OKLAHOMA CITY – Coming off one of the winningest season in the NAIA era, the Mid-America Christian baseball team is prepared to open the 2022 season on Sunday as the Evangels head to Marshall, Texas for a doubleheader against Wiley.
After tying the program's NAIA Era single-season wins record with 24 victories under first year head coach Brett Stanton in 2021, the Evangels were selected to finish fifth in the Sooner Athletic Conference Preseason Poll that was released last fall. MACU received 32 points in the preseason standing, placing three-points ahead of Wayland Baptist (29) for sixth.
Science & Arts was picked to repeat as the SAC champion with 63 points and seven first-place votes while Oklahoma City garnered 58 points and two first-place tallies. Texas Wesleyan (48) and Southwestern Christian (45) were ranked third and fourth in the poll.
Rounding out the standings were Southwestern Assemblies of God (22), Oklahoma Panhandle State (15) and Central Christian (8).
Mid-America Christian will be looking for some strong production from senior catcher Yan Ely Adames, who will be returning for his fourth season at MACU. The two-time All-SAC First Team honoree put up some eye-popping numbers during the 2021 season, notching the program's NAIA Era top five marks in batting average (.386, 5th), slugging percentage (.652, 5th), hits (71, 4th), home runs (12, 2nd), runs-batted-in (55, 3rd) and total bases (120, 2nd).
Since the program joined the SAC in 2008, Adames is the first player at Mid-America Christian to ever garner two All-Conference accolades.
The 2021 also accomplished something no other MACU team had ever accomplished before in that it was the first year the Evangels had two players selected to the All-SAC First Team with right-handed pitcher Frensly Leito garnering the honor.
Leito will be returning for another season after boasting the third-lowest single-season earned run average in the NAIA Era at 1.46 while also giving up the second-lowest opponent batting average in that time frame at 1.77.
A late reliever that made the transition to starter late in the season, the 6-4 Curacao native boasted 55 strikeouts and walked just 16 batters while also allowing just 23 hits in 37 innings of work.
Leito notched the best start of his career in the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament against Southwestern Christian, tossing a complete eight-inning shutout, allowing just three hits and three walks with eight strikeouts in a 10-0 victory over the Eagles on May 7, 2021.
The MACU pitching staff will also be seeking some big time production from returning sophomore righty Cameron Brown as well as COVID-19 sophomore newcomer Zane Robeaux.
In his freshman campaign with the Evangels, Brown made 11 appearances and four starts while notching a 5.84 ERA. The Blanchard, Okla. native finished the year with 20 strikeouts and only seven walks over 24.2 innings.
Robeaux comes to MACU after a two-year career at Vernon College in Vernon, Texas. With the Chaparrals, Robeaux allowed just a 3.38 ERA and recorded a 11.3 strikeouts per nine-innings ratio.
Offensively, the Evangels are looking forward to junior first baseman Blake Diggle returning to the field. Despite missing the 2021 season and the 2020 campaign at Lewis-Clark State due to COVID-19 cancelation, Diggle put up huge offensive numbers at Mission College in Santa Clara, Calif. in 2019. The 6-2 Mountain View, Calif. slugger bashed a team-leading 11 home runs and a .685 slugging percentage to go with the squad's second-highest batting average (.370), hits (54) and RBIs (51) while leading the Saints to the CCCAA Regionals.
The Evangels will also be looking to get some great play from three incoming outfielders in Andrew Enwiya, Caden Harris and Amni Ortega.
Enwiya is an NCAA Division I transfer from Arkansas-Pine Bluff, who appeared in 16 games and made nine starts for the Lions during the 2021 campaign.
Harris comes to MACU from Dallas College-Brookhaven after leading the Bears to the NJCAA Division III South Region Championship. In 32 games, the 6-4 outfielder swatted for a .321 batting average with the second-most homers on the team with nine to go with 29 RBIs and 39 runs scored.
Ortega makes his way to MACU after a stellar playing career at Connors State (Okla.). After missing the 2021 season, the 5-10 slugger slashed a .408 average with six doubles, 15 RBIs and 30 runs over a COVID-19 shortened 21-game 2020 season. The Panama native helped lead the Cowboys to the 2019 NJCAA Division I World Series, recording a team-high 78 runs and 12 stolen bases while boasting the third-highest batting average at .372.
Mid-America Christian will start the season with four-game slate down in Texas. After facing Wiley for a noon doubleheader on Sunday, the Evangels will travel to Hawkins, Texas for a noon doubleheader at Jarvis Christian on Monday.
