OKLAHOMA CITY – Currently off to one of the best start in the program history, the Mid-America Christian baseball team will look to keep the ball rolling in a midweek matchup at James Curtis Field against Friends University at 2 p.m. on Tuesday.
LAST TIME OUT
Mid-America Christian (6-2) is coming off its second consecutive series win, taking 3-of-4 from Houston-Victoria in its first road series of season last weekend.
The Evangels bats had a major awakening in the series opener, scoring 15 runs on 12 hits and not only did MACU hit its first home run of the season, but the Evangels slugged out four in the 15-9 victory.
Making his MACU debut, junior outfielder and relief pitcher Jaily Paredes slashed a perfect 4-for-4 from the plate with a home run, a double, five RBIs and scored four runs while also drawing a walk. Paredes also recorded the save in relief after giving up just one run and struck out three in two innings of work. David Lechuga picked up the win after throwing 2.2 innings out of the MACU bullpen.
Mid-America Christian challenged Houston-Victoria in the second game of the doubleheader, but the Jaguars scored a run in the bottom of the eighth to take a late 5-4 lead. The Evangels had the chance to score the tying run in the top of the ninth when Joshua Fernandez smacked a triple to center field with one out, but MACU was unable to push the run across.
Brandon Reese and Yan Ely Adames led the MACU bats as each went 2-for-4 while Edgar Martinez slapped the lone RBI after going 1-for-4. Senior starter Keisy Portorreal pitched well in the no-decision, tossing six innings and giving up four unearned runs on just two hits and two walks while striking out seven.
The Evangels bounced back in a big way in the first game of the Saturday doubleheader. MACU scored 19 runs, the most since picking up a 19-7 win over St. Gregory's on May 5, 2017. In the 19-10 victory, the Evangel recorded a season-high 20 hits. MACU notched 13 of their 19 runs in an epic fourth inning that featured 17 plate appearances, nearly batting through the order twice.
Three MACU batters recorded three hits in the game, as Paredes led the way by going 3-for-3 with a walk, an RBI and four runs scored. Leonel Bejaran-Specht also slashed 3-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs and Reese went 3-for-6 with two RBIs and a run. Christian Ballard picked up the win in relief, throwing a perfect 1.1 innings.
The series-deciding game four was a back-and-forth battle, but trailing 6-5 in the eighth inning, Edgar Martinez hit a clutch two-run single to shallow left-center to put the Evangels in-front. Mid-America Christian got some pivotal insurance runs in the top of the ninth as Felix Martinez crushed a two-run homer over the left field fence to extend the MACU edge to 9-6 before holding on for an eventual 9-7 win.
Paredes notched another four-hit game, batting 4-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs with his second homer of the series. Adames drove in three and scored a run by going 2-for-5 from the plate while Felix Martinez slashed 2-for-4 with two RBIs on his second homer of the series. Paredes also got the win in relief, tossing four innings and sacrificing just a run on six hits to go with no walks and five strikeouts.
SCOUTING THE FALCONS
Friends enters Tuesday's matchup with a 5-6 record after dropping 3-of-4 in a four-game road series at Texas A&M-Texarkana this past weekend.
Senior outfielder Andrew Chartland leads the Falcons bats, hitting for a .357 average with seven runs scored and six RBIs. Senior first baseman Troy Puga has been the big bat in the Friends lineup, along with a .333 average, the masher has six extra-base hits to go along with his seven RBIs and has slugged .700 while drawing 14 walks and scoring a team-high 12 runs.
Senior righty Austin Egglestrom has gotten the most work out of the Friends pen, giving up a 2.31 ERA on seven hits, four walks and struck out 14 while hurling 11.2 innings. Senior right-hander Zach Demshenko has been the team's ace, sporting a 5.17 ERA with four walks and eight strikeouts while throwing 15.2 innings in his three starts.
HISTORY WITH THE FALCONS
Since 2004, Mid-America Christian and Friends have split the series down the middle at 9-9. The last time the two teams met, the Falcons picked up an 8-2 win at James Curtis Field on Mar. 7, 2017. However, the Evangels were able to get the best of Friends in Wichita, Kan. the season prior, pitching a 12-0 shutout over the Falcons on Apr. 19, 2016le. Evangels starter Zach Carley threw six shutout innings of two-hit ball while walking four and striking out three. MACU right fielder Jerry McNew was the big bat in the Evangels lineup, slugging 2-for-5 with a homer, four RBIs and two runs scored.
THINKING HIGHLY OF JAILY
Due to his phenomenal hitting efforts last week against Houston-Victoria, junior outfielder and pitcher Jaily Paredes received the NCCAA Offensive Student-Athlete of the Week honor. In the four-game series, the Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic native batted .688, going 11-for-16 from the plate with two homers, two doubles, scored nine runs and drove in eight RBIs while notching a 1.910 OPS. Paredes was also fantastic from the pitcher's mound, throwing six innings of relief over two appearances, giving up just two earned runs on nine hits with no walks and struck out eight while picking up a win and a save.
Paredes is the second Evangels player to be honored by the NCCAA in the past two weeks as junior starter Frensly Leito was the recipient of the NCCAA Pitcher Student-Athlete of the Week on Feb. 3 after throwing seven no-hit, shutout innings with 12 strikeouts against Bethany College in the season-opener on Jan. 31.
DIFFERENT VENUE, DIFFERENT STORY
While the Evangels bats was ice cold and the MACU pitching was phenomenal in its season-opener against Bethany College at James Curtis Field, it was quite the inverse while playing at Riverside Stadium in Victoria, Texas.
In the season-opening series against Bethany, Mid-America Christian's pitching was on-point, giving up just four runs, three of which were earned in 31 innings for a 0.87 ERA and a .159 opponents' batting average. In the four-game road series at Houston-Victoria, the Evangels pitching struggled, giving up 42 runs, 31 of which earned on a 7.55 ERA and a .316 opponents' batting average in 31 innings.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, the MACU bats were ice cold in the series against the Swedes, scoring just 10 runs on a .188 team batting average with no homers and just two extra-base hits overall. It was a different story against the Jaguars, as the Evangels slugged out a .347 team batting average and scored 51 runs on 25 extra-base hits, eight of which were home runs.
Mid-America Christian will also look to return to defensive form on its home field as well, as the Evangels committed just two errors at home against Bethany as opposed to nine errors at Houston-Victoria.
