GREENVILLE, S.C. – The National Christian College Athletic Association announced its 2022 All-Central Region Team on Thursday night as the Evangels placed six players on the All-Region Team after finishing the regular season with a 31-20 record, its best mark since the 2005 campaign.
Senior pitcher Frensly Leito, senior catcher Yan Ely Adames and junior outfielder Andrew Enwiya were selected to the First Team while freshman outfielder Isaiah Leon, sophomore pitchers Kelton Lachelt and Zane Robeaux garnered Second Team nods.
In his third season with the program, Leito set several marks in MACU's NAIA Era (2008-present) record book. The Wilhelmstead, Curacao native currently holds single-season top five marks in ERA (2.34, 5th), opponent batting average (.183, 3rd), strikeouts (94, 4th) and shutouts (2, 3rd).
In a 12-0 win over Oklahoma Panhandle State on Mar. 4, Leito tied Keisy Portorreal for the most strikeouts in a single game with 17 while allowing only three hits and no walks in a complete-game shutout.
It is the second time in Leito's career that he was named to the NCCAA All-Central Region First Team.
Also earning his second All-Region accolade, Adames was selected as the First Team catcher after wrapping up the regular season with a team-leading 16 doubles and 47 RBIs. The Jarabacoa, Dominican Republic product also boasted the team's third-highest batting average (.359) to go with the squad's fourth-best slugging percentage (.557) off a triple and five homers.
In a 23-21 defeat at Southern Nazarene (Okla.) on Apr. 12, Adames cemented himself on another NAIA Era single-game records list when he recorded six hits in a 6-for-7 performance with three RBIs and three runs with a double and a home run. Adames already held the single-game records for doubles (3), home runs (2) and RBIs (8).
The 2021 NCCAA All-Region Second Team honoree is already the program's NAIA Era career record holder in hits (200), doubles (44), RBIs (144) and total bases (312) and needs just one more run to match Felix Martinez's career runs mark (97) while also hitting the third-most career home runs (22).
Rounding out the First Team honorees, Enwiya is putting up one of the best single-seasons in the history of the MACU program. The native of Modesto, Calif. is entering the NCCAA World Series with the program's highest batting average in the NAIA Era (.424), second-best slugging percentage (.819), second-highest on-base percentage (.514), second-most home runs (13), third-most triples (3), third-most total bases (118) and needs just two more RBIs to climb into the single-season top five (47).
The first-year player for MACU has come up clutch on multiple occasions: hitting the game-winning solo homer in the top of the seventh in a 4-3 victory at Wayland Baptist on Mar. 12, the walk-off RBI single in an 8-7 win over Dallas Christian on Mar. 15, the go-ahead grand slam in the top of the ninth in a 12-8 victory at Southwestern Christian on Mar. 18 and the walk-off solo blast to left in the bottom of the ninth in a 3-2 victory against No. 5 Oklahoma City on Mar. 26.
The Evangels have also been getting stellar production from the other side of the outfield as the right-fielder Leon has provided a huge spark in the top of the lineup. The Simi Valley, Calif. standout already owns the program's single-season runs record with 60 and triples record with four. Leon also boasts the team's second-highest batting average (.391), total bases (101), on-base percentage (.510) and slugging percentage (.647) off 11 doubles and seven homers. Leon also possesses a team-leading 12 stolen bases on the year.
Also garnering Second Team accolades, Lachelt is one of the most accomplished relievers during MACU's NAIA Era run. The Henderson, Nevada native holds the program's second-most single-season wins (7) and saves (4), sitting only behind Keisy Portorreal (9, 2018) for wins and Wyatt Glasgow (7, 2015) in saves. Lachelt enters postseason play with a 7-4 record with a 4.81 ERA with 11 walks and 37 strikeouts over 39.1 innings of relief.
Rounding out the honorees, Robeaux has provided an enormous spark as the Evangels No. 2 starter in the rotation. The nearby Mustang, Okla. product sits in a tie with Lachelt for the most single-season wins after going 7-3, but is also just the sixth MACU pitcher in the NAIA Era to strike out 90 or more batters in a season (90). Robeaux currently holds a 5.35 ERA with a 1.41 WHIP and a .237 opponent batting average to go with only 38 walks over a team-high 72.1 innings pitched.
Mid-America Christian will be competing in its first NCCAA Baseball World Series in over 20 years as the Evangels will head to Kansas City, Mo. for the event taking place at the Kansas City Royals Urban Youth Academy from May 20-24.
