OKLAHOMA CITY – The Mid-America Christian softball team is ready to get the 2020 season underway as the Evangels will host a doubleheader against Crowley's Ridge at noon on Saturday and will have a quick turnaround on Monday, Feb. 17 against Sterling starting at noon at Jack Allen Field.
SEASON OUTLOOK
Coming off their third 30-plus win season in the last four years, Mid-America Christian has aspirations of returning to the NCCAA National Championships after going 32-19 and overall with a 22-14 mark against Sooner Athletic Conference competition a season ago.
The Evangels turned in their highest ever finish in SAC play last year, placing third in the league standing while recording 20-plus conference wins for the first time since joining the SAC in 2008.
Unfortunately, MACU's season came to a tough end in the NCCAA Central Region Championships. The Evangels dropped the opener 5-0 to Southwestern Assemblies of God in the double elimination tournament, but managed to bounce back with a big 9-1 victory over Ecclesia to face SAGU in the championship game. However, the Lady Lions were able to thwart MACU's chances by defeating the Evangels 4-0 in the first of two potential games in the championship series.
Mid-America Christian returns a wellspring of pitching experience, headlined by junior starter Regan Martin. The two-time NCCAA All-American American is coming off her finest season in the circle, going 16-8 in 28 appearances, giving up just a 2.07 ERA on 40 walks with 111 strikeouts in 145.2 innings of work. The All-SAC Second Team performer tossed 16 complete games, seven of which were shutouts.
Senior starter McKenzie Smith will also look to duplicate her successful junior campaign. Last year, Smith went 11-5 in 22 appearances and 20 starts. Smith turned in a 2.61 ERA and struck out 51 while not giving up a single home run in 107.1 innings of action.
The Evangels also bring back a core of powerful bats, led by former NCCAA All-American Hannah Salmon. The senior catcher and outfielder batted .346 a season ago, recording a team-high 31 RBIs on 12 extra-base hits while finishing second on the team with 34 runs on her way to earning All-SAC Second Team honors.
Senior outfielder Jessica Holt will also look to wreak havoc on the basepaths with fellow senior second baseman and outfielder Amber O'Bryant. Holt, an All-SAC Second Team performer a season ago slashed .319 from the plate to go along with a .390 on-base percentage while effectively scoring 31 runs and stealing 15 bags. O'Bryant was also a bandit on the basepaths, leading the team with 16 stolen bases after hitting .314 with 26 runs.
Senior outfielder Ribbin Dorado will also look to return to her 2018 NCCAA form. Dorado had a slightly down junior campaign after hitting a solid .295 with 11 extra-base hits and 29 runs. During her 2018 season, the Cushing, Okla. native swatted .375 with a team-leading 46 runs and stole 25 bases.
Leading the charge in the middle infield, senior second baseman and shortstop Brook Hendrickson will help spearhead a defense that committed just 58 errors last season, tied for the fewest in the Sooner Athletic Conference while ranking second with a .960 fielding percentage, just a single percentile behind league and national powerhouse Science & Arts.
SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
Crowley's Ridge will be playing its fifth and sixth games within a five-day stretch as the Pioneers have opened their 2020 season with a 1-3 record after being swept by Williams Baptist 3-1 and 8-0 on Tuesday before splitting a doubleheader at Southwestern Christian with a 7-5 loss and an 11-1 win on Friday.
Leading CRC in the circle will be junior starter Sammi Henry. Picking up a win on Friday, Henry threw a complete six-inning game, giving up just one unearned run on five hits, no walks and two strikeouts. However, the righty struggled in the previous game against the Eagles, giving up four runs in just an inning of work. Henry currently touts a 2.33 ERA in 12 innings.
The Pioneers so far this season have been led by April Kennedy from the plate. The sophomore outfielder is registering a blazing .833 batting average to go with a pair of RBIs and a run.
HISTORY WITH THE PIONEERS
Mid-America Christian has fared well against Crowley's Ridge in the NAIA era, winning nine of the previous 10 meetings. The Evangels swept the Pioneers in a pair of low-scoring games a season ago, as MACU pitched two shutouts with 4-0 and 1-0 victories. Regan Martin twirled a gem in the series opener, throwing seven complete and giving up just three hits and two walks while striking out five. In the Evangels' 1-0 win, McKenzie Smith was just as stellar, giving up just four hits and a walk while punching out three. The Evangels won the game on a walk-off when Hannah Salmon singled to right. Caitlin Butler came around to score when the Pioneers tried to nab her running to third, but a missed catch error by the third baseman allowed her to approach home for the win.
SCOUTING THE WARRIORS
Sterling will enter Monday's series with an 0-4 record after losing four games in the Texas A&M-Texarkana Tournament from Feb. 7-8. The Warriors opened the tourney with a pair of 3-0 and 9-0 shutout losses to TAMU-Texarkana and Lyon before closing out with 6-2 loss to the Eagles and a 4-1 defeat No. 21 LSU-Alexandria.
Senior starter Tienne Edens is the Warriors ace. In her four appearances and two starts this season, Edens has put together a 3.23 ERA on just seven walks and eight strikeouts in 17.1 innings of work. Freshman outfielder Miranda Alvarez will look to lead the SC bats, so far notching a .333 batting average and a .500 on-base percentage.
HISTORY WITH THE WARRIORS
Mid-America Christian is 6-1 against Sterling in the NAIA era. The two teams played each other in one game a season ago, as the Evangels toppled the Warriors 7-1 at Jack Allen Field. In the season-opening victory, Ribbin Dorado and Hannah Salmon did some damage at the top of the Evangels order with each going 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run while McKenzie Smith got the win after throwing four innings of one-run ball on four hits, two walks and two strikeouts.
