OKLAHOMA CITY – After opening the 2020 season at home for the first 10 games, the Mid-America Christian softball team will be seeking wins in its first road doubleheader as the Evangels will travel to Winfield, Kan. on Tuesday to take on Southwestern. The first game of the doubleheader is slated for a 1 p.m. first pitch.
LAST TIME OUT
Mid-America Christian (9-1, 3-1 Sooner Athletic Conference) opened SAC play with a four-game series against Central Christian last weekend, taking 3-of-4 to win the series.
The Evangels bounced back from a heartbreaking 4-3 loss in eight innings in the first game of the doubleheader on Friday, coming away with an 8-3 win in the second game. MACU swept the Lady Tigers in the Saturday doubleheader, winning a pair of close 9-6 and 6-4 games.
Junior outfielder and designated player Faith Hollingsworth as well as freshman first baseman Olivia Roberts were the big bats in the MACU lineup over the weekend. Hollingsworth batted .556 with a double, driving in four RBIs and scoring a run. Roberts went 6-for-12 (.500) with four RBIs and two runs.
SCOUTING THE MOUNDBUILDERS
Southwestern (Kan.) will make its way into Tuesday's doubleheader with a 2-8 record, as the Moundbuilders are coming off a 1-3 week, splitting a doubleheader at Southwestern Christian (5-8, 9-7) before dropping a pair to Graceland (8-14, 2-4) at home on Saturday.
Sophomore outfielder Alexis Guyton leads the SC bats so far this season, slashing .438 with five RBIs and five runs scored. Sophomore infielder Loren Wright has been the squad's top run producer, driving in seven RBIs off of a .353 batting average with seven RBIs, a homer and four doubles.
In the circle, senior starter Hannah Foltz has been the Moundbuilders' workhorse, appearing in eight games and making five starts. Foltz this season has a 2-4 record with a 7.62 ERA, allowing opponents to bat .357 with 16 walks and 28 strikeouts in 37.2 innings of work.
HISTORY WITH THE MOUNDBUILDERS
Mid-America Christian is 14-4 against Southwestern in the NAIA era and went 2-0 against the Moundbuilders back on Feb. 21. In that doubleheader series, the Evangels shutout SC by scores of 11-0 and 8-0, the only times the Moundbuilders have been shut out this season. In the first game, McKenzie Smith tossed four shutout innings, allowing just four hits and two walks to get the win. Olivia Roberts, Hannah Salmon and Kylie Stubbs led the MACU bats with two RBIs apiece. In the nightcap, Adrienne Phillips pitched a complete game shutout, giving up only five hits, one extra base hit with no walks and a strikeout. Roberts went 1-for-3 with RBIs while blasting MACU's first home run of the season, a two-run shot in the fifth inning.
ROAD WARRIORS
On the road for the first time this season, the Evangels will look to improve upon their road woes last season, going 10-11 in true road games, as opposed to an 18-7 home record in 2019. During MACU's highly successful 2018 campaign, the Evangels were nearly just as good on the road as they were at home, posting a 16-9 (.640) road winning percentage while going 21-11 (.656) at home. Mid-America Christian will be on the road quite a bit during the month of March, competing in 14 true road games and four neutral site games while only playing four games at Jack Allen Field.
MARTIN MAKING IT HAPPEN
Junior pitcher Regan Martin has been slowly making her way back into the rotation after sustaining an injury during the preseason. In the Central Christian series, the two-time NCCAA All-American made her first start of the season, tossing four innings and allowing just one unearned run on three hits, no walks and a season-best three strikeouts while picking up her first win of the season as well. Martin made a pair of relief appearances in the series, throwing a total of 8.2 innings and giving up just two earned runs and striking out five.
