ENCINITAS, Calif. – The OUAZ Spirit (9-5) upped their winning streak to six after picking up a pair of road victories against Saint Katherine. OUAZ got the day off to a strong start by scoring five runs in the opener, beating the Firebirds 5-1. In the nightcap, the Spirit bats stayed hot in a 13-2 win in just five innings.
GAME 1: OUAZ 5, Saint Katherine 1
Pitching all seven innings, and earning her first win of the season, Junior Jazmine Ayala allowed only four hits, one run, while facing 22 batters.
Junior DP Lauren Russel was perfect from the plate in the opener going 2-for-2 with an RBI single in the first to put the Spirit up 2-0 following Breanna Gonzalez's RBI double.
Elysa Moreno and Charlene De Anda, were responsible for the Spirit's other three runs, including Moreno scoring on a wild pitch in the 7th inning.
GAME 2: OUAZ 13, Saint Katherine 2
Coming off the program's first perfect game, right-handed pitcher Alexandra McCutcheon took to the circle again and continued her hot streak with another victory. The grad student struck out nine of the 21 batters she faced and allowed just four hits and two runs. The nine strikeouts were a season high for the veteran.
As a team OUAZ Spirit scored 13 runs on 16 hits, but it was shortstop Breanna Gonzalez leading the way with four hits, four runs and three RBIs, including one single and two doubles.
Second baseman Brooklynne Equibel gave the Spirit a huge lead in the 2nd, with a three-run homer (her first of the season) that put OUAZ up 7-0.
Alongside Gonzalez and Esquibel in RBIs were Alex Gill (1), Mashayla Beltran (1), Lauren Russell (1), and Haylee Sanchez (1) and Angelina Mercado (2) batting in runners.
Head Coach Ernesto Ortiz.
On the weekend performance…
"I'm proud of the effort our team continues to put out on the field. To go on the road and come away with four victories shows the determination of our players. They're committed to the process of getting better each day,"
UP NEXT: OUAZ will return home to take on Benedictine Mesa (Thursday, Feb. 23) and Park Gilbert (Friday, Feb 24) at Willow Canyon High School in Surprise. The games can also be view through the OUAZ Live Stream on the website or app.
