OKLAHOMA CITY – In a battle between the two Sooner Athletic Conference leaders, the MACU baseball team is set to host No. 14 Texas Wesleyan at the MACU Baseball Field for a three-games to determine the league champion. The Evangels will open the series with a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. on Saturday before wrapping up the series with a 1 p.m. game on Sunday.
 
MACU SEASON REPORT

• Record: 35-11 (15-6 SAC)
• Last Game: Won vs. Jarvis Christian (Texas) – 17-2 – Apr. 22, 2023 – MACU Baseball Field
• Top Performers (Hitting):
  • Noel McGarry-Doyle – SO – OF
    • .367 BA (47-128), 8 2B, 3 3B, 10 HR, 41 RBI, 52 R, 26 BB, 14 HBP, 13 SB, .509 OB%, .711 SLG%
  • Carlos Medina – JR – SS
    • .351 BA (47-134), 14 2B, 5 HR, 26 RBI, 24 R, 13 BB, 4 HBP, 3 SB, .413 OB%, .567 SLG%
  • Conner McKinney – JR – 1B
    • .322 BA (47-146), 11 2B, 6 HR, 32 RBI, 22 R, 11 BB, 6 HBP, .393 OB%, .521 SLG%
• Top Performers (Pitching):
  • Isaac Baez – JR – RHP
    • 8-1 W-L, 3.73 ERA, 13 APP, 13 GS, 2 CG, 2 SHO, 72.1 IP, 79 H, 33 R, 30 ER, 9 BB, 79 SO, .275 BA
  • Kelton Lachelt – JR – RHP
    • 5-1 W-L, 2.96 ERA, 17 APP, 7 SV, 24.1 IP, 27 H, 10 R, 8 ER, 2 BB, 15 SO, .281 OBA
  • Ryan Harney – SO – RHP
    • 7-2 W-L, 4.69 ERA, 13 APP, 13 GS, 4 CG, 1 SHO, 78.2 IP, 99 H, 48 R, 41 ER, 14 BB, 49 SO, .313 OBA
• Team Notes:
  • Mid-America Christian wrapped up non-conference play with a series victory against Jarvis Christian last weekend. After splitting the opening doubleheader with a 4-3 walk-off win and an 8-6 loss, the Evangels got the bats going in the series finale as MACU ran away with a 17-2 victory.
  • Noel McGarry-Doyle and Yan Ely Adames each put together a strong week at the dish to lead the MACU bats in the series against the Bulldogs, as McGarry-Doyle slashed .429 (3-of-7) with a double and two homers for six RBIs and a pair of runs while Adames batted .400 (4-for-10) with a pair of homers, four RBIs and a pair of runs.
  • As the Evangels enter the final weekend of the season, a pair of mid-season moves have helped spark the MACU bats with Ryan Reed becoming the team's every day second baseman and Caden Harris moving to start in center field. Reed enters the TWU series with a .367 batting average (33-of-90) with six doubles, three homers 14 RBIs and 21 runs scored in 34 games while Harris is batting .328 (19-of-58) with five doubles and five homers for 20 RBIs and 17 runs over 26 games.
  • The Evangels will be contending for their first ever SAC Championship. If MACU can sweep the weekend, it would win the conference title outright while if the Evangels can take two out of three, they would lock up at least a share of the SAC title with Oklahoma City and/or Science & Arts, who each enter the weekend 14-7 in conference play.

SCOUTING REPORT
No. 14 Texas Wesleyan

• Record: 32-12 (15-6 SAC)
• Last Game: Won at Wayland Baptist (Texas) – 13-8 – Apr. 22, 2023 – Plainview, Texas
• Series vs MACU (2013-): TWU leads 27-5
• Last Game vs MACU: TWU won 9-7 – May 7, 2022 – Oklahoma City (SAC Tournament)
• Players to Watch (Hitting):
  • Greyson Barrett – SR – 1B
    • .411 BA (67-163), 16 2B, 2 3B, 17 HR, 74 RBI, 50 R, 10 BB, 4 HBP, .450 OB%, .847 SLG%
  • T.J. Tomlinson – SO – INF
    • .405 BA (64-158), 11 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 25 RBI, 54 R, 24 BB, 8 HBP, 12 SB, .503 OB%, .519 SLG%
  • Brandon Rincones – SO – INF
    • .386 BA (54-140), 21 2B, 3 3B, 1 HR, 32 RBI, 42 R, 17 BB, 14 HBP, 5 SB, .491 OB%, .600 SLG%
• Players to Watch (Pitching):
  • Sutton Tidwell – SO – LHP
    • 7-4 W-L, 3.53 ERA, 11 APP, 7 GS, 1 CG, 1 SHO, 35.2 IP, 31 H, 18 R, 14 ER, 13 BB, 37 SO, .231 OBA
  • David Theriot – JR – RHP
    • 3-0 W-L, 4.43 ERA, 20 APP, 1 GS, 6 SV, 40.2 IP, 41 H, 21 R, 20 ER, 10 BB, 27 SO, .265 OBA
  • Garrett Bodine – SO – RHP
    • 3-3 W-L, 6.23 ERA, 18 APP, 3 GS, 30.1 IP, 25 H, 23 R, 21 ER, 26 BB, 47 SO, .225 OBA
• Team Notes:
  • Texas Wesleyan enters the weekend in a hot streak in April as the Rams have posted a 10-1 record since the start of the month. The Rams took two out of three games in their series at Wayland Baptist last weekend, sandwiching a pair of 5-2 and 13-8 wins between a 9-6 loss.
  • The Rams boast by far and away the best hitting team in the Sooner Athletic Conference, posting a league-best and fifth-best batting average in the NAIA at .359 while also notching a SAC-best .445 on-base percentage as well as tallying a SAC-high and nationally seventh-best slugging percentage at .596.
  • Despite TWU's offensive prowess, the Rams have had their struggles in the pitching department, ranking third to last in the SAC in team ERA at 5.64. One of the challenges the Rams have had to overcome is a mid-season injury to ace Morgan McCloud, who held a 4-1 record and a 2.65 ERA before suffering an injury following the series against Science & Arts on Mar. 24-25. Defensively, the Rams have been solid, ranking fourth in the SAC in fielding percentage at .957.
  • The Rams are led offensively by two of the best bats in the SAC in senior first baseman Greyson Barrett and sophomore infielder T.J. Tomlinson. Barrett is dangerously close to holding the SAC's triple crown, slashing the league's third-best batting average at .411 while leading the league in both home runs (17) and RBIs (74). Tomlinson also ranks in the top five in the SAC in batting average, slashing .405 with 11 doubles and 25 RBIs to go with the second-most runs scored in the conference at 54.
  • Texas Wesleyan has utilized a deep pitching staff in 2023 with seven players starting three or more games. The No. 1 for the Rams coming into the weekend is sophomore lefty Sutton Tidwell, who comes in with a 4-2 record and a 3.53 ERA in 11 appearances and seven starts while David Theriot has been a strong middle to late reliever for TWU, tossing a team-high 40.2 innings to go 3-0 with six saves on a 4.43 ERA.
  • Mid-America Christian will be looking to snap an 11-game losing streak to Texas Wesleyan, but despite the streak, the Evangels have battled close with the Rams with seven of the games being decided by three runs or less. The two teams battled in a pair of close contests in the SAC Tournament last season at Jim Wade Stadium as TWU snuck out a pair of 12-10 and 9-7 wins from the Evangels.