OKLAHOMA CITY – The Mid-America Christian baseball team will be seeking a season sweep over Bacone this weekend as the Evangels will host the Warriors for a four-game slate at James Curtis Field. MACU will open the series with a doubleheader slated for noon on Friday, Mar. 6 before returning on Saturday for another noon twin billing.
LAST TIME OUT
Mid-America Christian bounced back from a rough week after dropping four straight by getting a doubleheader sweep at Arlington Baptist, 10-2, 4-3 on Tuesday.
In MACU's 10-2 victory, three Evangels recorded three-hit games, led by junior catcher Yan Ely Adames going 3-for-4 with a double, two RBIs and a run scored. Andres Gonzalez also batted 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored while Grant Roberts slashed 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run. Felix Martinez knocked two doubles and scored twice, batting 2-for-5 with an RBI.
On the mound, Frank Souza pitched a solid five innings, allowing only two earned runs on eight hits, two walks and four strikeouts while Christian Ballard tossed two scoreless innings of relief.
In the second game of the doubleheader, the Evangels had to rally from a 3-1 deficit late. MACU tied it up with two runs in the sixth before scoring the game-winning run in the seventh.
While Pedro Reyes struggled in his start, giving up three earned runs in three innings, David Lechuga picked up the win by tossing four scoreless innings out of the pen, giving up no hits and walked just one while striking out eight.
SCOUTING THE WARRIORS
Bacone will enter the series with a 1-18 overall record. The Warriors are coming off a three-game series loss to Oklahoma City, dropping the first two games 10-0 and 8-0 before falling 18-10 in the finale on Feb. 29.
The Warriors bats are led by senior infielder Jimmy Smittle, who is the only BC player with an above .300 average at .324 while scoring a pair of runs. Sophomore utility man Gabriel Luna is the big bat in the Bacone lineup, slashing .250 with a team-leading three homers, nine RBIs and six runs.
On the mound, BC is led by senior righty Cristian Filpo, who is 0-4 in five starts, allowing a 5.17 ERA with 17 walks and 19 strikeouts on a .270 batting average in 15.2 innings of work. Sophomore right-hander Seth Dunlap is the only other pitcher on the roster with a sub-6 ERA, giving up a 5.54 ERA on a .235 batting average, walking 16 and striking out 17 in 13 innings pitched.
HISTORY WITH THE WARRIORS
Earlier this season, Mid-America Christian took the lead in the series during the NAIA era as the Evangels hold a 17-15 lead over Bacone. On Feb. 20-21, MACU went to Muskogee, Okla. and swept a four-game series, beating the Warriors in the Friday doubleheader 27-5 and 15-1 before winning a pair of pitchers' duels in the Saturday twin bill by a pair of 3-0 scores. The 27 runs scored by MACU in the opening game was the second-most the Evangels have scored in a single game during the NAIA era.
MARCHING FORWARD
After a tough finish to the month of February, losing four straight, three of which in a tightly contested series against No. 3 Science & Arts as well as a midweek loss to Southern Nazarene, the Evangels will be looking to start off the month of March like they did with February. Last month, the Evangels went 13-7 to record its winningest month since moving up to the NAIA level in 2008. Previously, the most wins MACU recorded in a single month came in April of 2011 as the Evangels went 11-9 to qualify for and compete in the NCCAA Central Region Championships.
RETRIBUTION FOR ROBERTS
In his first season with the Evangels, starting third baseman Grant Roberts had a challenging start to his junior campaign, but has since found his stride with the bat. Through the first 11 games, Roberts was batting just .185, the lowest average of all of MACU's regular starters with just five RBIs and five runs scored. However, the Richardson, Texas native got hot in the series finale at Huston-Tillotson going 2-for-3 with a homer, three RBIs and two runs scored. Since that game, Roberts is slashing .395, the second-highest average on the team during that stretch while driving in six and scoring six runs in the last 12 contests.
