MESA, ARIZ. – The 19th-ranked OUAZ baseball fought through lightning, high winds, and rain to take home a 5-4 victory over #25 Benedictine Mesa on Tuesday night. It was the fourth consecutive contest against a ranked opponent, and OUAZ took advantage of Redhawk mistakes to take a late lead en route to the win.
After scoring in the first inning, on a Daniel Durazo sacrifice fly, the Spirit found themselves down 3-1 through four. OUAZ would battle back, tying the game in the fifth thanks to another big hit from Joey Winters.
With the bases loaded, Winters hammered a double to left field, allowing Matthew Carter and Nano Perez to score. The Spirit would take the lead in the next inning, as Logan Meyer singled home Durazo for a 4-3 advantage.
BenU Mesa would tie the game in the seventh, but the Spirit would battle back one more time in the ninth. Matthew Carter drew a one-out walk, made his way to third base, then scored the deciding run on a wild pitch.
OUAZ had five hits, and were able to draw six walks on Tuesday. Winters led the Spirit with two hits, plus Carter and Perez would take two free passes each.
The pitching staff was solid, as three pitches combined to allow just five hits. Brandon Smith earned his first win of the season with two solid innings where he did not allow a hit, and Creighton Silvain picked up his fourth save with two strikeouts in a perfect ninth frame.
The Spirit will wrap up its home-and-home series against BenU Mesa in Surprise on Thursday night. First pitch from Royals Field 6 at the Surprise Stadium Complex is set for 6 p.m.
