LAWRENCEVILLE, GA. – The OUAZ baseball team is no stranger to playing top NAIA teams this season, and that trend continued against Faulkner at the NAIA Opening Round on Monday. The Spirit battled all day with the second-seeded Eagles, but ultimately fell 3-0 and heading to an elimination game on Tuesday morning.

The best opportunity for OUAZ came in the seventh inning, where the Spirit had runners on second and third with no outs. While OUAZ would end up loading the bases with two outs, no runs came across and the score stayed at 2-0 in favor of Faulkner.

Zach Hangas put together a stellar start, going 6.2 innings and striking out seven batters. Connor Wilson and Creighton Silvain each had scoreless appearances, and the two relievers allowed just one baserunner combined.

"Today was a well-pitched ballgame on both sides," OUAZ Head Coach Tim Montez said. "Sometimes you have to tip your cap to the other pitcher. We had a couple of opportunities, but could not cash in. Out kids are very resilient so I am excited to see what tomorrow brings. It's all hands on deck from here on out."

The Spirit will have to win two games on Tuesday to stay alive in the Lawrenceville Bracket, starting with a matchup against four-seed Bushnell. First pitch is set for 11 a.m. EDT/8 a.m. AZT.