SURPRISE, Ariz. - The ACU baseball team (30-19; 5-5 GSAC) got back into the win column Friday, and moved within one game of the GSAC East-leading Spirit of Ottawa University - Arizona (19-20; 8-6 GSAC) after sweeping an afternoon doubleheader by scores of 13-4 and 4-3 at Surprise Stadium.

Playoff Picture:

The pair of wins may prove to be huge for ACU's playoff chances.  The Firestorm now trail OUAZ by a single game in the GSAC East Division standings and also hold a one-game lead over The Master's University (25-16; 5-7 GSAC) as of Friday evening.

ACU has two remaining games against OUAZ to be played on Saturday, and closes the season on the road with a four-game GSAC series at The Master's.  The Firestorm currently hold a 7-4 record over the Spirit this season, but are 3-3 against the Spirit in GSAC play.

OUAZ only has two games remaining in conference play, both against ACU tomorrow, so the doubleheader will be key to ACU's postseason hopes.  The GSAC only has one bid to send to the NAIA Opening Round, and that bid will be decided in a winner-take-all three game series between the GSAC East and the GSAC West champions. 

Game One:

The Firestorm bats poured in multi-run innings in the second, fourth, sixth, and eighth innings en route to earning an impressive 13-4 win over OUAZ.

ACU starter Trevor McGee (6-3) picked up his six win of the season after tossing seven innings of six-hit baseball, allowing four runs (one earned) while walking a trio and striking out six.  Reliever Spencer Davis tossed two shutout innings to close the game and struck out a pair.

Offensively, Brent Smith went 4-for-6 with a double, two runs scored, and an RBI, Alec Ortiz tripled twice in a two-hit, five-RBI game and also scored twice, Justen Burkey doubled twice and knocked in four while scoring once, and Ramon Miranda went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI.

Robby Campillo, Manny Villa, and Randen Garrison each finished with two hits, with Villa scoring a pair of runs.

Game Two:

Game two was much closer than the series-opening contest, but eight hits would be all the offense that the Firestorm would need to hold off the Spirit with a seven-inning, 4-3 victory.

Starting pitcher Brett Aker (9-1) is now just one win shy of tying his program record of 10 wins set during the 2019 season after tossing six innings on Friday, allowing three runs on six hits with three walks and four punchouts.  Closer Anthony Defrancesco slammed the door in the seventh to earn his seventh save of the season.  He is now five saves shy of the single-season program record of 12 set by River Carbone during the 2019 campaign.

Garrison and Roberto Lopez led the Firestorm offensive attack with a pair of hits each, with Garrison doubling while knocking in two.  Villa, Campillo, and Damien McElroy each finished with a hit and scored once, Miranda added a hit, and Justin Ramirez finished with an RBI.

Thoughts from Coach: 

"Today was a big day for this team and I am really proud of how our hitters grinded out at-bat after at-bat.  Our pitching was in top form and we also made some big defensive plays when we needed them.  Overall, we executed in all facets of the game, and tomorrow is another big day for us."

Up Next:

Coached by Joe McDonald, the Firestorm close their series at OUAZ with a GSAC twin bill on Sat., April 17 beginning at 3 p.m. Arizona Time in Surprise, Ariz.