Surprise, Ariz. — OUAZ Baseball bounced back in a big way on Sunday afternoon, earning a 5–1 victory over No. 18 Johnson (Tenn.) at Rangers Field 3 in the Surprise Spring Training Complex to avoid the series sweep. The win improves the Spirit to 5–3 on the season and highlighted a dominant pitching performance paired with timely late offense.

Johnson struck first in the second inning, scoring an unearned run on a bases-loaded walk to take an early 1–0 lead. OUAZ responded in the third, as Matthew Carter lined a single up the middle to score Michael Rodriguez from second base, evening the score at 1–1.

The game remained deadlocked until the bottom of the seventh, when the Spirit offense erupted. With the bases loaded, Joel Esparza was hit by a pitch to force in Rolando Ramos Jr. and give OUAZ the lead. Corey Schilling followed with a sacrifice fly to right field to score Mason Whitehead, and Isaiah Nava capped the rally with a two-RBI infield single up the middle, plating Kasey Regala and Devin Duque to extend the lead to 5–1.

Isaiah Nava paced the Spirit offensively with two RBIs, while Carter added an RBI of his own. On the mound, Parker Cadacio got the start and went three innings, allowing one unearned run on two hits. Brandon Enders handled the middle innings, tossing three scoreless frames with two strikeouts to keep the game tied. Jackson Brenna closed the door in the final three innings, striking out three and earning the win after the Spirit pushed across the go-ahead runs in the bottom of the seventh.

OUAZ will look to build on the momentum as the Spirit prepare to face No. 10 UBC on Tuesday, February 3, at Kansas City Royals Practice Field No. 6 in Surprise, Ariz., with first pitch scheduled for 5 p.m. MST.