KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The top-seeded Mid-America Christian softball team was able to sweep its pool with a 5-0 victory over Sooner Athletic Conference rival Southwestern Christian, but the Evangels lost out on their opportunity to repeat as the NCCAA National Champion after falling to another SAC rival in Southwestern Assemblies of God 5-2 in the Semifinal on Wednesday evening at the Kansas City Urban Youth Academy.
 
GAME ONE / Mid-America Christian vs. Southwestern Christian
SCORE

• Mid-America Christian 5, Southwestern Christian 0
  • Mid-America Christian (35-22)
  • Southwestern Christian (24-30)

PITCHING DECISION

• Win: Avery Schneringer (16-10)
• Loss: Harli Clem (12-18)

SCORING SUMMARY

• BTM 2^nd – MACU – Megan Widener singled to short, RBI; Rachel Humburg scored – MACU 1, SCU 0
• BTM 4^th – MACU – Janessa Larman hit an inside-the-park home run to right, 2 RBI; Allene Dennis scored – MACU 3, SCU 0
• BTM 5^th – MACU – Cailey Parsells singled to center, RBI; Megan Widener scored – MACU 4, SCU 0
• BTM 6^th – MACU – Karlee Danielson scored on a passed ball – MACU 5, SCU 0

TOP PERFORMERS

• Avery Schneringer – W, CG, SHO, 7 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 3 SO
• Janessa Larman – 1-3, HR, 2 RBI, R
• Megan Widener – 1-3, RBI, R

GAME NOTES

• Mid-America Christian scored its five runs on seven hits while Southwestern Christian tallied four hits and committed two errors.
• Even though Southwestern Christian loaded the bases with no one out in the top of the second inning, MACU starting pitcher Avery Schneringer was able to get out of the by inducing a popout to second, a strikeout and a groundout to third to get out of the jam.
• The Evangels grabbed the lead in the bottom half of the second. After Rachel Humburg led off with a single up the middle, she was able to trot down to third on a groundout and a flyout before Megan Widener drove her in on a slow-hop single to the shortstop to make it a 1-0 game.
• MACU added two more to the advantage in the bottom of the fourth after Janessa Larman hit her second home run of the tournament. After Olivia Roberts singled to right to start the frame, Larman bashed a hit down the right field line that bounced around, allowing the third baseman to tally her first inside-the-park home run of the season and her eighth of the year, bringing the score to 3-0.
• MACU added two more late runs in the fifth and the sixth. After Megan Widener reached third on an errant throw, Cailey Parsells drove her in on a bloop single to center before Karlee Danielson came in to score the final run on a passed ball, making it a 5-0 ballgame.
• Sophomore pitcher Avery Schneringer threw her fourth complete-game shutout of the season, allowing just four hits and two walks to go with three strikeouts.
• Janessa Larman led the MACU bats by going 1-for-3 with her inside-the-park homer tallying two RBIs, bringing her tournament total to 10 and tying her for the team-lead with 42 on the season. Her eighth home run also allowed the Choctaw, Okla. native alone in fifth in the MACU record books for a single-season.

 
Semifinal / Mid-America Christian vs. SW Assemblies of God
SCORE

• SW Assemblies of God 5, Mid-America Christian 2
  • Mid-America Christian (35-23)
  • SW Assemblies of God (33-25)

PITCHING DECISION

• Win: Ashlyn Teran (7-7)
• Loss: Rachel Eggleston (17-11)

SCORING SUMMARY

• TOP 1^st – MACU – Ashlyn Teran homered to right, 4 RBI; Makyla Kelly scored; Airiana Magadeno scored; Rosie Guadarrama scored – SAGU 4, MACU 1
• BTM 1^st – MACU – Rachel Humburg singled up the middle, RBI; Kassie Martin scored – SAGU 4, MACU 1
• TOP 3^rd – MACU – Alana Ortega singled to center, RBI; Ashlyn Teran scored – SAGU 5, MACU 1
• BTM 7^th – MACU – Cailey Parsells tripled to right, RBI; Megan Widener scored – SAGU 5, MACU 2

TOP PERFORMERS

• Megan Widener – 2-3, 2B, 3B, R
• Cailey Parsells – 1-3, 3B, RBI
• Avery Schneringer – 2.1 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 SO

GAME NOTES

• Southwestern Assemblies of God scored their five runs on 11 hits and committed no errors while the Evangels finished with two runs on six hits and made one miscue.
• The Lions threatened right out of the gate by loading the bases on a single, an error and a hit-by-pitch before two batters later, staring pitcher Ashlyn Teran smashed the go-ahead grand slam over the right field fence to give SAGU the 4-0 advantage.
• With two outs in the bottom of the first, the Evangels mustered a charge of their own by loading the bases on Kassie Martin's single to left, Olivia Roberts drawing a walk and Janessa Larman hitting a laser back up the middle that ricochet off the pitcher. Humburg followed with a single up the middle to plate Martin, but SAGU starting shortstop Airiana Magdaleno made a sensational diving stop to keep the ball in the infield and allow only that one run to come across.
• SAGU got the run back in the top of the third when Alana Ortega smacked a two-out single to center to score Teran from second, making it a 5-1 game.
• The Evangels struggled to generate any offense against Teran after Megan Widener's one-out double in the bottom of the second. The senior pitcher retired 14 of the next 15 batters before MACU mounted a late charge in the bottom of the seventh.
• After hitting a two-bagger in the second, Widener smashed a triple down the right field line before Cailey Parsells hit it the exact same direction for back-to-back triples, closing the gap to 5-2 before Mikaylee Allen grounded out to short to end the game.
• Widener led the MACU bats by slashing 2-for-3 with a double, a triple and a run scored while both Parsells and Humburg finished 1-for-3 with an RBI apiece. The triple by Parsells only added to her MACU single-season record with seven, three more than the next closest player in the book.
• Rachel Eggleston suffered the loss after allowing five runs, four earned on 10 hits with no walks and one strikeout over 4.2 innings of work. Avery Schneringer pitched well in relief, allowing no runs on only one hit with no walks or strikeouts.  
• The defeat for MACU was the first time the program had ever lost in the Semifinal Round of the NCCAA World Series. In MACU's three previous appearances, the Evangels didn't advance out of pool play before last season's stellar run to the NCCAA National Championship.
• Despite falling in the Semifinal, it was the second straight year Mid-America Christian won at least three games at the NCCAA World Series.
• At the end of the contest, Janessa Larman was named to the 2022 NCCAA Softball All-Tournament Team after going 6-for-14 (.429) with 10 RBIs and three runs scored off of a double and two home runs.
• MACU wraps up its 2022 season with a 35-23 overall record, marking just the third time the program has ever finished with at least 35 wins after going 37-14 in 2021 and 39-23 in 2018.