OKLAHOMA CITY – In the first 17 innings of their baseball series on Monday and Tuesday, the offenses for both the Mid-America Christian University Evangels and the Southwestern Assemblies of God University Lions were relatively quiet. In the last three innings, the Evangels bucked that trend, and it helped them complete the sweep.
MACU (13-5, 5-1 SAC) plated 14 runs in their final three times at the plate in their win over SAGU (7-10, 0-6 SAC), as MACU completed the series sweep with a 16-6 run-rule win under overcast skies on Tuesday.
Luis Sanchez started the scoring in the bottom of the first with a two-out RBI single to drive in Antonio Dorado and put MACU on top 1-0. Isaiah Diermier launched a long home run to left-center in the top of the third frame, and in the bottom of the third, Junior Aracena singled home Logan Gipson to restore MACU's one run lead, but from that point on, the runs came in bunches.
SAGU got a pair of two-run singles in the top of the fourth, sandwiched around a sacrifice fly, and SAGU claimed their first lead of the series, taking a 6-2 advantage. The lead was short-lived, however, as MACU answered in the bottom of the frame with five runs of their own. Axel Poesmans singled home Felix Martinez to start the rally, and Dorado, Logan Gipson, and Sanchez each also had RBIs in the inning as MACU surged back in front.
The inning was just the beginning for the Evangels, though, as MACU plated six more runs in the bottom of the fifth frame. Dorado cleared the bases with a one out three RBI double to start the frame, and he later scored on a wild pitch to push MACU's lead to 11-6. The Lions balked home two more runs in the frame, and after five, MACU led 16-6. Aracena picked up an RBI on a bases loaded walk in the bottom of the sixth, Sanchez added another RBI on a ground out, and Martinez singled home Gipson to give MACU a 16-6 lead, and Reid Wall shut the door with a clean top of the seventh frame to give MACU the run rule victory.
Jairo Aparicio (2-0) pitched two and one third innings of relief, and he allowed only one hit while he recorded four strikeouts. Dennis Smith (2-3) was tagged with the loss, yielding seven earned runs on eight hits in three and two-thirds innings.
Gipson was 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles in the game, and he added an RBI and four runs scored. Dorado doubled and singled in four trips, denting the plate himself three times and knocking in four more runs, and Sanchez was 2-for-4 with three RBIs. Kevin Lentzner, Abdiel Quinones, and Trey Jackson each scored twice in the game, Aracena singled and walked three times with two RBIs, and Martinez, Lentzner, and Poesmans each had a pair of singles in the contest.
MACU will face a tough test this weekend when they take part in their first Sooner Athletic Conference short series against NAIA #3 Oklahoma City University (11-1, 2-0 SAC). The teams will play a single 9-inning game at MACU on Thursday before heading to downtown Oklahoma City for a double-dip at OCU on Saturday. Play will begin at 1 p.m. on both days.
