OKLAHOMA CITY – For the first time in program history, the MACU baseball team will be competing in one of the most renowned baseball classics in the NAIA as the Evangels will compete in four games over two days at the Cajun Collision Presented by NAIA Ball being played at the Sterlington Sports Complex in Sterlington, Louisiana on Friday and Saturday.

The Evangels will open the classic with a high-profile matchup against No. 12 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) at 11 a.m. before facing off against Louisiana Christian at 2:30 p.m. on Friday. In the Saturday slate, MACU will take on Tabor (Kan.) at 2:30 p.m. before wrapping-up against another KCAC foe in McPherson (Kan.) at 6 p.m.
 
MACU SEASON REPORT

• Record: 7-0
• Last Game: Won at Houston-Victoria – 7-0 – Feb. 4, 2023 – Victoria, Texas
• Top Performers (Hitting):
  • Noel McGarry-Doyle – SO – OF
    • .450 BA (9-20), 1 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 10 R, 3 BB, 1 HBP, 2 SB.542 OBP, 1.000 SLG%
  • Jacob Police – R-FR – 2B
    • .412 BA (7-17), 1 2B, 3 RBI, 9 R, 4 BB, 1 HBP, 4 SB, .522 OBP, .471 SLG%
  • Andrew Enwiya – SR – OF
    • .375 BA (6-16), 5 RBI, 4 R, 6 BB, 1 HBP, .565 OBP, .375 SLG%
• Top Performers (Pitching):
  • Cameron Brown – JR – RHP
    • 1-0 W-L, 1 APP, 1 GS, 7.0 IP, 0.00 ERA, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO, 1 CG, 1 SHO
  • Ryan Harney – SO – RHP
    • 2-0 W-L, 2 APP, 2 GS, 13.0 IP, 0.69 ERA, 5 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 SO, 1 CG, 1 SHO
  • Zane Robeaux – JR – RHP
    • 2-0 W-L, 2 APP, 2 GS, 13.0 IP, 2.08 ERA, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 10 SO, 1 CG
• Team Notes:
  • Mid-America Christian is currently off to its best start to a season since joining the NAIA in 2008 as the Evangels have gone 7-0 through their first two series of the season. The Evangels are coming off a four-game sweep over Houston-Victoria as MACU dominated the series, outscoring the Jaguars 37-10 and won every game by at least five runs.
  • Not only did the Evangels get stellar hitting in the series, but the pitching was equally as strong. All four MACU starters ended up getting the winning results while also tossing a pair of complete game shutouts as Ryan Harney and Cameron Brown each recorded their first career blanks with the Evangels.
  • Sophomore outfielder Noel McGarry-Doyle led the MACU bats by slashing .467 (7-for-15) with four extra-base hits, including a double, a triple and two home runs with four RBIs and eight runs. In MACU's 16-8 win in the opening game of the Saturday doubleheader against UHV, McGarry-Doyle tied MACU's NAIA Era single-game runs record by crossing home plate five times, matching Scott Mulhearn, Felix Martinez and Edgar Martinez for the most in one game.
  • Seeing action in three games and making one start, senior third baseman Ryan Reed provided a spark out of the MACU dugout by slashing an impressive 4-for-5 (.800) with a double and three RBIs.

SCOUTING REPORT
No. 12 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.)

• Record: 1-2
• Last Game: Lost at Arizona Christian – 4-2 – Jan. 28, 2023 – Glendale, Ariz.
• Series vs. MACU: First Meeting
• Last Game vs. MACU: N/A
• Players to Watch:
  • Noah Castillo – SO – RHP
    • .417 BA (5-12), 2 2B, 4 RBI, 2 R, 3 BB, .533 OBP, .583 SLG%
  • AJ McMahon – JR – 1B/OF
    • .333 BA (4-12), 3 2B, 2 RBI, 3 R, 2 BB, .429 OBP, .583 SLG%
  • Tyler Freiders – JR – RHP
    • 1-0 W-L, 1 APP, 1 GS, 5 IP, 1.80 ERA, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 9 SO
• Team Notes:
  • After qualifying for the NAIA World Series a season ago, MidAmerica Nazarene got its season off to a tough start on its three-game swing in Glendale, Arizona during the last weekend in January. The Pioneers opened the slate with a 14-6 win over Kansas Wesleyan on Jan. 26, but suffered back-to-back losses to Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) 8-7 on Jan. 27 before falling to Arizona Christian 4-2 on Jan. 28.
  • MNU brought back its top bat from a season ago in Noah Castillo, who comes into the weekend hitting .417 with a pair of doubles and a team-high four RBIs while reaching base .533 of the time.
  • The Pioneers got three solid starts from its starters two weeks ago with junior righty Tyler Freiders tossing one of the best outings after allowing just one earned run in five innings while striking out nine batters in leading MidAmerica Nazarene to a 14-6 win over the Coyotes.
  • Despite the two programs being just five hours apart, Mid-America Christian and MidAmerica Nazarene will be facing off against each other for the first time in the two programs' respective histories.

