Mesa, Ariz. — The Spirit saw their run in the Great Southwest Athletic Conference Tournament come to an end Tuesday morning after a 12-4 loss to nationally ranked Hope International University at Hohokam Stadium. The game had some unusualness to it, as the game started at 6PM (MST) Monday night and went into the bottom of the 6th before being stopped by a power outage causing the lights to go out, which resulted in the game being finished Tuesday morning at 9AM (MST). OUAZ is eliminated from the GSAC Tournament and now awaits a potential at-large bid to the NAIA National Tournament. 

Hope International (40-8), currently one of the top teams in the nation, showed their offensive prowess throughout the game. The Royals opened the scoring with a three-run home run from center fielder Amari Bartee in the second inning. They added a two-run shot by designated hitter/pitcher Matthew Pinal in the third to jump ahead 5-0.

OUAZ (31-20) responded in the bottom of the third. Joey Winters led off with a double, and Logan Meyer followed with an RBI single to get the Spirit on the board. After a single from Dane Fraser and a Joel Esparza hit-by-pitch loaded the bases, Christian Powell came through with a two-run single to cut the deficit to 5-3. That would be as close as OUAZ would get.

Despite a solid two-inning appearance from reliever Micah Del Rio, who allowed just one earned run and struck out one, the Spirit bullpen couldn't keep the Royals off the scoreboard. HIU tacked on runs in six of the final seven innings, including solo home runs from Pinal and catcher Mario Tostado.

Offensively, Logan Meyer led the way for OUAZ, going a perfect 4-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Powell added a pair of hits and drove in two, while Nicholas Lustig contributed two singles in the losing effort.

Starting pitcher Gavin Burns (5-1) was charged with the loss, giving up five runs in 2.2 innings. The OUAZ bullpen was tagged for seven more runs over the final 6.1 innings, despite some individual flashes from Del Rio and Brandon Enders.

On the other side, Hope International's starter Josh Landry improved to 10-0, allowing four runs (three earned) over five innings. Pinal closed the game out with four shutout innings of relief, earning his first save of the season.

OUAZ concludes the GSAC Tournament with a 31-20 record — a strong season that now hinges on the NAIA selection committee. The Spirit will now await word on whether their body of work is enough to earn an at-large bid to the NAIA National Tournament.