Spirit Can Clinch GSAC East With Saturday Sweep

OUAZ SPIRIT (9-11, 2-0 GSAC) AT ARIZONA CHRISTIAN FIRESTORM (4-14, 0-2 GSAC)
Match Details	Friday, March 26 (DH) • Noon • Surprise, Ariz. • Willow Canyon High School
Video Stream	ouazspirit.com/digital
OTT App	NAIA Network (Android TV, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Roku)
Live Stats	ouazspirit.com/sidearmstats/softball
All times local to Arizona (Pacific Standard)

The OUAZ softball team took the first two games of the GSAC East Championship series two weeks ago, and they have an opportunity to clinch its spot in the conference championship series on Saturday. A sweep of this weekend's doubleheader against Arizona Christian would get the Spirit one step closer to the NAIA national tournament.

OUAZ will also look to play the role of spoiler, as they will participate in the first two games ever on ACU's new on-campus softball field. The Spirit have won three straight against the Firestorm, and five of the last seven in the all-time series.

Alexandra McCutcheon continues to pitch her best, as she now has 13 consecutive appearances allowing one earned run or less. In her last start, she struck out seven Firestorm batters and walked just one in the Spirit's sixth-inning run rule victory. McCutcheon also leads the GSAC in saves.

Heliana Bueno hit the home run that ended Game 2 in six innings, continuing her hot streak over the last month. She has a hit in five of her last six games, and has recorded three multi-hit games in that span.

Andraya Rhinehart has been OUAZ's best hitter, posting a .387 average and .881 OPS. She is one of just two players to start all 20 games for the Spirit, and is sitting fourth in the GSAC in RBI with 15.

Mashayla Beltran is the other player to participate in all 20 of the games this season, and she has put together a couple of hit streaks throughout the year. She had a six game hit streak that stretched between the two Texas trips, and she is currently halfway to tying that mark, getting hits in her last three games.

While the Spirit may not always get the hits, they are still finding a way to get on base. There are seven players with at least 17 starts who have on-base percentages over .300, and on 17 separate occasions have gotten a free base thanks to the hit by pitch.

When they are getting hits, getting more than one base is on the table for everyone in the lineup. The Spirit are tops in the GSAC in doubles (28) and triples (7), with the triples total ranking 47^th in the NAIA.

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Players Mentioned

#22 Mashayla Beltran: INF; 5' 2"; Sophomore; R/R

#32 Heliana Bueno: INF; 5' 3"; Junior; R/R

#18 Alexandra McCutcheon: RHP; 5' 9"; Junior; R/R

#1 Andraya Rhinehart: INF; 5' 5"; Sophomore; R/R

Players Mentioned

#22 Mashayla Beltran
: 5' 2"; Sophomore; R/R
: INF

#32 Heliana Bueno
: 5' 3"; Junior; R/R
: INF

#18 Alexandra McCutcheon
: 5' 9"; Junior; R/R
: RHP

#1 Andraya Rhinehart
: 5' 5"; Sophomore; R/R
: INF