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Arizona Christian University

OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE OF ARIZONA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
BB - Week 5 Preview

Baseball Payne Moses

Rivals And Familiar Foes, Homestand Continues

Glendale, Ariz. - Beginning GSAC play with a series victory over Jessup, the Firestorm mix in a non-conference matchup this week before resuming their GSAC climb. Embry-Riddle (AZ) comes to Glendale for a Tuesday night showdown before cross-town rival OUAZ enters the gates of Greenway High School for a three-game series on Friday and Saturday. 

Through February 17th, Arizona Christian posts a .299 team batting average (5th in GSAC), 5.58 team pitching ERA (4th in GSAC) and 23 home runs (T-2nd in GSAC). Marques Titialii, Trey Tarver and Andrew Ivy have all hit five total home runs (T-4th in GSAC), Tarver slugs .733 (6th in GSAC) and Jaylen Edmonds holds a .400 batting average (10th in GSAC).

Game Details

RV Arizona Christian vs Embry Riddle (AZ) - Tuesday, February 20 at 7:00 PM
RV Arizona Christian vs OUAZ - Friday, February 23 at 7:00 PM
RV Arizona Christian vs OUAZ - Saturday, February 24 at 4:00 PM
RV Arizona Christian vs OUAZ - Saturday, February 24 at 7:30 PM

Greenway High School - Glendale, AZ

*All Times Are Arizona Time

Live Coverage

Video - https://www.gsacsportsnetwork.com/azchristian/ 
Live Stats - https://acufirestorm.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary 

Arizona Christian

The Firestorm split a Saturday double header against the Jessup Warriors (11-3) on route to a 2-1 series victory at Greenway High School. After a whirlwind of a game (17-12, ACU) to begin the evening in which the teams combined for 31 hits and 29 runs, Arizona Christian blew a 4-2 lead in a seven-inning contest that eventually went a complete 11 frames 7-4 in favor of Jessup.

Junior Jaylen Edmonds had the hot bat for the Firestorm, going 6-for-9 at the plate including three RBIs and two triples. He was one of five ACU players to knock in at least two runs in the double header, Andrew Ivy leading the other four with four hits and a two-run home run in game one.

Christian Lucero was credited with the game one win, the third reliever after Adrian Santa Cruz (4.0 IP, 7 RA, 4 SOs) made his fourth start on the mound. 
  
Eli Elliott pitched his best game of the season in game two, working 6.0 innings while only allowing two runs and punching out a season-high nine batters. 

Arizona Christian finds themselves tied for second with The Master's (10-3, 2-1 GSAC) in the GSAC standings following their opening three conference games.

ACU Key Players

Jaylen Edmonds - .400 BA, 18 hits, 11 RBIs 
Troy Collins - .346 BA, 9 hits, 7 RBIs
Kane Kiaunis - .342 BA, 13 hits, 11 RBIs
Trey Tarver - .333 BA, 15 hits, 12 RBIs
Andrew Ivy - .321 BA, 17 hits, 15 RBIs
Marques Titialii - .304 BA, 14 hits, 13 RBIs
Eli Elliott - 3.10 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 27 SOs
Eastyn Culp - 4.40 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 21 SOs

Series Notes

Arizona Christian is 4-2 in their all-time series with the Embry-Riddle (AZ) Eagles, the first game dating back to February of 2022. After dropping the first meeting 15-5, the Firestorm have won four of the last five games, the margin by an average of six runs. The most recent meeting on April 4, 2023 saw ACU defeat ERAU 17-10 in Prescott. In an error-ridden ball game (nine total errors), the Firestorm out-hit the Eagles 11-9 and piled on 10 runs in the eighth inning to all but seal the victory. Marques Titialii led ACU offensively with three hits (one double) and Evan Hieb got through 5.0 innings on the mound, allowing two runs while striking out three batters.

The Firestorm lead the OUAZ Spirit 29-9 in their all-time series that dates back to the 2018 season. After falling in four of the first five meetings, ACU has dominated to a 28-5 record. Six games have gone the Firestorm's way due to forfeit. This past season, ACU won the season series 2-1 in Surprise, bouncing back with two wins following an opening loss. The most recent game saw the Firestorm defeat the Spirit 18-2, where they won the hitting battle 21-7 and never trailed. Four Firestorm players recorded multiple hits, including three hitting safely during three appearances. Enrique Porchas led with two doubles and three RBIs and Jackson Hohensee got the win on the mound, pitching 6.0 innings with only surrendering two runs. The Firestorm are 11-5 at home entering this week's series.

