OKLAHOMA CITY – The MACU softball team will close out the season series against No. 9 Science & Arts on Tuesday as the Evangels will head down to Chickasha, Okla. for a 5 p.m. doubleheader being played at Bill Smith Ballpark.
 
MACU SEASON REPORT

• Record: 27-11 (12-8 SAC)
• Last Game: Lost at Central Christian (Kan.) – 6-4 – Apr. 15, 2023 – McPherson, Kan.
• Top Performers (Hitting):
  • Janessa Larman – SR – 3B
    • .377 BA (43-114), 11 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 38 RBI, 17 R, 7 BB, 2 HBP, .409 OB%, .596 SLG%
  • Cailey Parsells – SR – OF
    • .361 BA (35-97), 1 2B, 1 HR, 15 RBI, 38 R, 23 BB, 6 HBP, 37 SB, .504 OB%, .402 SLG%
  • Rachel Humburg – SR – OF
    • .333 BA (29-87), 3 2B, 1 3B, 10 RBI, 15 R, 17 BB, 1 HBP, 4 SB, .443 OB%, .391 SLG%
• Top Performers (Pitching):
  • Rachel Eggleston – R-SO – RHP
    • 17-3 W-L, 1.36 ERA, 21 APP, 19 GS, 9 CG, 5 SHO, 113.0 IP, 75 H, 27 R, 22 ER, 23 BB, 124 SO, .184 OBA
  • Avery Schneringer – JR – RHP
    • 10-5 W-L, 3.01 ERA, 19 APP, 18 GS, 8 CG, 2 SHO, 100.0 IP, 109 H, 52 R, 43 ER, 29 BB, 58 SO, .277 OBA
• Team Notes:
  • Mid-America Christian is coming off a series win at Central Christian over the weekend as the Evangels took the first three contests 7-0, 3-0 and 10-2 before falling 6-4 in the finale on Saturday.
  • Putting up two more strong performances in the circle, Rachel Eggleston tossed her fifth complete-game shutout on Friday, allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out eight over seven innings. That scoreless game allowed Eggleston to move into a four-way tie for the second-most shutouts in a single-season in the NAIA Era, joining Jill Willbanks (2010) and Regan Martin (2018, 2021).
  • With her efforts in the win on Saturday, Eggleston also climbed up MACU's single-season record book. Eggleston moved into a tie for third for strikeouts with Amber Tinney (2014) with 124 while also moving into a three-way tie for wins with 17, tying her own mark last year as well as with Martin (2021).
  • Cailey Parsells also pieced together an outstanding weekend at the dish, batting .417 (5-for-12) with five runs, two RBIs, three walks, a hit-by-pitch and seven stolen bases.

SCOUTING REPORT
No. 9 Science & Arts (Okla.)

• Record: 27-11 (17-5 SAC)
• Last Game: Won at No. 7 Oklahoma City – 9-2 – Apr. 14, 2023 – Oklahoma City
• Series vs MACU (2008-): USAO leads 46-12
• Last Game vs MACU: USAO won 6-5 (8 Inn) – Apr. 8, 2023 – Allen Field
• Players to Watch (Hitting):
  • Jaclyn Gray – SR – C
    • .413 BA (50-121), 14 2B, 3 3B, 8 HR, 50 RBI, 31 R, 9 BB, 1 HBP, 3 SB, .451 OB%, .777 SLG%
  • Sierra Selfridge – SO – OF
    • .373 BA (38-102), 6 2B, 4 3B, 2 HR, 25 RBI, 27 R, 10 BB, 3 HBP, 6 SB, .440 OB%, .569 SLG%
  • Malea McMurtrey – FR – INF
    • .351 BA (33-94), 3 3B, 16 RBI, 33 R, 14 BB, 2 HBP, 27 SB, .445 OB%, .415 SLG%
• Players to Watch (Pitching):
  • Sophie Williams – SO – RHP
    • 11-6 W-L, 1.44 ERA, 21 APP, 19 GS, 16 GS, 7 SHO, 126.1 IP, 75 H, 35 R, 26 ER, 25 BB, 158 SO, .167 OBA
  • Abi Gregory – FR – RHP
    • 13-3 W-L, 3.13 ERA, 19 APP, 17 GS, 10 CG, 4 SHO, 87.1 IP, 59 H, 48 R, 39 ER, 68 BB, 113 SO, .187 OBA
• Team Notes:
  • One of the leaders in the Sooner Athletic Conference, Science & Arts split its doubleheader with No. 7 Oklahoma City on Friday to split the season series with the Stars. After dropping a 2-0 pitcher's duel in game one, the Drovers opened up a big lead right out of the gate in game two before pulling away with a 9-2 win.
  • The Drovers enter the week as the fourth-best hitting team in the SAC, slashing .311 with the league's sixth-best on-base percentage (.375) and the third-best slugging percentage (.476). The Drovers have been getting the job done from inside the circle in 2023, posting the SAC's second-best ERA (2.13) while also posting the conference's third-best defensive fielding percentage (.958).
  • The Drovers are led by the one of the best bats in the SAC in senior catcher Jaclyn Gray, who is hitting for both power and average by posting the league's fifth-best average (.413), second-best slugging percentage (.777), second-most home runs (8) and holds the top spot in RBIs (50). Freshman infielder Jadyn Goucher has also provided a big bat in the USAO lineup, bashing a SAC-best nine homers to go with the ninth-most RBIs (32).
  • In the circle, the Drovers are one of the deepest teams in the conference, led by sophomore righty Sophie Williams. Coming into the week ranked first in the SAC in strikeouts (158) and second in ERA (1.44), only behind MACU's Eggleston. While the Drovers have been relying primarily on Abi Gregory as the team's No. 2 hurler, USAO has been getting strong production from freshman righty Lauryn Cottrell as of late. Cottrell has picked up wins in her last two outings, including just three runs, two earned over the last 14 innings of work for victories over Oklahoma City on Apr. 14 and MACU on Apr. 8.
  • Even though the Drovers hold a 46-12 edge in the all-time series, the Evangels played USAO to the wire in their doubleheader at Allen Field on Apr. 8. MACU won a 1-0 thriller in the opening game as the Evangels took it on Megan Widener's walk-off squeeze bunt in the bottom of the ninth before the Drovers rallied from five runs down to top MACU 6-5 in eight innings in the finale.