ANAHEIM, Calif. - The Ottawa University Arizona baseball team split their games at Bethesda University in California on Friday. OUAZ won game one by a final of 8-6 in a final 10-innings. The Spirit fell in game two by a final of 6-3 in nine innings. Game two was only scheduled for seven innings.

With the split Friday, the Spirit move to 9-14 overall.

"We had a chance to go three and one this week, but instead we went two and two," said OUAZ head baseball coach Tim Montez. "We played good solid baseball three out of four games this week. This loss tonight in extra innings was a tough one to swallow, but when you've been around the game long enough; that's just baseball. I was proud of the way our guys handled themselves after such a tough loss."

Montez continued, "There is definitely a right way and a wrong way to handle yourselves after a win or a loss. Hopefully our guys learned a lot from tonight's game."

It was a long day of baseball for OUAZ on Friday. The Spirit took the field early in the morning Friday to square off in game two against Bethesda University of California. OUAZ and Bethesda were even at six runs apiece after nine innings of play. The Flames play at a public park and ran out of time and the teams were unable to finish their game. Instead, OUAZ and Bethesda would pick up their game starting in the top of the 10th inning later that evening, before starting game three of the series. Game three was orignally scheduled for Saturday, but due to inclement weather coming into the area, the game was pushed ahead a day.

In the 10th inning of game one on Friday, OUAZ struck for two runs on a two RBI single off the bat of Greg Saenz. Dylan Chelini closed the game out to earn the victory over the Flames.

Game two was even at the beginning. Both teams scored runs in the first inning and OUAZ would tack on another in the third to take a 2-1 lead.  

The second game Friday came down to the wire, as the Spirit added a run off an Adrian Salazar RBI double to give OUAZ the 3-2 lead.

Bethesda continued to fight in the bottom of the ninth inning. The first got an RBI double to even the score at 3-3, before a three-run walk-off homerun sealed the victory for the Flames. The win also signaled a series victory for Bethesda; 2-1 over OUAZ.

OUAZ returns to the diamond this Tuesday March 13th, as they travel across town to face Arizona Christian University. First pitch from Firestorm Field in Phoenix is scheduled for 2pm.
   
 
About Ottawa University
Founded in 1865, Ottawa University prepares professional and liberal arts graduates for lifetimes of personal significance, vocational fulfillment and service to God and humanity within a Christ-inspired community of grace and open inquiry. Ottawa University is a comprehensive, not-for-profit educational institution serving 4,000 students through its residential campuses in Ottawa, Kan., and Surprise, Ariz., and adult campuses in Overland Park, Kan.; Phoenix, Queen Creek and Surprise, Ariz.; Brookfield, Wis.; Jeffersonville, Ind.; as well as online. For more information, visit www.ottawa.edu. 
 
For more information about OUAZ athletics, visit http://www.ottawa.edu/ouaz/athletics. Follow OUAZ athletics on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/OUAZSpiritAthletics/ and on Twitter twitter.com/OUAZSpirit.