Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 IRVINE, Calif. – Facing the Preseason PacWest Pitcher of the Year in what wound up being the longest game of the season didn't faze the Concordia University Irvine softball team on Thursday evening.

The No. 2 CUI Eagles defeated their rivals from Biola in an epic 10-inning thriller before riding the hot hand of pitcher Katlin Entrup and limiting the Red and Black to just four hits in the nightcap.

Concordia scored five times in both victories and improved to 22-0 overall and 10-0 in PacWest play after Thursday's sweep.
 
Game 1: CUI 5, Biola 4
Shelli Faulk provided the first walk-off single of her young career in the bottom of the tenth inning to plate Rylie Rohr in a thrilling series opener. Faulk's clutch hit curtailed a strong performance by Biola ace Paige Austin, who was named PacWest Preseason Pitcher of the Year and entered the day with a tiny 0.94 ERA.

Concordia trailed 2-0 in the first inning but evened things up thanks to the tandem of Sydney Sprinkle and leadoff hitter Megan Massa.

Sprinkle plated Massa in the bottom of the first on a RBI groundout to get Concordia on the board. Her next time up, she helped Massa come home again on a RBI single in the third.

A two-run double by Lauren Lopez briefly put the host Eagles ahead of Biola 4-2 after three. Biola rallied to force extras but then ran into the pitching tandem of Cortney Koelmans and Katlin Entrup.

Koelmans scattered five hits in 4.1 shutout innings to keep everything tidy in relief of teammate Erika Morris.  Entrup retired all eight batters she faced down the stretch before Faulk knocked home the winning run in the tenth.
 
Game 2: CUI 5, Biola 0

Entrup started this time and was superb on the mound after getting into a groove in the opener.

She tossed a complete game shutout and allowed only four hits. Entrup improved to 8-0 on the season after she was the pitcher of record in both wins over Biola.

First baseman Missy Nemeth cranked a three-run blast in the fifth inning to extend a narrow 1-0 lead to a comfortable 4-0 margin. That was the crucial hit of the game. Lopez had opened the scoring with a sacrifice fly in the first. CUI added another unearned run in the fifth for some extra insurance.

"I'm really proud of our team," said CUI head coach Crystal Rosenthal. "Those were two huge wins. We don't care about national rankings right now, we just want to win our conference. This was a big step for us and I'm extremely proud of how we played. Plus, (major league) baseball is back so this was a great day."

The Eagles head to Azusa to face the APU Cougars for their next PacWest doubleheader this Saturday.

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