THE AGENDA
The OUAZ softball team will begin Golden State Athletic Conference play this weekend with a trip to northern California. The Spirit are at Menlo on Friday for a double header that starts at noon (Arizona) on Wunderlich Field in Atherton, Calif. They will then play two games at William Jessup on Saturday at noon (Arizona) in Lincoln, Calif. at Wilson Park.
 
All four games of the trip will have live video available on the NAIA Network and the OUAZ Game Central portal. The NAIA Network is available on Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV, and Roku devices by searching NAIA. Live stats will also be available in the portal during each game. Links for any available live coverage all season long can be found at OUAZSpirit.com/live.
 
ABOUT THE SPIRIT
OUAZ will begin conference play with a 2-7 overall record after splitting a doubleheader against Saint Katherine on Saturday. Those games ended a run of eight straight rain outs for the Spirit. They haven't played a true road game this season and they are 0-3 in neutral site games.
 
The Spirit are hitting .289 at this point of the season where they rank seventh in the GSAC. They are scoring 5.1 runs per game with a .766 OPS. The team has tallied 11 doubles, one triple, and one home run. They are 5 of 8 in stolen base attempts and have added 10 sacrifice bunts.
 
The OUAZ pitching staff has a 6.14 earned run average and 2.14 WHIP through nine games. Opponents have a .332 batting average and 25 extra base hits. The Spirit have recorded 33 strikeouts and allowed 40 walks.
 
OUAZ has a .918 fielding percentage having committed 22 errors. They have caught 10 of 16 stolen base attempts and are yet to turn a double play.
 
AT THE PLATE
Emily Stebbins is 11th in the conference with her .440 batting average. She starts the road trip on a 6-game hitting streak where she has gone 9 for 19 (.474). Stebbins has recorded 11 hits – including four doubles and one home run – and is carrying a 1.268 OPS with eight RBI.
 
Sydney Saxton Siaki is second on the team with nine hits and a .375 batting average. She had gone 4 for 7 during her three-game hitting streak and currently holds a .802 OPS with seven RBI.
 
Amanda Almond starts the week batting .320 with a .739 OPS. She started the season with a six-game hitting streak that had her averages as high as .389. Almond is tied for the team lead with eight RBI and she has four multi RBI games.
 
Ashton Aggers currently hits .286 with eight hits and two RBI. She has recorded a pair of multi-hit games  and had two RBI.
 
IN THE CIRCLE
Sabrina Jimenez has a team-leading 5.01 ERA with an 0-4 record. In six appearance (three starts), Jimenez has thrown 22.1 innings with opponents hitting .313. She has totaled 10 strikeouts and allowed 10 walks.
 
Bailey Coronado has made seven appearances (two starts) and recorded a 6.18 ERA and 0-2 record. She leads the team with 13 strikeouts and has given up 22 hits with a .319 opponent batting average.
 
Alexandra McCutcheon is 1-1 with an 8.04 ERA in six appearance (four starts). She had thrown 15.2 innings and opponents are batting .375 with seven extra base hits. McCutcheon has recorded 10 strikeouts and given up 16 walks.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
The Spirit will be home net week for three sets of doubleheaders. They host Carroll in a non-conference set on March 6 before returning to GSAC play against Hope International on March 8 and Vanguard on March 9.