WICHITA, Kan. – After a long layoff due to inclement weather canceling all of the Mid-America Christian baseball team's games last week, the Evangels struggled to get the bats going in a 5-0, 4-2 doubleheader loss on the campus of Friends University on Tuesday afternoon.
 

GAME ONE
SCORE

• Friends 5, Mid-America Christian 0
  • Mid-America Christian (4-3)
  • Friends (8-1)

 
PITCHING DECISION

• Win: Ricky Hockett (1-1)
• Loss: Jairo Aparicio (1-1)

 
STAT LEADERS

• Isaiah Haddad – 2-for-3, SB
• Yan Ely Adames – 1-for-3, SB
• Jairo Aparicio – 4.2 IP, 2 ER, 4 R, 6 H, 4 BB, 6 SO

 
SCORING SUMMARY

• Bottom 1^st – FRND – Jared Berard doubled to right, advanced to third on the throw, RBI; Elerie Riviera scored – FRND 1, MACU 0
• Bottom 2^nd – FRND – Jordan Burnett walked, RBI; John Coogan advanced to second; RJ Lara advanced to third; Max Coyt scored – FRND 2, MACU 0
• Bottom 3^rd – FRND – Treven Veltman singled to right, RBI; RJ Lara advanced to third, Max Coyt scored – FRND 3, MACU 0
• Bottom 5^th – FRND – Malik Melton reached on an error by 1b; Max Coyt scored – FRND 4, MACU 0
• Bottom 5^th – FRND – Elerie Riviera doubled to center, RBI; Malik Melton scored, unearned – FRND 5, MACU 0

 
GAME SUMMARY

• After giving up a run in the first and running into a major jam in the second by loading the bases with one out, Jairo Aparicio was able to limit the damage to just one run in the frame with it coming on Jordan Burnett's bases loaded walk, making it a two-run Friends lead.
• Aparicio was able to get two quick outs in the third, but then gave up three straight singles to allow the Falcons to score another run to bring it to a 3-0 deficit.
• The Evangels were unable to get a baserunner into scoring position until the top of the fourth when Isaiah Haddad led off the inning with a single to left and then stole second two batters later, but MACU was unable to push Haddad across home plate.
• MACU's biggest threat came in the top of the fifth when Yan Ely Adames and Edgar Martinez each reached on a single and then moved to second and third on a double steal with two outs, but Brandon Reese's fly was caught in center to end the frame.
• Friends pushed across two more insurance runs in the bottom half of the fifth to extend its advantage to 5-0.
• The Evangels were only able to get a baserunner into scoring position just once over the final two innings as the Falcons held on for the win.

 
GAME NOTES

• Friends notched its five runs on seven hits while the Evangels could only muster five hits while committing three errors.
• Isaiah Haddad was the only MACU player that could register more than a single hit in the contest with a pair of singles.
• Jairo Aparicio suffered his first loss on the mound this season despite allowing only two earned runs on six hits with four walks and six strikeouts over 4.2 innings of work.

 

GAME TWO
SCORE

• Friends 4, Mid-America Christian 2
  • Mid-America Christian (4-4)
  • Friends (9-1)

 
PITCHING DECISION

• Win: Devin Dodson (1-0)
• Loss: Max Charnin (0-1)
• Save: Austin Eggleston (4)

 
STAT LEADERS

• Yan Ely Adames – 1-for-3, RBI
• Grant Roberts – 1-for-1, R
• Frensly Leito – IP, SO

 
SCORING SUMMARY

• Bottom 2^nd – FRND – Wes Kuzminsky scored on a passed ball – FRND 1, MACU 0
• Bottom 3^rd – FRND – Elerie Riviera singled to left, advanced to second on the throw, RBI; Ricky Hockett advanced to third; Eric Escamilla scored, unearned – FRND 2, MACU 0
• Bottom 3^rd – FRND – Jared Berard singled to center, advanced to second on the throw, RBI; Elerie Riviera advanced to third; Ricky Hockett scored, unearned – FRND 3, MACU 0
• Bottom 3^rd – FRND – Wes Kuzminsky hit a SAC fly to right, RBI; Elerie Riviera scored, unearned – FRND 4, MACU 0
• Top 6^th – MACU – Yan Ely Adames singled to ss, RBI; Grant Roberts advanced to third; Joshua Fernandez scored, unearned – FRND 4, MACU 1
• Top 6^th – MACU – Grant Roberts scored on a passed ball – FRND 4, MACU 2

 
GAME SUMMARY

• Friends managed to score the first run of the game without recording a single hit in the bottom of the second when Wes Kuzminsky reached on a walk and then stole second and third before reaching home on a passed ball to make it an early 1-0 Falcons edge.
• After the Evangels committed an error in the first at-bat of the third inning, Friends took advantage of the miscue by recording three hits resulting in three runs to stretch its lead to four.
• Not scoring a single run through the first 12 innings of the series, Mid-America Christian was finally able to break through in the top of the sixth. After a Joshua Fernandez walk, a Grant Roberts single and an Andres Gonzalez sac bunt, Yan Ely Adames drove in MACU's first run on an RBI infield single to short.
• The Evangels split the Falcons lead in half when Roberts scored during the following at-bat on a passed ball to make it a 4-2 game.
• Mid-America Christian managed to get the tying run to the plate in the seventh when Ryan Fox drew a one-out walk, but the Evangels were unable to finish the rally as the Falcons held on for the 4-2 win.

 
GAME NOTES

• Neither team could muster much against the other offensively, as Friends scored its four runs on three hits while Mid-America Christian tallied its two runs on four hits and made one defensive mistake.
• MACU spread out its four hits with Yan Ely Adames recording the only RBI of the series on a 1-for-3 day from the plate while Grant Roberts also went 1-for-1 in a pinch-hitting appearance before coming around to score in the sixth.
• In his first start, junior Max Charnin suffered the loss after giving up three runs, two earned on two hits, two walks and two strikeouts over 2.1 innings.
• The MACU bullpen of Christian Ballard, Bryan Garcia, Jaily Paredes and Frensly Leito combined to only give up one earned run on one hit with one walk and a pair of strikeouts.
• After opening the season with a 4-0 start, the Evangels have struggled with the bats during their four-game losing streak in doubleheader losses to Bethany and Friends, mustering just two runs per game on a .202 batting average.

 

ON DECK

• Mid-America Christian will look to right the ship at home this weekend as the Evangels will prepare to host Evangel (Mo.) for a four-game series at James Curtis Field. MACU will open with a doubleheader on Friday, Feb. 26 with a noon first pitch.