Louisiana Christian

• Record: 5-0
• Last Game: Won vs. Wiley (Texas) – 2-1 – Feb. 6, 2023 – Pineville, La.
• Series vs. MACU: First Meeting
• Last Game vs. MACU: N/A
• Players to Watch:
  • Drake Angeron – SR – OF
    • .538 BA (7-13), 2 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 7 R, 3 BB, 1 SB, .625 OBP, .923 SLG%
  • Ju'Juan Franklin – SR – INF
    • .467 BA (7-15), 3 2B, 8 RBI, 4 R, 2 BB, 1 SB, .556 OBP, .667 SLG%
  • Cy Fontenot – SO – RHP
    • 1-0 W-L, 2 APP, 1 GS, 5 IP, 0.00 ERA, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 SO
• Team Notes:
  • Finishing third in the Red River Athletic Conference last season with a 32-17 overall record and a 23-11 league mark, Louisiana Christian opened its season strong with a four-game sweep over Dillard (La.) before topping Wiley (Texas) in a tightly-contested 2-1 outing on Feb. 6.
  • Even though the Wildcats lost four All-RRAC performers from a season ago, LCU brings back one of its top bats in All-RRAC First Team honoree Ju'Juan Frankin, who currently leads the team with eight RBIs while slashing for a .467 batting average with three doubles. Graduate transfer Drake Angeron has provided a spark in the lineup for the Wildcats, slashing a team-best .538 batting average with an astounding .625 on-base clip.
  • While the Wildcats bring back their workhorse in the rotation in senior righty Cortlynn Ramirez, sophomore righty Cy Fontenot has put together one of the Wildcats best outings of the season thus far, allowing no run on two hits with no walks and six strikeouts in a 12-0 win over Dillard on Jan. 28.
  • The Evangels and Wildcats will also be playing each other for the first time ever.

Tabor (Kan.)

• Record: 5-0
• Last Game: Won vs. Baptist Bible (Mo.) – 6-5 – Feb. 5, 2023 – Ozark, Mo.
• Series vs. MACU (2019-): Tabor leads 3-2
• Last Game vs. MACU: Tabor won 15-7 – Mar. 20, 2021 – Dallas, Texas
• Players to Watch:
  • Brayden Whitchurch – SR – OF
    • .450 BA (9-20), 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 11 RBI, 9 R, 2 BB, 1 SB, .522 OBP, .800 SLG%
  • Jackie Jimenez – JR – C/3B
    • .444 BA (8-18), 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 11 RBI, 2 R, .421 OBP, .833 SLG%
  • Max Raddatz – SO – RHP
    • 1-0 W-L, 2 APP, 6 IP, 0.00 ERA, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 SO, 1 SV
• Team Notes:
  • Tabor opened the season with a pair of strong series showings, taking a three-game series at Jarvis Christian (Texas) from Jan. 27-28 before picking up a pair of victories in Ozark, Mo. against Williams Baptist (Ark.) and Baptist Bible (Mo.).
  • The Bluejays have been scoring in bunches to start the season, averaging 9.8 runs per game in their wins. The hitting tandem of Brayden Whitchurch and Jackie Jimenez have been especially potent, driving in a combined 22 of TC's 49 runs this season.
  • While Tabor's starters have shown some vulnerabilities, closer Max Raddatz has helped close the door on a pair of the Bluejays wins, recording a win after throwing three scoreless innings of a 6-5 victory over Baptist Bible last week after tossing three blank innings of relief in a 9-1 win over Jarvis Christian to open the season.
  • The Evangels and Bluejays have been relatively even since they first faced each other in 2019. The two squads split four games in 2019 with each team winning one in two doubleheaders on Apr. 2 and Apr. 9, but Tabor took the last meeting by a 15-7 score at Dallas Christian on Mar. 20, 2021.

McPherson (Kan.)

• 2022 Record: 40-14
• Last Game: Lost vs. St. Thomas (Fla.) – 5-4 (11 Inn.) – May 18, 2022 – Miami Gardens, Fla. (NAIA Opening Round)
• Series vs. MACU (2014-): Series tied 4-4
• Last Game vs. MACU: MACU won 6-5 – Feb. 2, 2019 – MACU Baseball Field
• Players to Watch:
  • Caleb Feuerstake – SR – OF
    • .398 BA (82-206), 10 2B, 6 3B, 7 HR, 47 RBI, 71 R, 25 BB, 24 SB, .477 OBP, .607 SLG%
  • Gage Ninness – SR – UTL
    • .368 BA (81-220), 14 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 36 RBI, 50 R, 13 BB, 5 SB, .422 OBP, .482 SLG%
  • Blake Maddock – SR – RHP
    • 6-2 W-L, 16 APP, 16 GS, 77.1 IP, 3.49 ERA, 74 H, 34 R, 30 ER, 26 BB, 92 SO
• Team Notes:
  • KCAC powerhouse McPherson will officially open its 2023 season at the Cajun Collision. Last season, the Bulldogs finished second in the conference and qualified for the NAIA Tournament, losing a heartbreaking 5-4 contest in 11 innings to St. Thomas (Fla.) in the opening round.
  • While the Bulldogs graduated their best hitter in Trevor Johnson, MC brings back a pair of all-conference at-bats with KCAC First Team honoree Caleb Feuerstake headlining the group alongside Second Team selection Gage Ninness.
  • The Bulldogs will also be bringing some strong pitching back for the 2023 season as squad's two best starters in Blake Maddock and Alex Escobar will lead the rotation. Maddock earned All-KCAC First Team accolades while Escobar recorded a team-high nine wins while throwing a team-best 86.1 innings of work to go with 90 strikeouts.
  • Coming into the matchup, Mid-America Christian and McPherson have faced each other in a pair of four-game series in 2014 and 2019. The two squads each split the pair with MACU getting the last win by a score of 6-5 at the MACU Baseball Field on Feb. 2, 2019.