DENVER, Colo. -- In its first year of postseason eligibility as a member of NCAA Division II, Biola went all the way to the NCAA Division II Softball National Championship game with an impressive string of wins against the top teams in the nation, but the Eagles' run came up just short as West Texas A&M won the final two games of the Championship Series, winning game 3 by a score of 4-1 on Tuesday morning.

Paige Austin was unhittable for most of the tournament with 31.2 scoreless innings pitched to start the tournament. She threw complete-game shutouts against North Georgia, Augustana and West Texas A&M to help put the Eagles just one game away from winning the biggest prize in Division II softball. However, the second time that the Buffs faced Austin, they began to see a little bit of success.

The Buffs put the leadoff runner aboard in five-consecutive innings. Austin got out of the jam the first four times to take a shutout in the sixth inning. That's when Kayla Neff hit a solo home run to give Biola a 1-0 lead. It was Neff's third home run of the tournament. Biola was six outs away from a national title, but it was inevitable that West Texas A&M would eventually take advantage of all the runners that were getting on base.

With the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the sixth inning, Gabi Valforte hit a grand slam to centerfield to take a 4-1 lead and end Austin's incredible run of 31.2-consecutive shutout innings. West Texas A&M then got three outs in the top of the seventh to become national champions.

Biola finishes the season with a 26-16 record, a West Region title and a National Runner-Up trophy. The Eagles came closer than any PacWest team to winning the national title since Hawai`i Pacific did it in 2010. Biola finished the postseason with a record of 7-3.