ARIZONA CHRISTIAN FIRESTORM (28-19, 3-5 GSAC) at OUAZ SPIRIT (19-18, 8-4 GSAC)
Series Details	Friday, April 16 • 3 p.m. (DH) • Surprise, Ariz. • Surprise Stadium Saturday, April 17 • 3 p.m. (DH) • Surprise, Ariz. • Surprise Stadium
Video Stream	ouazspirit.com/digital
OTT App	NAIA Network (Android TV, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Roku)
Live Stats	ouazspirit.com/sidearmstats/baseball
Tickets	ouazspirit.com/tickets
Game Notes	OUAZ (pdf)
All times local to Arizona (Mountain Standard)

SPIRIT NOTES
With the division title within reach this weekend, the OUAZ baseball team will close out its regular season with a four-game series against Arizona Christian on Friday and Saturday at Surprise Stadium. The teams will play a pair of 9/7 doubleheaders starting at 3 p.m. each day.

OUAZ will celebrate its eight seniors in a ceremony at 2:40 p.m. on Saturday.

OUAZ will start the series with a 19-18 overall record with a 6-4 mark over the last 10 games played. The Spirit are 10-10 in home games – 4-3 in Surprise Stadium – having played their last six games in Surprise.

The Spirit leads the GSAC East Division with an 8-4 record in conference games. They maintain a three-game lead over both The Master's and Arizona Christian. OUAZ can clinch the division and a spot in the GSAC Championship Series with two wins this weekend.

SERIES NOTES
OUAZ is 10-17 all-time against Arizona Christian with a 3-12 mark at home. The Spirit is 3-2 against the Firestorm in Surprise Stadium and they have gone 4-5 in the series this year after winning four times in the past six contests. OUAZ took three of four from ACU in the conference series the Firestorm hosted last month.

AT THE PLATE
Since conference play began, OUAZ has seen its team batting average improve by 22 points to .311 where they rank third in the conference and 46th in the NAIA. They are 34th in the country by averaging 10.03 hits per game with 10-plus hits in a game 19 times this season, including 10 times in the last 16 outings. 

OUAZ has turned all those hits into 6.49 runs per game. The team has scored in double figures 10 times – going 9-1 in those games – and they have scored at least one run in 18 consecutive games.

The Spirit ranks 39th in the NAIA with 72 doubles and 46th by averaging 1.95 doubles per game. OUAZ has hit at least one double in all but five games this season with multiple doubles in a game 19 times. Their 11 triples are 30th nationally and the 0.30 triples per game are good for 30th. 

Adrian Salazar leads the team with 47 hits and he is batting .336 with 10 doubles and a team-leading 26 RBIs. He has a hit in 31 of the 36 games played and leads the club with 14 multi-hit games. Salazar is the OUAZ all-time leader with 189 hits and 93 RBIs. 

Jared Crockett leads the Spirit and is second in the GSAC with his .406 batting average. He has at least one hit in 23 of the 28 games played with 13 multi-hit games. Crockett maintains a .947 OPS with six doubles and one triple. His .365 career batting average is the OUAZ record.

Elijah Celaya is batting .351 with 40 hits and 21 runs scored. His season includes eight doubles, two triples, and one home run. Celaya has 11 multi-hit games while adding a team-best five outfield assists.

Jordan Hollins is hitting .486 in conference play to raise his season average to .337 and he leads the Spirit with 14 extra-base hits, including 11 doubles. Hollins has driven in 18 runs with five multi-RBI games and 18 runs scored.

Nathan Tarver is hitting .369 with a 1.047 OPS. He leads the team with four home runs and ranks second with 23 RBIs.

ON THE MOUND
After struggling on the mound in the first eight games of the season, OUAZ has settled in and now maintains a 5.01 ERA where they rank second in the GSAC. The staff is third in the conference with an opponent batting average of .267. The Spirit is third in the conference by recording 8.32 strikeouts per nine innings.

Gage Johnson leads the conference with a 2.20 ERA which is good for 35th in the NAIA. He holds a 6-1 record and the six wins rank 26th in the nation. He has thrown four complete games and is 19th in the country with 61.1 innings pitched.

Anthony Quattrocchi also has a 6-1 record and his six straight decisions win tied the record set by Johnson earlier this season. His 2.34 ERA trails only Johnson in the GSAC and ranks 42nd in the NAIA. The two-time GSAC Pitcher of the Week leads the conference with an OUAZ record 68 strikeouts. Quattrocchi is 11th in the country with a .179 opponents batting average and 17th with 61.2 innings pitched. He also ranks 19th in the NAIA in allowing 5.98 hits per nine innings.

Tanner Fallon has won his last three starts and holds a 3-2 record and 4.47 ERA. He hasn't allowed a run over his last 9.2 innings of work and is coming off 7.2 shutout innings and allowing two hits with six strikeouts against The Master's on Friday night.

2021 GSAC BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
The Golden State Athletic Conference will host the Baseball Championship Series on Wednesday, May 5th, and Thursday, May 6th. The Championship Series will feature the top team of the GSAC West against the top team of the GSAC East. It will be a three-game series to determine who receives the conference's automatic berth into the NAIA Opening Round.