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OUAZ Athletics

Elijah Celaya - February 23, 2021
5
Winner Arizona Christian ACU 16-10
3
OUAZ OUAZ 4-6
Winner
Arizona Christian ACU
16-10
5
Final
3
OUAZ OUAZ
4-6
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Arizona Christian ACU 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 9 1
OUAZ OUAZ 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 3 12 1

W: Elliot,Eli (2-0) L: Sandman, Hayden (1-2) S: Defrancesco,Anthony (5)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Triple Play Halts Spirit Rally

SURPRISE, Ariz. – Down 3-0 before even coming to the plate, the OUAZ baseball team settled in and had the tying runs on base in the bottom of the ninth before Arizona Christian turned a triple play to escape with a 5-3 win at Royals Field 6 on Tuesday night.
 
OUAZ (4-6) got consecutive singles from Elijah Celaya and Ben Lewis to start the bottom of the final inning when Adrian Salazar hit a chopper right at the Arizona Christian (16-10) third baseman who was standing on the bag. That allowed the visitors to whip the ball around the diamond to complete the improbable ending and spoil the Spirit's rally attempt.
 
After ACU scored five times in the first three innings, the OUAZ bullpen shut them down over the final six frames to keep the comeback chances alive. Matthew Wilmot and Tanner Fallon delivered one scoreless inning apiece before Gage Johnson went the final three innings without allowing a run on two hits.
 
"After being off for two weeks, I was very pleased with our effort tonight," OUAZ head coach Tim Montez said after the game. "Our pitching gave us a chance to win late in the game and we had the right guy at the plate, but that's baseball. It's not often you see a triple play to end a game."
 
While OUAZ did get 12 hits in the game, they struggled to score runs by going 2 of 12 with runners in scoring position. They left nine runners on base and twice were caught stealing. The Spirit also stayed close with five caught stealing attempts from ACU – four from Deon Reese behind the plate – and two double plays.
 
Celaya and Lewis each had three hits for the Spirit. Jordan Hollins had a pair of hits including a double. Adrian Salazar and Reese each recorded RBI singles.
 
"Our guys are getting closer and they just need to focus on the process and trust each other," Montez added about the team's prospect going forward.
 
OUAZ will be back in action on Thursday when they open a four-game series against The Master's at 6:30 p.m. on Royals Field 6.
 
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