Waddell, Ariz. — The OUAZ softball team battled through a pair of dramatically different games Friday using late-game heroics to win the opener before unleashing an offensive explosion in the second game to secure a doubleheader split against Benedictine Mesa.
Game 1 — OUAZ 7, BENU 6
OUAZ needed every bit of offense it could muster in the opener, rallying late to beat Benedictine Mesa 7-6 in a tightly contested game.
The Spirit struck first in the bottom of the first inning. Elysa Moreno led things off with a double, and aggressive baserunning combined with a pair of Benedictine errors helped OUAZ jump out to a quick 2-0 lead. Alexis Jimenez added an RBI single in the frame to cap the early scoring.
Benedictine Mesa answered in the third inning with an RBI double to cut the lead in half, but the game's biggest swing came in the fifth inning. The Redhawks launched back-to-back home runs to take a 4-2 lead.
The Spirit responded immediately. In the bottom of the fifth, Jimenez delivered the answer OUAZ needed, blasting a two-run home run to center field to tie the game at 4-4.
The momentum carried into the sixth inning. Pinch hitter Angelina Granado gave the Spirit the lead with a solo home run to left field, and later in the inning Ava Seguin ripped a clutch two-run triple down the right field line to push the lead to 7-4.
Benedictine Mesa mounted one final push in the seventh, scoring two runs to pull within one, but Stephanie Cortazar entered in relief and shut the door to secure the save. Alexis Ayersman earned the win in the circle after throwing five innings and allowing four runs while striking out three.
At the plate, Alexis Jimenez led OUAZ with three hits and three RBIs, while Seguin drove in two runs and Granado delivered the critical pinch-hit homer.
Game 2 — OUAZ 15, BENU 5
The Spirit offense exploded in the second game, piling up 14 hits and 15 runs in a dominant run-rule victory. Benedictine Mesa grabbed an early 2-0 lead in the first inning, but OUAZ answered immediately with a massive five-run response in the bottom half.
After reaching base early in the inning, Alexis Jimenez delivered a two-run single to put the Spirit in front. Savannah Sutton followed with an RBI single, and Kinzy Creighton added a run-scoring double to extend the lead to 5-2.
The Spirit continued to pile it on in the third inning with another offensive outburst. Pinch hitter MariaFernanda Lerma launched a two-run home run, and Angelina Granado followed with a solo shot in the very next at-bat. Later in the inning, RBI hits from Nayeli Inzunza and Ava Seguin helped OUAZ stretch the lead to 10-4.
OUAZ added another run in the fourth before delivering the knockout blow in the fifth.
With the bases loaded, Seguin crushed a grand slam to center field, capping a four-run inning and ending the game with the Spirit ahead 15-5.
Seguin had a monster performance at the plate, finishing 2-for-4 with five RBIs, including the grand slam and a double. Inzunza went a perfect 3-for-3, while Jimenez added two hits and two RBIs.
In the circle, Stephanie Cortazar threw a complete game to earn the win, allowing five runs (two earned) while striking out three.
