Biola Sports Report 3-31-06

Let’s get right to the good stuff, Biola baseball’s first baseman, Nick Dietzen is GSAC player of the week as he went ten for twenty-one with five runs, four doubles, two home runs and eight RBI, Helping the eagles to win four out of five games last week.

Looking back this week, at a busy schedule for the baseball team taking two w’s away against rival Azusa Pacific on Monday. In Game one Jonathan Young started the game and went for five innings giving up only two runs on five hits. Travis Lange finished pitching duties allowing one run and striking out three. Final score was seven to three. In game two Biola was lead by catcher Eric Bowman and center fielder Chris Foreman. Both finished the game going two for three at the plate and scoring three of the five runs bringing the sweep to a close at five to one. On Wednesday the eagle’s earned a fifth straight victory at Cal Baptist. Star players were Jimmy Johnson, Jack Creighton and Mike Casserly. But On Thursday tables turned as the eagles played a tough game against the Lancer’s from Cal Baptist again. Biola jumped out to an early lead but a couple big hits had the lancers leading for the rest of the contest with a final score of three to seven.
The Eagles are currently twenty-one and six overall and second place in conference with fourteen and six. And the Eagles play a doubleheader on Saturday at home against Vanguard University starting at eleven.

On Tuesday the Biola softball team competed at Cal Baptist and endured a goose egg in both games. In game one the offense was able to scrape out only two hits as Lindsay Nuckolls and Amanda Rudolph both went one for three. In game two Emily Gray pitched 4.2 innings and allowed only five runs. Next The Lady Eagles play a doubleheader on Saturday at Vanguard University. Their current record is twenty-three and eight overall and five and seven in GSAC.

Back on the court, the tennis team plays at home today against Point Loma at 2:30 then travels to my hometown of Santa Barbra to play Westmont College on Saturday.

Last but not least, the track team sent one player to nationals this week. Kristi Hook finished fifth in the pole vault event with a mark of 3.65 meters.

That’s it for sports, have a great weekend!!

News 3-21-06

Extreme Weather: major snowfall shuts down much of the Midwest.

Anniversary: The Beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom Observed Yesterday.

Even spring's arrival was unable to ward off a major snowstorm in the Midwest. At least a foot of snow blanketed the majority of Nebraska, Kansas, South Dakota, and Colorado. Hundreds of schools were closed Monday across the area, while hundreds of miles of freeway were shut down. The South Dakota State Legislature was forced to postpone their final day of session due to the storm.

Yesterday marked the third anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, an occasion observed across the globe. President Bush addressed the City Club of Cleveland, pointing to the city of Tal Afar as an example of the success of Iraq's democratization. In Washington, about 200 protestors attempted to deliver a mock coffin to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. In Iraq, 39 people were killed in attacks by terrorists and gangs across the country. Much of this violence was targeted toward police officials.

A couple charged with abuse for forcing some of their 11 adopted children to sleep in cages were stripped of custody Monday, six months after a social worker discovered the enclosures.
Juvenile Judge Timothy Cardwell said there was a good chance Michael and Sharen Gravelle would mistreat the children again, citing a history of sexual abuse allegations against the father.
The couple has pleaded not guilty to several charges, including child endangerment, in a separate criminal case.
They deny abusing the children, ages 1 to 15, and say the cages were necessary to protect the youngsters, who suffered from psychological and behavioral problems. Prosecutors accuse the couple of locking the children in cages to discipline them. One child testified that he was forced to sleep in a bathtub as punishment for wetting the bed.
The children were removed from the home in September and placed with several foster families.

During the LA Marathon on Sunday to men never reached the finish line. Two retired law enforcement officers died after collapsing on the route. Det. Raul Reyna, 53, suffered a heart attack at mile 24 near Olympic Boulevard and Westmoreland Avenue, two miles short of the finish line. The 28-year Los Angeles Police Department veteran had worked on the use of force investigation team at Parker Center. Reyna is a related to Biola Mass Comm Professor, Mike Gonzales. The other Officer, Retired Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy James Leone, 60, collapsed at mile 3, near Exposition Boulevard and Figueroa Street. Sheriff's officials said Leone was participating in his 11th L.A. marathon. He was a 26-year member of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and had retired in July 2000.

In sports news, a teacher in Japan was so gripped by baseball fever that he proceeded to watch the game against rival South Korea while his students were taking an exam, on television. After the test many students complained about not being able to concentrate. Fortunately for the students, the test scores will not be included in the final grades.

In Biola news, tomorrow marks the beginning of Missions Conference week. Speakers include Murray Decker, Chair of Anthropology and Intercultural Studies at Biola University and Paul Borthiwck, who serves on staff of Development associates International. Also "Something Like Silas" will be performing to provide the soundtrack for during the conference.


