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OUAZ Athletics

Adrian Salazar - January 27, 2021

Baseball

Baseball Begins New Season with Three Games at Coach Calderone Invitational

OUAZ SPIRIT (0-0) at COACH CALDERONE INVITATIONAL
Game 1 vs. San Diego Christian Hawks (0-0)
Thursday, January 28 • 1 p.m. (Arizona) • Surprise, Ariz. • Surprise Recreation Complex (Rangers 3)
Game 2 vs. Taylor Trojans (3-1)
Friday, January 29 • 1 p.m. (Arizona) • Surprise, Ariz. • Surprise Recreation Complex (Rangers 3)
Game 3 vs. Oklahoma Panhandle State Pioneers (0-0)
Saturday, January 30 • 5 p.m. (Arizona) • Surprise, Ariz. • Willow Canyon High School
Video Stream ouazspirit.com/network
OTT App NAIA Network (Android TV, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Roku)
Live Stats ouazspirit.com/sidearmstats/baseball
Game Notes OUAZ (PDF)
Tournament Info Tournament Schedule | Tournament Statistics

SPIRIT NOTES
The OUAZ baseball team will open its 2021 season this weekend with three games at the Coach Calderone Invitational. A familiar foe in GSAC member San Diego Christian will get things started on Thursday at 1 p.m. On Friday, the Spirit will take on Taylor at 1 p.m. before closing out the season's first weekend against Panhandle State on Saturday at 5 p.m.

The first two games of the weekend will be played on the Texas Rangers side of the Surprise Recreation Complex. The game will move the Willow Canyon High School on Saturday.

Fans will not be allowed to attend the games this weekend due to regulations on gatherings of larger than 50 people in place by the City of Surprise.

All three games of the weekend set will be streamed live on the OUAZ Digital Network available online at OUAZSpirit.com/network. They will also be available on the NAIA Network app available on Android TV, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV & Roku devices.

Live stats for the weekend will be available at OUAZSpirit.com/live.

OUAZ will enter the new season after posting an 8-15 record in 2020 before their season was shut down in mid-March. The Spirit won three of the final five games they played and finished with a 5-8 mark in GSAC games. They also finished with a 5-8 record in home games.

The 2021 squad returns five of the six position players that qualified for the national rankings last season. They also bring back five of the eight pitchers that had at least 10 innings pitched for the Spirit in 2020.

AT THE PLATE
The Spirit hit .279 as a team last season and finished 47th in the NAIA by averaging 9.13 hits per game. Nine times the team recorded double-digit hits in a game to help them finish 50th in the nation with 155 runs scored.

With 35 doubles, seven triples, and six home runs, OUAZ maintained a .757 OPS for the season. 

Adrian Salazar returns for his senior season as the OUAZ all-time leader with 142 hits. He had a team-best 29 hits and 21 RBI last season while hitting .349. Salazar had a hit in 14 of the team's final 15 games – including an 11-game hitting streak – and he had eight multi-hit games.

Jared Crockett led the 2020 qualifiers with a .370 batting average while picking up 27 hits and eight multi-hit games. Crockett had a torrid start to the 2020 season with 16 hits and a .471 batting average through his first nine games played.

Elijah Celaya ended the season with a .322 batting average after picking up nine hits over the team's final seven games. He led all qualifiers with a .508 slugging percentage while driving in 13 runs and scoring 14 times.

Griffin Hagen only played in 11 games last season but had an impact with a .414 batting average and 1.114 OPS. He finished the season on a five-game hitting streak and with two doubles, one home run, and five RBI.

ON THE MOUND
The OUAZ pitching staff finished its 2020 season with a 6.95 ERA and .313 opponents batting average. Spirit opponents totaled 64 extra-base hits with a .855 OPS during the 189 innings pitched by the team.

Gage Johnson is the most experienced starter among the returns for 2021 after making six starts and finishing second on the team with 25.1 innings pitched. He finished with a 1-1 record and 7.82 ERA in seven total appearances.

Kapono Rawlins posted a 4.61 ERA in six appearances (one start) and 13.2 innings pitched last season. 

Myles White was solid at the backend of the OUAZ bullpen in 2020 as he was 11th in the NAIA with four saves. In 14.2 innings of work, White was 1-2 with a 4.91 ERA and .204 opponents batting average. He totaled 15 strikeouts to average 9.2 per nine innings.

Anthony Quattrocchi was trending upwards when the season ended having allowed just one run and seven hits over his final two outings (7.2 IP). That helped him lower his season ERA to 6.89 with a .283 opponents batting average.
 
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Players Mentioned

Elijah Celaya

#27 Elijah Celaya

OF
5' 10"
Senior
R/R
Griffin Hagen

#36 Griffin Hagen

INF
6' 3"
Junior
R/R
Gage Johnson

#4 Gage Johnson

RHP
5' 11"
Senior
R/R
Anthony Quattrocchi

#22 Anthony Quattrocchi

RHP
6' 2"
Junior
R/R
Kapono Rawlins

#35 Kapono Rawlins

RHP
6' 0"
Sophomore
R/R
Adrian Salazar

#2 Adrian Salazar

INF
5' 10"
Senior
R/R
Myles White

#32 Myles White

RHP
6' 3"
Senior
R/R
Jared Crockett

#1 Jared Crockett

OF
5' 10"
Senior
L/L

Players Mentioned

Elijah Celaya

#27 Elijah Celaya

5' 10"
Senior
R/R
OF
Griffin Hagen

#36 Griffin Hagen

6' 3"
Junior
R/R
INF
Gage Johnson

#4 Gage Johnson

5' 11"
Senior
R/R
RHP
Anthony Quattrocchi

#22 Anthony Quattrocchi

6' 2"
Junior
R/R
RHP
Kapono Rawlins

#35 Kapono Rawlins

6' 0"
Sophomore
R/R
RHP
Adrian Salazar

#2 Adrian Salazar

5' 10"
Senior
R/R
INF
Myles White

#32 Myles White

6' 3"
Senior
R/R
RHP
Jared Crockett

#1 Jared Crockett

5' 10"
Senior
L/L
OF