OKLAHOMA CITY – The MACU baseball team rallied from three runs down in the rubber match against No. 22 Oklahoma City at the MACU Baseball Field on Sunday afternoon as the Evangels pushed across three runs in the bottom of the eighth to come away with the 6-5 win, taking the season series from the Stars.
 
GAME ONE
SCORE

• Mid-America Christian 6, Oklahoma City 5
  • Mid-America Christian (21-8, 5-4 SAC)
  • Oklahoma City (12-12, 4-2 SAC)

PITCHING DECISION

• Win: Kelton Lachelt (4-1)
• Loss: Tyler Polk (0-2)

TOP PERFORMERS

• Andrew Enwiya – 1-2, HR, 3 RBI, R, HBP
• Ryan Reed – 2-3, RBI, BB
• Makael Shaw – 1-2, 2B, 2 R, 2 BB, SB
• Kelton Lachelt – W, 2 IP, 0 ER, 2 H

SCORING SUMMARY

• TOP 2^nd – OCU – Barrett Daniel singled to right, RBI; Tristian Williams scored – OCU 1, MACU 0
• BTM 3^rd – MACU – Makael Shaw scored on a balk – MACU 1, OCU 1
• TOP 4^th – OCU – Tristian Williams singled to left-center, RBI; Trent Kiraly scored – OCU 2, MACU 1
• TOP 4^th – OCU – Aiden Alexander doubled down lf line, 2 RBI; Barrett Daniel scored; Tristian Williams scored – OCU 4, MACU 1
• BTM 5^th – MACU – Ryan Reed hit a sac fly to right, RBI; Makael Shaw scored – OCU 4, MACU 2
• TOP 6^th – OCU – Aiden Alexander singled to center, RBI; Barrett Daniel scored – OCU 5, MACU 2
• BTM 6^th – MACU – Andrew Enwiya hit a sac fly to left, RBI; Noel McGarry-Doyle scored – OCU 5, MACU 3
• BTM 8^th – MACU – Andrew Enwiya homered to left, 2 RBI; Jacob Police scored – MACU 5, OCU 5
• BTM 8^th – MACU – Cole Fuecker scored on error by c – MACU 6, OCU 5

GAME NOTES

• Mid-America Christian scored its six runs on six hits while Oklahoma City tallied five runs on 13 hits and committed three errors.
• The Stars were able to get the offense going early in the second inning when three straight batters reached on a pair of singles and a walk to make it a 1-0 game, but the Evangels limited the damage when Carlos Medina cut off a throw on Barrett Daniel's single to right and relayed to Cole Fuecker for a tag out at third before Ryan Harney fielded a comebacker to the mound to retire Hunter Lenochan at first to limit the damage to one run.
• The Evangels took advantage of some small ball to push across the tying run in the third. After Makael Shaw draw a four-pitch walk to start off the inning and Ryan Reed recorded MACU's first hit with a line drive single to center, Shaw tagged up and advanced to third on Yan Ely Adames' deep flyball to right. During Noel McGarry-Doyle's at-bat, OCU starter Andrew Limbaugh was called for a balk, allowing Shaw to score from third to draw it even at 1-1.
• The Stars blew the game open in the top of the fourth when five of the first six batters reached on four hits and a walk. A sharply hit Tristian Williams single off the left-center field wall plated the go-ahead run in Trent Kiraly before Aiden Alexander ripped a bases-loaded, two-RBI double down the left field line to make it a 4-1 ballgame.
• The Evangels got a run back in the bottom of the fifth when Shaw ripped a one-out double off the top of the wall in right-center field, stole third and then got plated when Reed lifted a sacrifice fly to right to cut the deficit to 4-2.
• OCU got the run back in the top of the sixth when Barrett Daniel led off the frame with a triple to left-center that MACU center fielder Caden Harris narrowly missed making a sensational running grab on before Alexander drove him in two batters later with a single to center, setting the score to 5-2.
• MACU once again took advantage of some small ball and a Stars miscue to get a crucial run back in the bottom half of the sixth. The first two Evangels baserunners reached with McGarry-Doyle drawing a walk to start the inning before Conner McKinney reached on a dropped popup by OCU second baseman Noah Kang before Carlos Medina moved the runners over with a well-executed SAC bunt down the third base line. Then, it was Andrew Enwiya lifting a high flyball to left field in foul territory, allowing McGarry-Doyle to score on the sacrifice fly to bring it to a 5-3 game.
• In the bottom of the eighth, the Evangels mounted the massive rally. Facing the Stars closer Tyler Polk, Conner McKinney led off the inning by smashing a single up the middle before his pinch-runner Jacob Police trotted down to second on OCU's second balk of the game. On a full-count pitch, Enwiya blasted a no-doubt two-run homer over the left field fence to tie the game up at 5-5.
• Following Medina fouling out to the first baseman for the first out, the Evangels got the baserunners they needed aboard when Cole Fuecker smashed a sharply-hit single down the left field line before Shaw reached on another walk and Ryan Reed smashed a single in-between the third baseman and the shortstop to load the bases as OCU was able to knock down the chopper to keep the ball on the infield. On the winning play, the ball popped out of the glove of OCU catcher Reece Ratchford and got to the back stop. With Fuecker making a late decision to run back to third, Ratchford made an errant throw down to third to try and get the runner, allowing Fuecker to advance home to score what would be the winning run.
• OCU was able to get the tying run aboard in the top of the ninth on Felix Chenier-Rondeau's one-out single to center, but MACU closer Kelton Lachelt was able to get three flyouts in the frame to secure the 6-5 victory.
• Lachelt was named the winning pitcher, improving to 4-1 on the season after throwing two shutout innings, allowing just two singles. With the victory, Lachelt joined teammate Zane Robeaux and Madison Spencer in the team's NAIA Era record book for the second-most career wins at 11, sitting just two back of Keisy Portorreal.
• Andrew Enwiya led the MACU bats by slashing 1-2 with a two-run homer and three RBIs to go with a run scored and a hit-by-pitch. With his 17^th career home run, Enwiya moved into fifth in MACU's record book for career dingers, surpassing Jon Jon Lemos (2011-12) and Diego Pichardo (2016-17).
• Overall, Enwiya wrapped up a phenomenal week at the dish against a pair of NAIA Top 25 foes in OCU and No. 22 Indiana Tech, batting 4-for-9 (.444) with two homers, six RBIs and a pair of runs while also turning in a .500 on-base percentage.
• Despite the Evangels struggling from the leadoff position heading into the series, MACU found stability with Ryan Reed in the No. 1 spot. The starting second baseman slashed 4-for-9 with a double, two runs scored and an RBI in the three-game slate.
• Makael Shaw also provided a major spark for MACU batting out of the nine-hole, going 1-for-2 with a double, two runs, two walks and a stolen base.
• By getting the victory, Mid-America Christian won the season series 2-1 against Oklahoma City after getting a 3-0 victory in the first game of the doubleheader on Saturday. The Evangels have also won three of their last five games against the Stars at the MACU Baseball Field while also improving to 11-3 on their home turf this season.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will be back at home Tuesday, Mar. 21 as the Evangels will host Bacone (Okla.) in a non-conference, mid-week doubleheader. The opening pitch is slated for 1 p.m. at the MACU Baseball Field.