AZUSA, Calif. -- British Columbia pinch hitter Mitch Grossell hit a 2-run game-winning eighth inning home run to propel the No. 2-seeded Thunderbirds to an 8-6 victory over No. 3-seeded Biola, in the second game of the NAIA Baseball Championship Opening Round play Tuesday afternoon. Thunderbird shortstop Sammie Starr went 3-for-4, drove in 2 runs, and delivered a home run and a triple.

In the top of the eighth, after Biola right-hander Steven Alexander walked British Columbia's Bob Foerster on the prior at-bat, Grossell released a 415-foot center field 2-out home run to break the 6-6 tie.

Biola established itself with a 4-0 first inning lead following a pair of 2-run home runs from second baseman Hawkins Gebbers and catcher Taylor Loop. British Columbia responded in the second with a 5-run outburst off 4 singles and a double. The Thunderbirds held the lead until Biola's Nick Rotkowitz drove in Vinnie Fayard off a center field single to tie the game at 6-6 in the seventh.

With the victory, British Columbia advances to 38-11 and will take on Point Loma Nazarene, an 8-1 winner over Azusa Pacific, Wednesday at 2:15 p.m. (PDT). Biola falls to 34-23 and will play Purdue North Central, also on Wednesday, at 11 a.m., in a elimination game.