FIRST PITCH
• After playing 13 of its first 15 games at home, the OUAZ baseball team will now head to the road for 18 of the next 19. That stretch begins this week with a mid-week game against No. 25 Benedictine Mesa and a GSAC series at Menlo.

• The Spirit will play at Benedictine Mesa on Tuesday in the third meeting this season with the Redhawks. This is the first time BenU will be the host with first pitch from Gene Autry Park scheduled for 3 p.m.

• OUAZ will then head for Atherton, California, and a four-game conference series at Menlo. The team will play a doubleheader of a 9-inning game followed by a 7-inning game on Friday and Saturday. Each day's action will begin at 12 p.m. (AZ) from Cartan Field.

• OUAZ begins this four-week road swing at 5-10 overall this season. The Spirit are currently tied for seventh in the GSAC at 2-4 after having two of their games against William Jessup rained out last weekend. They are three games out of first and one game behind the final spot in the GSAC Tournament.

• Benedictine Mesa will bring a 15-5 record and six-game winning streak into Tuesday's game. They have gone 4-2 at home and are coming off a three-game sweep of La Sierra last weekend in their Cal Pac opening series.

• Menlo will enter the weekend series with an 8-11 overall record and looking to snap a two-game losing streak. The Oaks are 3-5 in the GSAC after splitting two games with Vanguard last weekend at home. They are 6-5 at Cartan Field.

HOW TO FOLLOW
• Tuesday's game will be broadcast live through the BenU Game Central portal with a link at OUAZSpirit.com/live. All four games of the Menlo series will be available live on the OUAZ Digital Network at OUAZSpirit.com/digital. All five games this week will also be available on the NAIA Network OTT app on Android TV, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Roku devices. Live stats will also be available for each game. Links for all live coverage are available at OUAZSpirit.com/live.

AT THE PLATE
• OUAZ starts the week hitting .273 to rank seventh in the GSAC. They have a .745 OPS and are scoring 6.40 runs per game. The Spirit are 41st in the NAIA in getting 9.00 hits per game.

• The team is among the NAIA leaders in stolen bases where their 51 steals are seventh-most in the nation. They are fourth in the NAIA by attempting 3.40 steals per game.

• Adrian Salazar has been the leader at the plate of late where he currently holds a seven-game hitting streak. During the streak, Salazar has gone 14 for 26 (.538) with one double, two home runs, and eight RBI to raise his season average to .360. His 17 RBI this season ranks 41st in the NAIA and he leads the GSAC at 1.13 RBI per game.

• Jared Crockett is the team's leading hitter with his .383 batting average. Crockett has five multi-hit games this season and he has scored a team-best 11 runs. He is 35th in the NAIA with eight stolen bases in 10 attempts.

• Ben Lewis has knocked in 11 runs and is batting .295 with three doubles and one home run.  Hunter Lessard is hitting .292 with two triples and Elijah Celaya is at .286 with two triples.

ON THE MOUND
• The OUAZ staff carries a 5.84 ERA into the week while maintaining a 1.66 WHIP. The opposition is batting .290 and the staff averages 6.82 strikeouts per nine innings.

• Among qualifiers, Taylor Campos (1-2) leads the team with his 5.09 ERA in four starts. He has thrown a team-best 23.0 innings and holds opponents to a .290 batting average with a 1.48 WHIP. Campos also leads the team with 20 strikeouts.

• Gage Johnson (1-0) has a 5.40 ERA and 1.60 WHIP in his four starts and 16.2 innings of work. 

• Myles White has a pair of saves and a 3.60 ERA in eight appearances. Hayden Sandman leads all pitchers with 10 appearances. Kapono Rawlins leads the staff with a 2.00 ERA and 1.11 WHIP in 9.0 innings pitched.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
• Benedictine Mesa is third in the NAIA with 206 hits and 13th by scoring 133 runs. Their .308 batting average ranks 38th in the nation.

• Travis Hunt is batting .381 and he is 10th in the NAIA with 51 total bases and 13th with 22 RBI. Hunt has hit six home runs and has seven doubles.

• Menlo gets 8.95 hits per game to rank 44th in the NAIA and they are 12th nationally with 36 doubles.

• Devon Canty has a .393 batting average and he is 20th in the nation with five home runs and 45 total bases. Dylan Cole has hit four home runs with 14 RBI.

• Brice Foster (3-1) is 16th in the nation in wins and he has thrown two complete games and one shutout. He is 37th in the NAIA by giving up just 1.07 walks per nine innings. 

LOOKING AHEAD
• OUAZ will play a four-game GSAC series against Arizona Christian next week. The games from Apollo High School will start at 10 a.m. on March 6 and then 11 a.m. on March 7.