OKLAHOMA CITY – With the Sooner Athletic Conference Championship being a neck-and-neck battle between five teams within a game of the lead, the MACU baseball team will be back on the road for another crucial league battle as the Evangels take on No. 24 Southwestern Assemblies of God this weekend. MACU will open the three-game series at the SAGU Baseball Field in Waxahachie, Texas on Friday at 3 p.m. before closing out with a Saturday doubleheader starting at noon.
 
MACU SEASON REPORT

• Record: 30-10 (12-6 SAC)
• Last Game: Lost at Wayland Baptist (Texas) – 15-6 – Apr. 8, 2023 – Plainview, Texas
• Top Performers (Hitting):
  • Noel McGarry-Doyle – SO – OF
    • .366 BA (41-112), 7 2B, 3 3B, 7 HR, 32 RBI, 42 R, 23 BB, 10 HBP, 12 SB, .503 OB%, .670 SLG%
  • Conner McKinney – JR – 1B
    • .336 BA (42-125), 9 2B, 6 HR, 31 RBI, 20 R, 10 BB, 6 HBP, .411 OB%, .552 SLG%
  • Carlos Medina – JR – SS
    • .336 BA (39-116), 10 2B, 3 HR, 21 RBI, 21 R, 10 BB, 4 HBP, 3 SB, .398 OB%, .500 SLG%
• Top Performers (Pitching):
  • Cameron Brown – JR – RHP
    • 4-5 W-L, 3.57 ERA, 10 APP, 10 GS, 2 CG, 1 SHO, 53.0 IP, 47 H, 23 R, 21 ER, 17 BB, 49 SO, .236 OBA
  • Isaac Baez – JR – RHP
    • 7-1 W-L, 3.73 ERA, 11 APP, 11 GS, 2 CG, 2 SHO, 60.1 IP, 62 H, 28 R, 25 ER, 7 BB, 69 SO, .258 OBA
  • Kelton Lachelt – JR – RHP
    • 5-1 W-L, 6 SV, 3.54 ERA, 14 APP, 20.1 IP, 23 H, 10 R, 8 ER, 2 BB, 13 SO, .280 OBA
• Team Notes:
  • Mid-America Christian is coming off a tough showing at Wayland Baptist last weekend as the Evangels lost just their second series of the season. After opening the slate with a 13-7 victory, the Evangels lost a tough 2-0 decision in the second game of the Friday twin bill. In the rubber match on Saturday, the Evangels gave up eight home runs as the Pioneers ran away with the 15-6 win.
  • Despite dropping the series, the Evangels had some encouraging signs from the return of Isaiah Leon to the starting lineup. An All-SAC First Team honoree last season, Leon led the team by batting .583 (7-of-12) with two RBIs and a run scored.
  • In the opening game of the series, graduate student catcher and outfielder Yan Ely Adames made history. With two home runs in the 13-7 win, Adames both tied and broke MACU Player of the Decade Jerry McNew's (2013-17) NAIA Era career home run record with his 27^th and 28^th blasts.
  • Even though he suffered the loss, junior righty Cameron Brown turned in a strong performance on the mound, throwing his second complete-game of the season, allowing just two earned runs on six hits with a walk and seven strikeouts. Brown currently owns the lowest qualifying ERA on the team at 3.57 and has struck out the second-most batters at 49.

SCOUTING REPORT
No. 24 SW Assemblies of God (Texas)

• Record: 27-14 (11-7 SAC)
• Last Game: Won at Wiley (Texas) – 16-9 – Apr. 11, 2023 – Marshall, Texas
• Series vs MACU (2005-): MACU leads 21-16
• Last Game vs MACU: SAGU won 3-1 – Apr. 23, 2022 – MACU Baseball Field
• Players to Watch (Hitting):
  • Matt Daiy – JR – OF/1B
    • .364 BA (36-99), 3 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 14 RBI, 31 R, 13 BB, 3 HBP, 11 SB, .448 OB%, .505 SLG%
  • Bryson Collins – SR – OF/1B
    • .336 BA (39-116), 8 2B, 4 3B, 3 HR, 29 RBI, 36 R, 24 BB, 11 HBP, 20 SB, .487 OB%, .552 SLG%
  • Avery Chatman – JR – OF
    • .333 BA (30-90), 6 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 16 RBI, 23 R, 6 BB, 4 HBP, 20 SB, .396 OB%, .556 SLG%
• Players to Watch (Pitching):
  • Michael Watson – JR – LHP
    • 8-1 W-L, 2.22 ERA, 12 APP, 11 GS, 4 CG, 2 SHO, 69.0 IP, 40 H, 20 R, 17 ER, 35 BB, 99 SO, .173 OBA
  • Ethan Nors – JR – RHP
    • 3-2 W-L, 2.50 ERA, 8 APP, 7 GS, 1 CG, 36.0 IP, 31 H, 15 R, 10 ER, 10 BB, 27 SO, .231 OBA
  • Matthew Hickey – GR – LHP
    • 5-4 W-L, 4.01 ERA, 14 APP, 13 GS, 1 CG, 58.1 IP, 59 H, 38 R, 26 ER, 33 BB, 65 SO, .262 OBA
• Team Notes:
  • After going into last weekend as one of the leaders in the SAC, Southwestern Assemblies of God had a tough showing at Oklahoma City as the 24^th-ranked Lions were swept by the Stars, 9-0, 6-4 and 10-8. SAGU was able to bounce-back with a mid-week win at Wiley (Texas) on Tuesday, 16-9.
  • The Lions are the top pitching team in the league, coming into the weekend with a 4.06 team ERA, however SAGU ranks just sixth in the conference in team batting average (.292), sixth in on-base percentage (.394) and seventh in slugging percentage (.446). The Lions also rank just sixth in fielding percentage as well at .954.
  • The SAGU pitching staff is headlined by junior lefty Michael Watson. An NAIA All-American Honorable Mention selection last season, Watson enters the series as the SAC leader in wins (8) and strikeouts (99) while also posting the conference's second-lowest qualifying ERA (2.22).
  • The balanced Lions lineup is led by junior outfielders Matt Daiy and Bryson Collins as Daiy is posting a squad-best .364 batting average and ranks second in runs (36) while Collins is slashing .336 and leads the team in both runs (39) and RBIs (29).
  • Mid-America Christian is looking to snap a three-game losing streak to SAGU after the Lions swept the series at the MACU Baseball Field last year in a trio of nail-biting affairs, 7-6, 4-1 and 3-1. The last time the two teams met in Waxahachie, the Evangels took 2-of-3 from Southwestern Assemblies of God, bouncing back from a 12-5 defeat to come away with back-to-back 3-0 and 7-0 victories on Apr. 3, 2021.