OKLAHOMA CITY – Coming off a great showing at the Red Dirt Classic this past weekend, the MACU softball team will face off against an NAIA powerhouse to open Sooner Athletic Conference play on Friday as the Evangels will take on No. 6 Oklahoma City for a 1 p.m. doubleheader at Allen Field.
 
MACU SEASON REPORT

• Record: 9-3
• Last Game: Lost vs. (RV) Ottawa (Kan.) – 3-2 – Mar. 4, 2023 – Oklahoma City (Red Dirt Classic)
• Top Performers (Hitting):
  • Janessa Larman – SR – 3B
    • .417 BA (15-36), 5 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 11 RBI, 5 R, 2 BB, 1 HBP, .462 OB%, .694 SLG%
  • Aurelia Holguin – JR – C
    • .409 BA (9-22), 2 2B, 1 3B, 4 RBI, 5 R, 5 BB, 1 HBP, .517 OB%, .591 SLG%
  • Mikaylee Allen – SR – SS
    • .306 BA (11-36), 2 2B, 6 RBI, 11 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 9 SB, .342 OB%, .361 SLG%
• Top Performers (Pitching):
  • Rachel Eggleston – SO – RHP
    • 6-1 W-L, 1.80 ERA, 7 APP, 6 GS, 3 CG, 1 SHO, 35.0 IP, 24 H, 10 R, 9 ER, 7 BB, 33 SO, .186 OBA
  • Avery Schneringer – JR – RHP
    • 3-1 W-L, 3.03 ERA, 6 APP, 5 GS, 3 CG, 1 SHO, 32.1 IP, 33 H, 14 R, 14 ER, 12 BB, 21 SO, .273 OBA
  • Chana Wolfe – FR – RHP
    • 1.11 ERA, 3 APP, 6.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO, .174 OBA
• Team Notes:
  • Mid-America Christian put together a fantastic showing at the Hosea Bell Red Dirt Classic hosted by Langston at the USA Softball Hall of Fame last weekend, going 3-1 with the team's only loss coming in a 3-2 defeat against an Ottawa squad that is ranked No. 22 in the latest NAIA Top 25 Coaches' Poll.
  • The Evangels picked up some solid wins against a pair of high quality KCAC opponents, including a 5-1 win against McPherson (Kan.) and a 6-2 victory over Oklahoma Wesleyan, another team that is receiving votes in the NAIA Top 25 Poll.
  • MACU won a thriller against Hastings in its second game of the Red Dirt Classic. After playing to a 0-0 draw through seven innings, Emylee Campbell came up with a clutch one-out RBI single down the right field line for the Evangels' only hit of the contest, scoring Kenzee Danielson from third. The Broncos put together a major threat in the bottom of the eighth, putting runners at second and third with no one out, but right fielder Brooklyn Wilson came up clutch by gunning down a runner trying to score from third on a sac fly to complete the double play before Avery Schneringer struck out the final batter to seal the 1-0 victory.
  • After finishing the week with a 2-0 record and a save, Schneringer was selected as the NCCAA Pitcher Student-Athlete of the Week for the first time in her career. Overall, Schneringer allowed just a 1.31 ERA in 16.0 innings of work, allowing only three earned runs with three walks and struck out 10 batters.
  • Mid-America Christian is receiving votes in the first NAIA Top 25 Coaches' Poll of the 2023 season.

SCOUTING REPORT
No. 6 Oklahoma City

• Record: 15-5 (2-0 SAC)
• Last Game: Won vs. Benedictine (Kan.) – 1-0 – Mar. 7, 2023 – Oklahoma City
• Series vs MACU (2008-): OCU leads 58-3
• Last Game vs OCU: OCU won 6-1 – May 7, 2022 – Oklahoma City (SAC Semifinal)
• Players to Watch (Hitting):
  • Annalise Rayburn – FR – INF
    • .404 BA (21-52), 3 2B, 2 3B, 4 HR, 14 RBI, 16 R, 7 BB, 1 HBP, 2 SB, .475 OB%, .769 SLG%
  • Carlee Mollet – SO – OF
    • .400 BA (18-45), 3 2B, 4 3B, 1 HR, 8 RBI, 18 R, 5 BB, 1 HBP, 11 SB, .471 OB%, .711 SLG%
  • Kamryn Garvie – JR – INF
    • .375 BA (21-56), 9 2B, 3 HR, 21 RBI, 10 R, 5 BB, 3 SB, .426 OB%, .696 SLG%
• Players to Watch (Pitching):
  • Shelbey Cornelson – SR – RHP
    • 8-2 W-L, 2.05 ERA, 12 APP, 9 GS, 9 CG, 4 SHO, 68.1 IP, 41 H, 20 R, 20 ER, 25 BB, 82 SO, .164 OBA
  • Lexi Duff – SR – RHP
    • 6-2 W-L, 2.81 ERA, 10 APP, 10 GS, 2 CG, 1 SHO, 37.1 IP, 41 H, 17 R, 15 ER, 13 BB, 27 SO, .273 OBA
• Team Notes:
  • Oklahoma City is coming off a hard-fought doubleheader sweep against Benedictine (Kan.) on Tuesday as the Stars pulled out a pair of 2-1, 1-0 victories against the Ravens at Ann Lacy Stadium. By getting the sweep, OCU head coach Phil McSpadden moved to just a game away from tying Mike Candrea's all-time collegiate softball wins record, improving to 1858-404 in his 36^th season at the helm of the Stars program.
  • The Stars enter the weekend as one of the best power-hitting teams in the SAC and NAIA, ranking second in the league and 10^th in the nation in slugging percentage at .520 after bashing 34 doubles, 10 triples and 15 home runs in 20 games this season. OCU has been solid in the pitching department as well, ranking third in the SAC in team ERA at 2.60, ranking right behind Science & Arts (2.42) and MACU (2.57).
  • Offensively, OCU is led by freshman infielder Annalise Rayburn, who is posting a .404 batting average while driving in 14 runs and scoring 16 times while junior infielder Kamryn Garvie is driving in a team-high 21 RBIs off a .375 average and a team-high nine doubles. The ace of the stars is senior hurler Shelbey Cornelson, who leads the SAC in wins (8) and strikeouts (82) while holding the league's third-best ERA (2.05).
  • Even though Oklahoma City has dominated the all-time series, Mid-America Christian picked up its first ever non-forfeited win against the Stars in the SAC Tournament last season. On May 6, 2022 the Evangels became the last team to beat the Stars during their NAIA Championship run as Karlee Danielson scored the game-winning run in the top of the seventh on an errant pickoff attempt at third base before Rachel Eggleston closed the door by tossing a one-run complete game by inducing Tiffany Paul into lining into an unassisted double play at first to seal the 2-1 victory. However, the Evangels came up short to OCU in the SAC Semifinal as the Stars reclaimed a 12-0 and 6-1 wins to advance to the SAC Championship game.