Have a great week!

Biola Sports Report 3-17-06

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Here is the latest in the world of Biola sports:

On Tuesday the Biola softball team played a double header against Point Loma and gave up both games to bring their record to one and three in conference play. Biola struggled to get anything going against the tough pitching of KC Robertson of Point Loma in both games. In the first game Biola was only able to scrape out one run on four hits, two of them coming from freshman, Keena Levert, who went two for three in the game. In game two Amerra Kesterson, Sarah Jensen and Keena Levert supplied the hits for the Eagles as they each went 1 for three in the game. Katie Gustaveson got the start and suffered the loss for Biola as she gave up five runs on eleven hits and stuck out five in her six innings of work. Biola returns to the field to play a doubleheader at Concordia University on Saturday.

Well it was just the opposite for the baseball team! The Eagles got back into the swing of winning on Wednesday as they beat Cal Sate San Bernardino thirteen to one. Chris Weems led the Biola attack as he exploded for three hits and three runs scored in three at bats against the Coyotes, while nine other Eagles had one hit apiece. Richard Fixsen blasted his first home run of the season as he belted a grand slam in the seventh inning to break things wide open. Kevin Fox got the start for Biola and went a solid five innings giving up only one run on six hits while striking out seven on his way to picking up his second win of the season. Jimmy Johnson came in a pitched the final four innings and blanked the Coyotes only giving up three hits and fanning seven. The Eagles return home on Saturday to take on GSAC rival, Point Loma Nazarene, in a double header beginning at 11:00am. The Eagles are currently ranked number three in the conference with a record of eight and three and fourteen and three overall.

The tennis team plays next against Pacific Lutheran University on March 21 at Home. Their current record is three and eight.

The track and field team has a meet coming up on March 18th. They will participate in the Long Beach Classic.

In women’s soccer news Christina Lane has signed to play for Biola in the 2006 season. Lane is a versatile player from Arizona who will play midfield and forward. Head Coach Mike Silzer anticipates a strong performance and contribution as a freshmen.

Don’t forget to check out the intramural teams this weekend and next week. Games begin at 8pm and continue thought out the evening!

That’s it for sports, have a great weekend!

Biola Sports Report::3-10-06::

Keeping you up to date with Biola sports...

At the top of your news is the Biola swim team, who returned home on Sunday, from their five-day trip to the NAIA National Swim Meet on Monday with nine new school records and two top-ten team finishes. Record setters for the women include Shannon Lawrence swimming the 100 free with a time of 54.67 seconds, in the 200 breast is Ashley McLaughlin with a record of 2 minutes and 28.24 seconds and Christina Piakak grabbed two individual records with the 50 free at time of 25.08 seconds and the 100 fly with a time of 59.78 seconds.
The women’s team also set four new records for the 200, 400 and 800 free relay and logged one new time for the 200 medley relay.
Erik Scott of the men’s swim team broke the school record in the 100 breast with a time of 1 minute and 2.79 seconds.
Overall the women’s team came in sixth place and the men finished in tenth.

Turing to softball, on Tuesday the Lady Eagles played a double header at home against the Lions of Vanguard University. In the first game Tatiana Garcia got the start and recorded the win for the Eagles as she rolled through five innings giving up no runs on only fours hits. She then gave way to Emily Gray in the sixth inning who gave up only two hits the rest of the way to close out the victory. Jacquelin Hudson led the Eagle's offense as she went 3 for 3 in the game with two RBI. Amerra Kesterson also had a multi-hit performance as she went 2 for 4. As the innings ran out, the gamed ended in a 4 to zero shutout. Rolling into game two, Biola suffered their first loss due to errors late in the game and again Kesterson led the offense with a final score of 2 to 3. The lady eagles are currently number four in GSAC and they continue play in the Tucson Softball Invitational through the weekend.

Well in baseball news, it’s been the battle for home field advantage. On Wednesday Biola hit the road to play California Baptist University and came out with a 2 to 1 win. Biola was led by strong pitching of senior, Garet Hill who went eight innings and gave up only one run on ten hits while striking out six batters. Mike Casserly came in and closed things out in the ninth as he gave up only one hit and recorded the save. Then the Lancers came to Biola on Thursday and handed the Eagles their third loss of the season. Chris Foreman dominated the plate going 2 for 3 with a double and a run scored in the game. The final tally is 1 to 6. The eagles are currently number thee in GSAC with a record of eight and three and fourteen and three overall. Biola’s next game is a double header against Fresno Pacific University on Saturday.

Lastly, in women’s basketball news Orange County prep all-star, Chelsea Deluca, announced a verbal commitment to attend Biola for the 2006-2007 season. Coach Ken Crawford expects Deluca and other recruits to help take the program to the next level.

Have a great weekend!!