LAWRENCEVILLE, GA. – The OUAZ baseball team kept its national championship hopes alive to start the day Tuesday, defeating Bushnell in an eighth inning comeback. The Spirit would then have to play in the night game at the Lawrenceville Bracket, and the program's record-breaking season came to an end in a loss to Louisiana Christian.
(3) OUAZ 12, (4) Bushnell 6
The Spirit got off to a great start, scoring three runs in the bottom of the first inning to jump ahead. Bushnell would answer with three of its own in the top of the second, but OUAZ would answer back in the bottom half of the frame to take a 4-3.
A home run for the Beacons in the fourth inning put OUAZ in a 5-4 hole. Neither team would score again until the eighth, where the Spirit would plate eight runs to flip the game quickly and take a 12-5 lead.
The explosive final at-bats for the Spirit saw Joel Esparza, Nicholas Lustig, Daniel Durazo and Christian Powell all record RBI singles as the team built its advantage. The final hit for OUAZ in the frame was a double by Owen Prendergast, driving in a pair of baserunners.
The Spirit finished with 15 hits, and five different players finished with multi-hit games. Logan Meyer led the way with three hits, and Powell drove in three runs to lead OUAZ.
(5) Louisiana Christian 9, (3) OUAZ 4
The big inning would be prevalent again, but the Spirit were on the wrong end of it. The two teams battled to a 2-2 score through five innings, but LCU would score five times in the sixth inning to take a lead they would never give back.
The Spirit did battle back in the sixth inning, getting a pair of batters into scoring position early. Both of those runners would come across to score thanks to a pair of errors on the same play, first by the shortstop, and then by the center fielder.
Meyer had another solid performance, doubling home a pair of runs in the top of the first inning to get the scoring started. Matthew Carter reached base each time he stepped in the batter's box, getting two hits and also reached first due to a hit by pitch.
"Our young men competed their tails off today, but we just ran out of gas in the nightcap," OUAZ Head Coach Tim Montez said. "I am proud of our entire program. They have put OUAZ Baseball on the map with a lot to look forward to going into next season. Hatts off to my coaching staff, and all of those who supported us since day one. God has blessed us abundantly."
The Spirit set multiple program records this season, including the most wins, the first 35-win season, and the first appearance in the NAIA National Tournament. OUAZ will look to improve on its fantastic year come the Spring of 2025.
