udria put the ball back in the hands of Paige Austin, who has not allowed a run all tournament. Austin got the final batter to chase a pitch for a strikeout to win the game, 5-2.
 
“All season you have all these goals, and you write them up on the board,” Biola head coach Udria said. “To finally get to this point and see the fruit of all the work of this season is amazing. As a player, I never played in a national championship, so as a coach, I’m excited to be a part of that and lead these girls.”
 
The first time the two teams met, Biola won 4-0 with all four runs scored in one inning, while Austin threw a one-hit shutout. Today’s game matched the same description through the first three innings. While, Austin was working on another one-hit shutout, Biola put a four-spot on the board in the third inning, which was started by a triple from Madison Blossey.
 
Allie Beck reached base with a single, but Blossey stayed put at third base to put runners at the corners with no outs and the top of the lineup coming up. Ruth Munoz drove in the first run of the game with a groundout. Abie Nowak was then hit by a pitch to bring Neff to the plate with two outs.
 
Through the first 37 games of the year, Neff had hit four home runs, showing her ability to hit for power, but Biola’s catcher did most of her damage with singles to have a .343 batting average. In Friday’s win, she hit her fifth home run of the year, and when her team needed her most, she delivered again with her second home run in as many days to blow the game open for a 4-0 lead.
 
“It was a big moment, but in this tournament, I haven’t been trying to do anything big. It’s just see-ball-hit-ball,” Neff said. “I’m not trying to think too much about mechanics, but I am seeing the ball well and it is great.”
 
Those insurance runs proved to be necessary as Austin benefitted having a lead to work with as she got into a few jams. She allowed multiple hits in the same inning against North Georgia for the first time in the tournament in the fourth inning as the Nighthawks got a runner into scoring position for the third time in four innings. Once again, Austin got out of the jam by collecting a grounder liner that was hit back at her. After it hit her glove and dropped to the ground, Austin picked it up and fired to first to end the threat.
 
North Georgia threatened again in the fifth inning with a leadoff double, but Biola again escaped unscathed as Austin induced a pop-out for each of the next three batters. Raylene Roybal then entered the game in the sixth inning since it would have been the sixth time that North Georgia would have had the chance to face Austin.
 
Like in the West Regional Championship game, Roybal was ready for the big moment. She got a strikeout, but a hit-by-pitch and a pair of singles loaded the bases with one out. Royball then got a grounder hit right to Munoz, who collected and fired to Neff to gun down the lead runner at home and keep the shutout intact. The next batter then lined out to Munoz to end the inning.
 
Biola added to its lead in the top of the seventh. Throughout this postseason, pinch hitters have come through for the Eagles in big moments, and it has been a different player each time. Kiana Meriales stepped up to the plate and hit a single into leftfield to drive in Kaitlyn Hawkins, who also entered the game as a pinch hitter before she reached on a walk.
 
That gave the Eagles a 5-0 lead with three outs to go. Munoz made her third out defensively in a row catching another lineout. However, a hit-by-pitch, single and walk loaded the bases with one out again for the Nighthawks. Once again, Roybal induced a grounder hit straight to Munoz, who fired home to retire the lead runner. Then North Georgia finally broke the seal with a single through the right side for the first run Biola allowed all tournament. A walk then made the score 5-2 with two outs.
 
That’s when Austin reentered the game to face Hannah Forehand. Austin had retired Forehand for the third time in a row in the game right before leaving the game with a 4-0 lead. This time, Forehand was at the plate with the ability to win the game with one swing of the bat. The duel went to Austin once again as she struck out Forehand to win the game for the Eagles.
 
Biola will next play against West Texas A&M, which defeated Augustana on Saturday evening. It will be the first time the two teams have met in the tournament. Biola is the No. 5 seed and West Texas A&M is the No. 6 seed, but none of that matters as they are the only two teams left and will face each other in a best-of-3 series. The first game will be Sunday afternoon at 5 p.m. local time. The following games will be played at noon, and if necessary, a third game will be played immediately after.