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Arizona Christian University

OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE OF ARIZONA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
Baseball Week 8 Preview 2024

Baseball Payne Moses

Back To Cali, Conference Lead At Stake

Glendale, Ariz. - The Firestorm look to get their offense back on track as the season's halfway point looms this week in Lincoln, California. Jessup, co-leader of the GSAC, awaits ACU with the season's series on the line (Firestorm lead 2-1). 

In 24 games played, Arizona Christian posts a .289 team batting average (6th in GSAC), 4.93 team pitching ERA (3rd in GSAC) and 3.92 extra-base hits per game (2nd in GSAC). Jaylen Edmonds props a .405 batting average by his name (6th in GSAC), Marques Titialii and Trey Tarver each have hit seven home runs (T-3rd in GSAC), Jared Anderson has belted nine doubles (5th in GSAC), and three ACU pitchers (Eli Elliott, Jackson Hohensee, Adrian Santa Cruz) are ranked top-five in total strikeouts (3rd, 4th, 5th respectively).

Game Details

RV Arizona Christian at Jessup - Friday, March 15 at 6:00 PM
RV Arizona Christian at Jessup - Saturday, March 16 at 4:00 PM
RV Arizona Christian at Jessup - Saturday, March 16 at 7:00 PM

McBean Park - Lincoln, CA

*All Times Are Arizona Time

Live Coverage

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

Arizona Christian

Arizona Christian surged to within one run, but was unable to deny #11 Hope International Saturday's game (8-4) and ultimately the series. The Firestorm offense, which was dormant for the majority of the weekend, remained so as it did not yield a run until the eighth inning. HIU's Ryan Maciel put a serious dent in ACU's hopes, unleashing a three-run home run in the eighth and creating a four-run hole with only a last gasp remaining.

Five ACU players got into the hit column but the absence of an extra-base hit (second instance this season) made a comeback unlikely at best. 

Sean Garcia ignited the Firestorm's four-run eighth with one of four singles. The hitting barrage was a welcome sight, as Jared Anderson's second-inning single was the only offensive production to speak of until that point.

Kane Kiaunis and Marques Titialii each batted in a run in Saturday's loss, bringing their RBI totals to 23 apiece this season.

Adrian Santa Cruz was handed his second loss in 2024, handling 5.0 innings while surrendering two runs and four hits.

The series loss moves ACU (7-5 GSAC) into third in the GSAC standings, trailing co-leaders HIU and Jessup who are each 6-3 in conference play.

ACU Key Players

Jaylen Edmonds - .405 BA, 34 hits, 18 RBIs 
Sean Garcia - .333 BA, 20 hits, 8 RBIs
Trey Tarver - .317 BA, 26 hits, 20 RBIs
Marques Titialii - .315 BA, 23 hits, 23 RBIs
Kane Kiaunis - .312 BA, 24 hits, 23 RBIs
Jared Anderson - .287 BA, 27 hits, 15 RBIs
Ryan Eastham - .266 BA, 17 hits, 16 RBIs
Eli Elliott - 2.97 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 50 SOs
Jackson Hohensee - 4.26 ERA, 1.46 WHIP, 41 SOs

Series Notes

A 2-1 series victory on February 16-17 saw Arizona Christian's all-time record improve to 20-15 against the Jessup University Warriors. ACU ran away with Game 1 (14-4) at Greenway High School, amassing four doubles and three home runs. A 9-1 lead in Game 2 evaporated before the Firestorm exploded for seven runs in the seventh to secure a series win (17-12). It was Game 3 that would get away, Elliott's brilliant outing (6.0 IP, 2 RA, 9 K) wasted as ACU lost 4-2 in 11 innings to Jessup. Jaylen Edmonds and Andrew Ivy were an unstoppable force for the Firestorm, combining for 13 hits and 8 RBIs in the three games. Arizona Christian enters Friday with a 6-8 road record but did go 3-1 in 2022's trip to Lincoln.

Thoughts From Coach Joe McDonald

"This is a huge week for us at the midway point of the season and a chance to get ourselves back into first place," Coach McDonald said. "We are hungry and ready for the challenge!"

Jessup

The Jessup University Warriors (20-4, 6-3 GSAC) have been playing winning baseball as of late, 10-1 in the previous 11 games. After being outslugged 22-5 in Game 1 against OUAZ, Jessup won the next two (9-3, 3-0) and the series on Saturday at McBean Park. Haliama Swartman pitched a complete game (seven innings) in Game 2 to improve his season record to 4-0. James Williams III led the Warriors with four hits and two RBIs in their winning effort against the Spirit. Through 25 games, Jessup leads the GSAC in team batting average (.338), is sixth in team pitching ERA (6.31) and first in total home runs (56). Trey Furrey is the top hitter (.487 BA, 38 hits, 31 RBIs), Swartman is the top pitcher (2.22 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 26 K) and Williams III is the top fielder (111 putouts, 10 assists, 1.000 FP).


Roll Storm!
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Players Mentioned

Ryan Eastham

#4 Ryan Eastham

C
5' 11"
Junior
R/R
Eli Elliott

#8 Eli Elliott

P
6' 2"
Senior
R/R
Sean Garcia

#23 Sean Garcia

IF
5' 9"
Junior
L/R
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
Jared Anderson

#17 Jared Anderson

OF/1B
6' 1"
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

Ryan Eastham

#4 Ryan Eastham

5' 11"
Junior
R/R
C
Eli Elliott

#8 Eli Elliott

6' 2"
Senior
R/R
P
Sean Garcia

#23 Sean Garcia

5' 9"
Junior
L/R
IF
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
Jared Anderson

#17 Jared Anderson

6' 1"
Junior
R/R
OF/1B
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