OKLAHOMA CITY – Coming off its first back-to-back losses of the season, the Mid-America Christian baseball team will be looking to bounce back in a four-game series at Bacone College on Feb. 20-21. The Evangels will open the series with a doubleheader starting at noon on Thursday before closing out with a twin bill on Friday with a noon first pitch.
LAST TIME OUT
Mid-America Christian (10-4) suffered its first back-to-back losses of the season on Tuesday as the Evangels dropped a pair of one-run games at Friends.
In the opening game of the series, MACU built an 11-2 lead heading into the final inning, but the Falcons incredibly scored nine runs, all with two outs to send the game to extras. In extra innings, Friends scored the winning run from third on a two-out error.
The second game couldn't be more on the opposite end of the spectrum as both teams flashed great pitching and great defense. Neither team was able to push a run across after seven, taking the game to extra innings. In the bottom of the 10th, Friends scored the winning run once again by lining a single to left just over the outstretched glove of Grant Roberts at third to hand MACU the 1-0 defeat.
SCOUTING THE WARRIORS
Bacone will enter the four-game series with a 1-10 record and are being outscored by its opponents 95-26. Senior infielder Jimmy Smittle leads the Warriors bats as the only BC player hitting above .300 at .364. Sophomore utility player Gabriel Luna is the power bat in the Bacone lineup, mashing three homers for nine RBIs and five runs on a .286 average.
On the mound, sophomore lefty Kalil Lewis has recorded the only win for the Warriors, posing a 1-2 record in three starts. With a team-leading 17.2 innings pitched, Lewis is giving up a 4.58 ERA, but has walked 13 batters to just five strikeouts. Sophomore starter Seth Dunlap has been the team's most efficient starter, despite an 0-2 record. Dunlap is giving up a 4.00 ERA and has walked nine while striking out a team-best 15 in nine innings of work.
HISTORY WITH THE WARRIORS
Bacone holds a slight 15-13 edge in the series since 2009, however, the Evangels have gained some ground within the last three years. Mid-America Christian have won six of the last nine since 2017, winning two of three in last year's series. In the opening game on Mar. 28, 2019, Felix Martinez scored the go-ahead run in the bottom of the seventh and Yan Ely Adames hit a SAC fly to add one more as MACU pulled out a 5-3 victory. The two teams followed it up with a doubleheader on Mar. 30, as Bacone took game one 3-2 to draw the series even. In the series finale, the MACU bats exploded for seven runs in the second inning before going on to win 9-2.
ONE IS THE LONELIEST NUMBER
Despite being off to one of the best starts in program history, the Evangels haven't been able to share the same fortune in games decided by one run. All four of Mid-America Christian's losses have come by one run and pose an overall 2-4 record in one-run games. It's been even more difficult for MACU in games that go to extra innings, as the Evangels are currently 0-3 in games that go beyond their scheduled seven or nine inning frames.
SUDDENLY SOUZA
Junior pitcher Frank Souza went through a rough stretch after his solid opening game against Bethany, where he only gave up one unearned run in three innings while recording five strikeouts. The Choctaw, Okla. native gave up seven earned runs in 7.2 innings between two appearances against Houston-Victoria and Huston-Tillotson, as his season ERA swelled to 9.45, but was suddenly able to find his mojo again in his start at Friends. The transfer from Southern Arkansas pitched six shutout innings, giving up just seven hits and one walk while striking out three while not getting a decision, bringing his season ERA back down to respectable 4.97.
