THE AGENDA
The OUAZ baseball team will open Golden State Athletic Conference play this weekend, but first they make a stop at Saint Katherine. The Spirit will face the Firebirds at 7 p.m. (MST) on Wednesday at Escondido High School in Pomway, Calif. OUAZ will then make their GSAC debut at No. 25 Westmont with doubleheaders on Friday and Saturday. The conference games will be played at Russell Carr Field on the Westmont campus in Santa Barbara at noon (MST) each day.
 
All GSAC weekends will feature the teams playing a doubleheader on Friday and Saturday. The first game each day is nine innings followed by a seven-inning game.
 
Wednesday's game will not have any live coverage available. The four games at Westmont will all be streamed live on the NAIA Network and on the OUAZ and Westmont Game Central portals. Live stats can also be found on those same portals. The NAIA Network is available on Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV, and Roku devices by searching NAIA. Links for all live coverage of OUAZ baseball all season long can be found at OUAZSpirit.com/live.
 
ABOUT THE SPIRIT
OUAZ will take a four-game winning streak and 7-3 overall record into their first road trip of the season. The Spirit swept a pair of two-game series' last week and they have won three of the four series they have played this season.
 
The Spirit are batting .299 entering the road trip where they rank fourth in the GSAC. They have a .785 OPS with 18 doubles, five triples, and three home runs to average 7.2 runs per game. The team is 23 of 32 in stolen base attempts and they have drawn 39 walks with 60 strikeouts.
 
OUAZ ranks third in the conference with a 2.50 earned run average. The opposition is batting .249 off the staff with 15 extra base hits. The Spirit have a 1.31 WHIP with 103 strikeouts where they lead the GSAC by averaging 10.3 strikeouts per game.
 
In the field, the Spirit have committed 26 errors with a .935 fielding percentage. They have turned 17 double plays and thrown out 6 of 15 opponents trying to steal a base.
 
AT THE PLATE
Austin Shumaker leads the GSAC with his .520 batting average while his 1.44 hits per game rank fifth in the league. He has tallied three multi-hit games and a pair of multi-RBI games. Shumaker is tied for the GSAC lead with two triples and he has a 1.359 OPS and eight RBI.
 
Chandler Reynard is fifth in the conference with his .393 batting average while recording a 1.042 OPS. He has one triple and one homer with nine RBI. Reynard takes a four-game hitting streak on the road and he has three multi-hit games.
 
Chuck Steele is batting .385 where he is tied for eighth in the conference in batting average. He has three multi-hit games and is riding a four-game hitting streak. Steele has knocked in eight runs and leads the team with three multi-RBI games. He also leads the Spirit with two home runs for a 1.154 OPS.
 
Sam Haney enters the road trip on a seven-game hitting streak and batting .500 on the season. He has recorded 11 hits with three doubles and four RBI in just seven games played. Haney has a 1.136 OPS.
 
ON THE MOUND
Cole Anderson has made three appearance (two starts) and has posted a 1-0 record and 0.75 ERA to rank second in the GSAC. Opponents hit .306 off Anderson and he has 12 strikeouts and only one walk.
 
Travis Hawkins is 2-0 with a 1.35 ERA in his three appearance and two starts. He is holding the opposition to a .163 batting average with and has 17 strikeouts. Hawkins is third in the GSAC in opponents average and tied for sixth in ERA. His 11.48 strikeouts per game is fifth in the conference.
 
Hayden Durkiewicz has made three starts with a 1-0 record and 4.41 ERA. He has held the opposition to a .297 batting average. Durkiewicz has 12 strikeouts and six walks in 16.1 innings.
 
Travis Turner has made four appearances out of the bullpen and posted a 2-0 record with one save. In 3.2 innings of work Turner has allowed one hit and one walk while striking out 10 batters. Turner has a 24.52 strikeouts per game average.
 
ABOUT SAINT KATHERINE
Saint Katherine brings a 6-5 record into Wednesday's game. The Firebirds have won four straight after sweeping a pair of doubleheaders against Vancouver Island last weekend. They are 6-1 at home. Brian Coons leads the team with his .367 batting average. Kyle Huett has made four starts with a 3.78 ERA and 17 strikeouts.
 
OUAZ and Saint Katherine split six meetings last season. The Spirit went 2-1 in Pomway.
 
ABOUT WESTMONT
Westmont starts the week at 11-2 overall and with a No. 25 national ranking. The Warriors split four GSAC games against William Jessup last weekend after starting the year with 10 straight wins. Tyler Roper is second in the GSAC with a .425 batting average. Justin Sanders has a 0.90 ERA and 15 strikeouts in three starts.
 
Westmont swept a four-game series in Santa Barbara against the Spirit last season in the first-ever games for OUAZ.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
The Spirit will be back on the road next week for five games. They play a single game at Bethesda on March 6 before a GSAC series at Hope International on March 8-9.