FULLERTON, CALIF. – With a Vanguard sweep of Arizona Christian across town, the OUAZ softball team had an opportunity to clinch its spot in the GSAC tournament with a win over #14 Hope International in the final game of Saturday's doubleheader. The Spirit battled back and forth with the Royals, needing two extra-innings, and the team that has fought all season long clinched its spot in the conference tournament with an 8-6 victory.
The Spirit earned the spot in the conference tournament over Arizona Christian by way of the second tiebreaker. OUAZ and ACU split its season series, and with OUAZ winning two games over top-seeded Jessup while the Firestorm only took one, the Spirit will be playing for a chance to go to the NAIA National Tournament in a couple of weeks.
OUAZ 2, #14 Hope International 0
If the Spirit wanted a chance to clinch its spot, the team needed a doubleheader sweep of the Royals. In a tight game, OUAZ needed just one clutch hit to earn an important victory.
After a pitchers dual between Alyvia Hernandez and Allie Puente kept the game scoreless through the four innings, Serena Shine got a two-out single to keep the top of the fifth inning alive. Lauren Russell has been on a power surge the last month, and that continued as she blasted a home run to give OUAZ the 2-0 lead.
After getting the lead, Hernandez slammed the door on the Royals, allowing just one hit over the next three turns to bat for HIU. Hernandez allowed just five hits total, and had a pair of strikeouts to help her team stay in the hunt for a conference tournament spot.
OUAZ 8, #14 Hope International 6 (9 Innings)
The Royals jumped on the board early, scoring in the bottom of the first inning. The Spirit would be held scoreless until the third inning, where another home run pushed them in front.
Odalys Garcia-Peret singled with one out, then Brianna Humphries homered to give OUAZ a 2-1 lead. Humphries would come around to score again in the fifth inning, as when Mia Casadei singled up the middle to push the Spirit lead to two.
Elysa Moreno would give OUAZ a 5-1 lead in that same fifth inning, following up Casadei's single with one of her own to score a pair. Hope International would answer right back in the bottom of the frame, tying the game with four runs.
Neither team would score again until the eighth inning, where OUAZ would grab the lead when Moreno scored on a wild pitch. Once again the Royals were up to the challenge, tying the game on a sacrifice fly.
The Spirit would finally nail down the doubleheader sweep, with Russell coming through one more time for her team. With Garcia-Peret starting the inning on second, Russell slammed her second game-winning home run of the afternoon. Hernandez, who pitched the final eight innings of the day, slammed the door on HIU one final time to launch OUAZ into the GSAC Tournament.
The Spirit will have a week off to prepare, and then match up with #7 Jessup in the opening round on Monday, April 29. All games will be played at the OC Great Park in Irvine, Calif.
