OKLAHOMA CITY – As the final championship season of the 2017-18 academic year got underway in February, the excitement on the Mid-America Christian University campus was already palpable. With the school's third and fourth teams on their way to NCCAA National Championship tournaments, the MACU baseball and softball teams began play at home, and right away there was reason for excitement on the diamonds as the seasons got underway and 2018 turned into the Year of the Pitcher.
The MACU baseball team opened their slate first, hosting William Woods University on January 27 and 28, and after a tough setback on Opening Day, junior right hander Keisy Portorreal quickly began to assert his dominance on the mound. Portorreal won his next four starts, yielding only three earned runs over 28 innings in those four games. In the stretch, he also yielded only 14 hits, three bases on balls, and he struck out 31 batters.
Portorreal used that span to launch himself on a record setting campaign that culminated in Sooner Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year honors. He also earned honorable mention NAIA All-America status and a place on the NCCAA's All-America Second Team. He set four MACU single season records – wins (9), complete games (7), shutouts (4), and strikeouts (131) – and on March 9, he put together one of the most dominant performances in MACU history as he threw a five hit shutout against Central Christian College (Kan.) with one walk and a program record 17 strikeouts in the 7-inning game.
As good as Portorreal was for MACU, the pitching headlines were just as stellar on the softball side of the ledger, and there it was a freshman leading the way. Regan Martin posted the second most victories in a single season in MACU history, as she won 14 games in her inaugural campaign as a Lady Evangel. She led the team in complete games (15), shutouts (5), innings pitched (168), and strikeouts (115), and she tossed an incredible three no-hitters including a perfect game on March 16 against Ecclesia College (Ark.). Martin earned a spot on the NCCAA All-America Second Team, and she was also placed on the NCCAA All-Tournament Team.
In the results columns, MACU softball started quickly, and they kept a steady pace throughout the majority of the season. MACU rattled off nine straight wins from February 19 through March 10, and after four straight defeats against teams that qualified for the NAIA World Series, the Lady Evangels ripped off another eight straight wins. The team had a total of five no-hitters, with Larie Amos (Feb. 19 vs. Southwestern) and Courtney Anderson (Apr. 30 at Southwestern Christian) picking up the other two.
When all was said and done in the regular season, MACU had claimed a program record 36 victories and they added three more in the postseason to bring their season total to 39. The record was one of numerous program marks that the Evangels set in 2018, as they posted the best record in program history. Hannah Salmon posted a record 79 hits and a .411 batting average – the second best single season mark in MACU history, Ribbin Anderson stole a program record 25 bases, and MACU finished the season a program best 16 games above the break even point.
The awards were not limited to the playing field for MACU baseball and softball either, though they had their share of those to be sure. In addition to Portorreal's All-America honors, junior shortstop Felix Martinez was also named a Second Team NCCAA All-American and both men were named First Team All-NCCAA Central Region. Logan Gipson was named the Second Team All-SAC designated hitter, Diego Pichardo was a Second Team All-Region outfielder in the NCCAA's central region, Kevin Lentzner was named Academic All-District® by the College Sports Information Directors of America, and 16 MACU players earned the not as SAC Academic All-Conference – the most of any SAC institution.
Similarly, on the softball field, there were plenty of recognitions to go around. Anderson and Larie Amos were each named First Team All-SAC, while Martin, Salmon, and Hanna Harris earned Second Team All-Conference honors. Anderson and Salmon were both Third Team NCCAA All-Americans, and those two along with Martin and Amos were each named to the All-Region team for the central region as well. MACU placed 14 on the SAC Academic All-Conference team as well, and like their baseball counterparts, the Lady Evangels led the SAC in that category. Their academic contingent was led by Kortney Brown, who capped off her MACU career with recognition as both an NCCAA and NAIA Scholar-Athlete.
The men's golf team had a difficult spring, competing in the loaded Sooner Athletic Conference field, but they did have a bright spot at the SAC Championship where Isaac Maston carded a score of 226 to finish the Championship in a 13th place tie among golfers from three NAIA Top-10 teams at the event – including the eventual National Champions. In the classroom, the Evangels also claimed a pair of Academic All-Conference honorees, as both Tyler Price and Wyatt Bonds earned the distinction.
Overall, the 2017-18 season was a tremendously successful one for the Evangels' athletic department. As the MACU coaches, players, and administrators look toward the future, the aim is for the MACU teams to continue to improve and solidify their place among the top teams in the conference, region, and nation going forward.
