OKLAHOMA CITY – The MACU baseball team battled back from an early four-run deficit, but the Evangels lost a late lead to No. 22 Indiana Tech, falling 7-5 to the Warriors on Tuesday afternoon at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, the home of the Oklahoma City Dodgers.
SCORE
- Indiana Tech 7, Mid-America Christian 5
- Mid-America Christian (19-7)
- Indiana Tech (11-3)
PITCHING DECISION
TOP PERFORMERS
- Cole Fuecker – 1-4, HR, 3 RBI, R
- Andrew Enwiya – 1-2, RBI, BB, HBP
- Mason Ogihara – 2 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 2 SO
- Maycin Smothermon – IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 BB, 2 SO
SCORING SUMMARY
- TOP 1st – IT – Brice Stultz singled to right, RBI; Jacob Daftari scored – IT 1, MACU 0
- TOP 1st – IT – Tyler Stahl hit a sac fly to cf, RBI; Brice Stultz scored – IT 2, MACU 0
- TOP 2nd – IT – Jayden Reed singled to right-center, RBI; Alex Watkins scored – IT 3, MACU 0
- TOP 3rd – IT – Trevor Patterson singled to center, RBI; Tyler Stahl scored – IT 4, MACU 0
- BTM 6th – MACU – Andrew Enwiya hit-by-pitch, RBI; Yan Ely Adames scored – IT 4, MACU 1
- BTM 6th – MACU – Noel McGarry-Doyle scored on a wild pitch – IT 4, MACU 2
- BTM 6th – MACU – Cole Fuecker homered down lf line, 3 RBI; Tylor Richey scored; K.J. Moo-Young scored – MACU 5, IT 4
- TOP 8th – IT – Christian Mojica singled to 3b, RBI; Jayden Reed scored – MACU 5, IT 5
- TOP 9th – IT – Carson McNulty doubled to center, RBI; Ben Morrison scored – IT 6, MACU 5
- TOP 9th – IT – Jayden Reed reached on a fielding error by lf; Patrick McGinn scored – IT 7, MACU 5
GAME NOTES
- Indiana Tech scored its seven runs on 16 hits and committed one error while the Evangels scored five runs on eight hits and made two miscues.
- The Warriors started out hot, scoring its four runs on nine hits through the first three innings to jump out to a 4-0 lead.
- The Evangels got some strong production from its middle relief as Mason Ogihara and Maycin Smothermon combined to throw three innings and allowed just two hits and one walk while striking out five.
- MACU got the bats going in the bottom of the fifth when Yan Ely Adames and Noel McGarry-Doyle led off the frame with a single and a double to put runners in scoring position before Conner McKinney was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Andrew Enwiya drove in MACU's first run after getting hit by another pitch before McGarry-Doyle scored on a wild pitch to make it a 4-2 game.
- After IT made a pitching change, Cole Fuecker gave the Evangels their only lead of the ballgame by smashing a no-doubt homer down the left field line to make it a 5-4 game.
- The Warriors took advantage of a costly Evangels error in the eighth as an error and a pair of singles allowed Indiana Tech to tie the game up at 5-all.
- MACU got a pair of quick outs in the top of the ninth, but back-to-back tough luck doubles by IT allowed the Warriors to take the lead before a dropped flyball in-left swelled the Indiana Tech lead to 7-5.
- Mid-America Christian had an opportunity to come back in the bottom of the ninth when Carlos Medina drilled a lead-off double to the left-center field gap, but after Ryan Reed flied out to right and Devon Villanueva struck out, IT left fielder Tyler Stahl made a sensational running grab at the left field warning track on Adames' at-bat to wrap-up the 7-5 final.
- Fuecker's fourth home run of the season produced most of MACU's runs as the junior third baseman finished 1-for-4 with three RBIs.
- Adames was the only Evangel to finish the contest with multiple hits, finishing 2-for-4 with a run scored.
- Despite putting up a tough fight against the No. 22 team in the NAIA, the Evangels suffered their fourth loss in the last five games while dropping their first matchup ever against Indiana Tech.
- The Evangels played their first ever game at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark.
UP NEXT
- Mid-America Christian will look to try to get back on the winning track starting on Thursday as the Evangels will return home to open a three-game series against No. 22 Oklahoma City. The opening pitch is slated for 1 p.m. at the MACU Baseball Field.
