SURPRISE, ARIZ. – The 25th-ranked OUAZ baseball team got a chance to match up with a future conference foe on Tuesday night, hosting Embry-Riddle at Surprise Stadium. The Spirit played a back-and-forth contest with the Eagles, and a two runs in the bottom of the seventh was the difference in a 6-4 victory.
With the game tied at four, the Spirit had two of the first three batters reach via walk. Owen Prendergast came to the plate with two runners on, and with two outs, the infielder slammed a pitch into the right-center gap for a triple to give OUAZ the deciding advantage.
That was not the first two-RBI hit a Spirit player produced, as Logan Meyer delivered one in the fifth inning to give his team its first lead of the game. OUAZ scored four runs in the fifth frame, with all of the runs scoring in a bases-loaded situation.
The Spirit finished with eight hits, and two different players had multi-hit efforts. Prendergast had two knocks, scoring both times, and Meyer was a perfect 2-for-2 while also walking twice.
OUAZ pitching had five different arms post scoreless appearances, and the staff finished with 10 strikeouts. Brayden Marcum earned the win with two innings of no-hit work, and Creighton Silvain picked up his sixth save of the year. Each of the Spirit's first three pitchers (Gavin Burns, Zach Penrod and Brock Arnold) had two strikeouts apiece.
The Spirit will wrap up the conference portion of its schedule this week when they host Menlo College for doubleheaders on Friday and Saturday. First pitch from Surprise Stadium on Friday is set for 1 p.m.
