RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- Starter Kelsen Boyer gave Point Loma Nazarene six solid innings but the bullpen would give up the lead, the Sea Lions falling to NAIA No. 13-ranked Biola 5-3 in an opening round game of the GSAC Tournament Tuesday afternoon.

The loss drops #5 seed PLNU (27-21) into the loser's bracket where they will face hosts #1 seed California Baptist in an elimination game Wednesday at 9:00 a.m. The Lancers were beaten by #6 Azusa Pacific 15-7 in the day's first match up. Second-seed Biola (34-18) advances to face the winner of this afternoon's Fresno Pacific/Concordia tilt.

The Sea Lions struck first Tuesday, Allen Boyer scoring a run in the top of the first inning. The senior centerfielder was hit by an offering from Eagle starter Kevin Ryan and advanced to second on a single from senior second baseman Tyler Kuehl. Heads up base running came into play when Allen Boyer came home on a ground out to shortstop.

Point Loma tacked on a second run in the next frame. Senior left fielder Rashad Taylor doubles and moved to third on a sac bunt by shortstop Clinton Harwick. Senior backstop Alec Martinez plated Taylor with a groundout to first.

Kelsen Boyer sent Biola down 1-2-3 through two innings of action. The Eagles sliced into the PLNU lead in the third, however, after Garrett Leon singled and later scored on a wild pitch.

The Sea Lions got that run back in the fourth. Third baseman Shain Stoner led the inning off with a single. An Eagle error and wild pitch allowed Stoner to scamper to third. Harwick then got the job done with a groundout that scored Stoner and gave Point Loma a 3-1 advantage.

That lead would last until the sixth when BU's Drake Fages collected a run batted in with a groundout that scored Benjo Southerland. Kelsen Boyer escaped further damage when his defense turned an inning-ending double-play.

A Harwick error at short opened the door for the Eagles in the bottom of the seventh. BU later made PLNU pay for the miscue when Leon hit a RBI grounder off reliever Chris Gonzales.

Even at 3-3, four straight hits in the eighth would seal Point Loma's fate. Michael Andrews greeted the third Sea Lion pitcher, Josh Dexheimer, with a one-out single. Boone Farrington followed with a single. Fages collected his team's third base knock in a row to plate Andrews with the go-ahead run.  Sullivan added an insurance run with a hit to give the Eagles a 5-3 lead.

Though the Sea Lions threatened in the ninth Biola closer Cameron McVey was able to avoid any runs and earn his 13th save of the year. Kyle Atkins (7-4) picked up the easy win, facing just one batter in the eighth.

Dexheimer (2-2) was hung with the loss after yielding two runs in a third of an inning on the hill. Kelsen Boyer had his best outing in awhile, lasting six frames in which he gave up two runs on three hits.

The Sea Lions will now have to work their way up through the loser's bracket starting with CBU tomorrow. A PLNU loss will probably mark the end of the 2011 campaign.

 
Ticket prices for the tournament are:

$8 – adults
$7 – faculty/staff
$5 students
12-under - free

Fans who can't make it out to the games can still follow the action live via livestats or pay-per-view audio/video. Links and tournament information are at CBULancers.com