Thoughts From Coach Joe McDonald

"This is a big week for us," Coach McDonald said. "Playing our first mid week followed by a GSAC weekend series. Our guys are working hard and focused to keep improving."

Embry-Riddle (AZ)

The Embry-Riddle (AZ) Eagles (5-7, 0-0 Cal Pac) enter Tuesday's contest after a whole week without competition, having lost their most recent game 16-5 to Hope International in Fullerton on February 10th. In the seven-inning contest, ERAU allowed the Royals to score in five frames and committed six errors. After winning three of their first four to open the season (including a 2-1 performance in the Coach Calderone Invitational), the Eagles dropped five straight including all four of their series with The Master's. Through 12 games, ERAU holds a .285 batting average, has recorded 36 extra-base hits and has registered 8 home runs. Drew Barragan is the hitting leader (.404 BA, 21 hits, 17 RBIs), Cole Altherr leads the pitching group (4.80 ERA,  1.20 WHIP, 24 SOs) and Owen Cain is the top fielder (51 POs, 4 AST, 1.00 FP).

OUAZ

The Ottawa University Arizona Spirit (12-3, 1-2 GSAC) opened their 2024 campaign by winning a four-game series 3-1 over #9 Taylor University in Surprise. In their first GSAC series of the season, OUAZ went 1-2 against Hope International in Fullerton, California, taking the first game (8-6) before losing both of a double header this past Saturday (12-3, 8-6). In their most recent outing at Duane Winters Field, the Spirit went toe-to-toe with the Royals, matching their 11 hits but blew a 6-5 lead in the last frame of a seven-inning contest. Nano Perez led OUAZ with three hits and four RBIs in the game. Through February 17th, the Spirit are hitting .310 as a team (2nd in GSAC), pitching 4.67 ERA (3rd in GSAC), and fielding at a .969 clip (2nd in GSAC). Christian Powell is the top hitter (.375 BA, 18 hits, 14 RBIs), Evan Massie the top pitcher (1.90 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 24 SOs) and Joey Winters the top fielder (100 POs, 4 DPs, 1.00 FP).


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Players Mentioned

Enrique Porchas

#3 Enrique Porchas

IF
5' 11"
Senior
Troy Collins

#40 Troy Collins

C
6' 2"
Senior
R/R
Eli Elliott

#8 Eli Elliott

P
6' 2"
Senior
R/R
Evan Hieb

#21 Evan Hieb

P
6' 2"
Junior
L/L
Jackson Hohensee

#34 Jackson Hohensee

P
6' 3"
Sophomore
R/R
Andrew Ivy

#30 Andrew Ivy

OF
5' 9"
Sophomore
L/L
Adrian Santa Cruz

#13 Adrian Santa Cruz

P
6' 4"
Senior
R/R
Trey Tarver

#10 Trey Tarver

P
6' 3"
Junior
L/L
Marques Titialii

#11 Marques Titialii

OF
6' 0"
Senior
R/R
Eastyn Culp

#15 Eastyn Culp

P
6' 4"
Junior
R/R
Jaylen Edmonds

#3 Jaylen Edmonds

CF/SS
5' 10"
Junior
R/R
Kane Kiaunis

#5 Kane Kiaunis

P/OF/IF
6' 2"
Junior
R/R

Players Mentioned

Enrique Porchas

#3 Enrique Porchas

5' 11"
Senior
IF
Troy Collins

#40 Troy Collins

6' 2"
Senior
R/R
C
Eli Elliott

#8 Eli Elliott

6' 2"
Senior
R/R
P
Evan Hieb

#21 Evan Hieb

6' 2"
Junior
L/L
P
Jackson Hohensee

#34 Jackson Hohensee

6' 3"
Sophomore
R/R
P
Andrew Ivy

#30 Andrew Ivy

5' 9"
Sophomore
L/L
OF
Adrian Santa Cruz

#13 Adrian Santa Cruz

6' 4"
Senior
R/R
P
Trey Tarver

#10 Trey Tarver

6' 3"
Junior
L/L
P
Marques Titialii

#11 Marques Titialii

6' 0"
Senior
R/R
OF
Eastyn Culp

#15 Eastyn Culp

6' 4"
Junior
R/R
P
Jaylen Edmonds

#3 Jaylen Edmonds

5' 10"
Junior
R/R
CF/SS
Kane Kiaunis

#5 Kane Kiaunis

6' 2"
Junior
R/R
P/OF/IF