SURPRISE, ARIZ. – The 19th-ranked OUAZ baseball team started its most important series of the conference season so far on Friday night, playing the team right behind them in the most recent coaches' poll. The Spirit and #20 Hope International battled through the first five innings, but a couple of big frames by the Royals allowed them to pull away for a series-opening win.
The teams opened by each scoring a run in the first inning, and the game stayed deadlocked at one from there. The Spirit eventually broke through in the fifth when Nicholas Lustig drove in Tyler Freeman for a 2-1 lead.
HIU did not take long to answer, as they scored three in the top of the sixth and six more in the top of the seventh. While the Spirit tried to battle back, the Royals would gradually extend its lead.
Lustig would lead the way for OUAZ, as he went 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored. Daniel Durazo had a pair of RBI thanks to a bases-loaded single in the bottom of the seventh.
Joey Winters was a huge factor once again, this time drawing three walks, and recording an RBI on a bases-loaded free pass in the seventh. Sergio Alfaro joined Lustig with a multi-hit effort, recording a pair of singles on the evening.
OUAZ will have the opportunity to win the series tomorrow in a doubleheader with Hope International. First pitch from Royals Field 6 at the Surprise Spring Training Complex is set for 1:30 p.m.
