OKLAHOMA CITY – For the first time since MACU joined the NAIA for the 2008 season, the Mid-America Christian University baseball team has reached the 20-win plateau for the fourth straight year. The Evangels have posted seven 20-win seasons in the 11 years of NAIA competition, but this time, the Evangels have reached that mark a month sooner than they have in any of the previous six such seasons.
MACU (21-10) scored in 10 of the 12 innings in which they hit on Saturday afternoon, as they completed the sweep of the Dallas Christian College Crusaders (1-21) with wins of 12-2 and 12-1.
Mid-America wasted no time in getting out in front of DCC. Antonio Dorado and Diego Pichardo hit back-to-back doubles to start the game and two batters in, MACU led 1-0. Raymond Rodriguez drove in two later in the frame to cap a 4-run inning as MACU batted around and jumped out to a 4-0 lead.
Dorado reached to lead off the second inning, and Pichardo followed with his second home run of the season to extend the lead to 6-0, and in the third frame, Axel Poesmans belted his second home run of the week to push MACU's advantage to 7-0.
Noah Hoth homered to left center field in the top of the fourth frame to cut MACU's lead to 7-2, but the Evangels stopped the Crusaders from building any further momentum, and after a scoreless fourth, MACU resumed the offensive onslaught in the fifth.
Poesmans homered again in the bottom of the fifth frame, and Pichardo followed three batters later with his second homer of the game – a three run shot to cap another four-run frame, and with five innings in the books, MACU's lead was 11-0. Dorado singled home Felix Martinez in the bottom of the sixth inning to cap the scoring, as MACU took the win 12-2.
Reid Wall (1-0) allowed two earned runs on seven hits in six innings of work in his first start of the season, and he struck out 12 Crusaders without issuing a walk. Anthony Esposito (1-5) took the loss, pitching three innings and giving up seven runs – six earned – on five hits and four walks with five strikeouts.
Pichardo and Poesmans each tied a MACU single-game record with two home runs, and Pichardo scored three runs and drove in six. Dorado was 3-for-5 with three runs scored and a double as well.
In the series finale, the Evangels again jumped out in the bottom of the first inning.
Dorado and Pichardo ripped consecutive singles to start the game, and Felix Martinez belted the fifth pitch of the game from JT Berry out to center for a 3-run home run to put MACU on top 3-0. MACU added two more runs in the inning as Gipson scored on an error and Lentzner scampered home on a wild pitch to push MACU's lead to 5-0 after one inning of play. Gipson added a sacrifice fly in the second to score Dorado again, and after DCC plated an unearned run in the third, Omar Frias launched his second home run of the season to extend the Evangels' lead to 7-1.
Martinez and Lentzner had RBI hits in the fourth, and Aracena and Frias added sac flies in the same inning as MACU scored four times to take an 11-1 lead, and in the bottom of the fifth, Pichardo scored on a single from Aracena to provide the final margin for MACU of 12-1.
Ben Donnell (4-0) beat the Crusaders for the second time this season, allowing one unearned runs on six hits and one walk in six innings, and he struck out seven. Berry (0-2) allowed 11 earned runs on 10 hits in the game, and he walked four while he struck out only one.
MACU will not play again until Friday afternoon when they will open a 3-game weekend series with NAIA #12 Wayland Baptist University (18-9, 8-4 SAC). The teams will play a double-header at Noon on Friday and a single game on Saturday at 1 p.m.
