OKLAHOMA CITY – The MACU baseball team will open Sooner Athletic Conference play in a high-profile three-game series this weekend as the top two teams in the NCCAA will go head-to-head. Top-ranked Evangels will square off against the No. 2 team in the NCCAA in Southwestern Christian with the two squads opening with a 1 p.m. game on Friday before closing out the series with a noon doubleheader on Saturday at the MACU Baseball Field.
 
MACU SEASON REPORT

• Record: 16-3
• Last Game: Lost vs. Southwestern (Kan.) – 7-3 – Feb. 26, 2023 – MACU Baseball Field
• Top Performers (Hitting):
  • Noel McGarry-Doyle – SO – OF
    • .360 BA (18-50), 2 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 11 RBI, 22 R, 10 BB, 6 HBP, 6 SB, .515 OB%, .600 SLG%
  • Cole Fuecker – JR – 3B
    • .346 BA (18-52), 4 2B, 3 HR, 14 RBI, 11 R, 6 BB, 4 HBP, 1 SB, .438 OB%, .596 SLG%
  • Jacob Police – FR – 2B
    • .339 BA (19-56), 5 2B, 1 HR, 11 RBI, 17 R, 5 BB, 5 HBP, 6 SB, .426 OB%, .482 SLG%
• Top Performers (Pitching):
  • Ryan Harney – JR – RHP
    • 4-0 W-L, 1.85 ERA, 5 APP, 5 GS, 3 CG, 1 SHO, 34.0 IP, 27 H, 11 R, 7 ER, 6 BB, 22 SO, .209 OBA
  • Zane Robeaux – JR – RHP
    • 4-0 W-L, 2.83 ERA, 5 APP, 5 GS, 2 CG, 28.2 IP, 20 H, 11 R, 9 ER, 7 BB, 31 SO, .189 OBA
  • Cameron Brown – JR – RHP
    • 2-1 W-L, 2.45 ERA, 4 APP, 4 GS, 1 CG, 22.0 IP, 19 H, 8 R, 6 ER, 7 BB, 15 SO, .235 OBA
• Team Notes:
  • Mid-America Christian posted its fourth straight series win last weekend against Southwestern (Kan.) as the Evangels took three out of four games at the MACU Baseball Field to improve to 16-3 on the season. MACU holds a 14-1 record in series games with three or more matchups to go with its 2-2 mark posted at the prestigious Cajun Collision three weeks ago.
  • While the MACU bats struggled to get the bats going in the series against the Moundbuilders last weekend, posting just a .271 team batting average, the Evangels got a spark toward the bottom of the order from starting shortstop Carlos Medina. In the four-game slate, Medina batted .545 (6-of-11) with a team-high four RBIs. Noel McGarry-Doyle continued to get on-base at a high clip for the Evangels, posting a .636 on-base percentage for the series while scoring a team-high four runs.
  • The Evangels pitching played a prominent role in the series victory as the Evangels were led by the SAC Pitcher of the Week in Ryan Harney. In a 4-1 win in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader, Harney went the distance, allowing just one earned run on seven hits with just one walk while striking out four. The Upland, California native has been a workhorse for MACU thus far this season, already tossing three complete games while boasting a team-best 1.85 ERA.
  • The NCCAA released its first top 10 coaches' poll of the 2023 season and Mid-America Christian claimed the top spot with 56 points, finishing two points ahead of its rival this weekend in Southwestern Christian.

SCOUTING REPORT
Southwestern Christian

• Record: 14-3
• Last Game: Won at Ecclesia (Ark.) – 15-0 – Feb. 25, 2023 – Springdale, Ark.
• Series vs MACU (2014-): SCU leads 15-13
• Last Game vs MACU: MACU won 2-1 – Mar. 19, 2022 – MACU Baseball Field
• Players to Watch (Hitting):
  • Dario Paredes – FR – INF
    • .455 BA (25-55), 5 2B, 2 HR, 26 RBI, 12 R, 10 BB, 2 HBP, .536 OB%, .655 SLG%
  • Jhors Gomez – SO – INF
    • .431 BA (25-58), 3 2B, 3 3B, 3 HR, 18 RBI, 24 R, 10 BB, 3 HBP, .535 OB%, .741 SLG%
  • Phoenix Nelson – FR – OF
    • .371 BA (13-35), 1 2B, 1 HR, 11 RBI, 11 R, 3 BB, 1 HBP, .415 OB%, .486 SLG%
• Players to Watch (Pitching):
  • Gabriel Figueroa – JR – RHP
    • 4-0 W-L, 0.68 ERA, 4 APP, 4 GS, 1 CG, 26.1 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 37 SO, .103 OBA
  • Braden Corley – SR – LHP
    • 1-1 W-L, 1.83 ERA, 4 APP, 4 GS, 19.2 IP, 17 H, 8 R, 4 ER, 8 BB, 20 SO, .221 OBA
  • Connor O'Malley – JR – RHP
    • 3-1 W-L, 2.91 ERA, 4 APP, 3 GS, 21.2 IP, 18 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 0 BB, 22 SO, .220 OBA
• Team Notes:
  • Southwestern Christian is coming off a 3-1 series victory at Ecclesia (Ark.) last weekend. After suffering a 1-0 loss to open the series on Feb. 24, the Eagles dominated the final three games of the slate: 7-2, 15-11 and 15-0.
  • The Eagles have been putting up some big offensive numbers to start off the season, ranking 20^th in the NAIA in team batting average (.332) while posting the 15^th-best on-base percentage (.439) as well.
  • While SCU's hitting has been very good, the Eagles pitching has been one of the best tandems in the NAIA thus far through the season, posting the nation's fourth-lowest team ERA (2.27).
  • Freshman infielder Dario Paredes has provided a major spark with his bat in his first season with the Eagles, leading the team with a .455 batting average while tallying a team-high five doubles and 26 RBIs while notching an astounding .536 on-base percentage. In his second year at SCU, Jhors Gomez has also hit the ball well in the early season, slashing .431 with a team-high 24 runs scored and .741 slugging percentage.
  • Junior starter Gabriel Figueroa has been the workhorse of the SCU rotation as the ace is allowing an astounding 0.68 ERA through four starts, allowing only three runs over 26.1 innings while turning in a great 37 strikeouts to only two walks. Connor O'Malley has also boasted an unbelievable strikeout to walk ratio for the Eagles. Along with his 2.91 ERA, O'Malley has struck out 22 batters and has yet to walk one over 21.2 innings of work.
  • While SCU holds a slim 15-13 edge in the all-time series against MACU, the Evangels will be looking to keep the recent momentum going against the Eagles after Mid-America Christian swept the three-game series a year ago. After opening the series with a 12-8 victory at Cagle Field on Mar. 18, 2022 due in-large part to Andrew Enwiya's go-ahead grand slam in the top of the ninth, the Evangels put together two stellar pitching performances in the home doubleheader on Mar. 19 as the Evangels came away with 7-0 and 2-1 victories.