IRVINE, Calif. -- OUAZ completed a dramatic run through the final day of the 2026 GSAC Softball Championship, winning twice against Embry-Riddle to claim the title and secure the conference’s automatic bid to the NAIA Softball National Championship at OC Great Park in Irvine, California. Needing back-to-back victories over the Eagles, the second-seeded Spirit answered with a composed Game 1 effort before breaking through offensively in the winner-take-all finale.
The day opened with OUAZ keeping its season alive in a 4-2 win, built on patience at the plate and a steady outing from Alexis Ayersman. After navigating early pressure from Embry-Riddle, Ayersman kept the game scoreless long enough for the Spirit offense to find an opening. That moment came in the third inning, where OUAZ scored three runs despite recording just one hit, using three RBI walks and a hit-by-pitch to take control.
With the lead in place, Ayersman settled into a rhythm, limiting the Eagles to scattered hits across the middle innings. OUAZ added an insurance run in the seventh on Angelina Granado’s sacrifice fly, stretching the lead to 4-0. Embry-Riddle responded with a late push, highlighted by Danica Quinn’s two-run triple, but Ayersman closed the door to finish the complete-game effort and force a decisive Game 2.
The momentum carried directly into the final, where OUAZ took control early and never let it go in a 9-2 championship-clinching win. Embry-Riddle briefly grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first inning, but the Spirit answered immediately behind Ava Seguin and Savannah Sutton to move in front. From there, OUAZ applied constant pressure, scoring in four of the first five innings to build a multi-run cushion.
The decisive stretch came across the middle innings. OUAZ extended its lead to 5-1 in the third, capitalizing on defensive miscues, then added two more runs in the fifth on a clutch two-run single from Lilly Hutchings. After Embry-Riddle scratched across a run in the sixth, the Spirit responded again as Seguin delivered a two-run double to push the advantage to 9-2 and effectively put the game out of reach.
Seguin led the offensive surge, going 3-for-4 with four RBIs and three runs scored, while Elysa Moreno and Kinzy Creighton each contributed multi-hit performances in OUAZ’s 14-hit attack. Granado and Sutton added key run production as the lineup produced from top to bottom in the clincher.
In the circle, Stephanie Cortazar delivered a complete-game performance in Game 2, allowing two unearned runs on seven hits without issuing a walk. Combined with Ayersman’s earlier effort, OUAZ relied on two complete games to navigate the doubleheader and secure the championship.
With the sweep of the day, OUAZ earns the GSAC’s automatic berth into the NAIA Softball National Championship. The selection show is scheduled for May 6 at 5 p.m. CT, with Opening Round play set for May 11–14 at campus sites.