PLAINVIEW, Texas – Graduate student catcher
Yan Ely Adames went yard twice in game one of the series to break the all-time career home run record in MACU program history as the Evangels split a doubleheader with Wayland Baptist as MACU took game one 13-7 in nine innings and Wayland Baptist secured the 2-0 victory in game two at Wilder Field.
GAME ONE
SCORE
- Mid-America Christian 13, Wayland Baptist 7 (9 Inn)
- Mid-America Christian (30-8, 12-4 SAC)
- Wayland Baptist (22-13, 7-6 SAC)
PITCHING DECISION
TOP PERFORMERS
- Yan Adames – 3-4, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 2 R, BB
- Isaiah Leon – 4-5, 2 RBI, R
- Cole Fuecker – 3-5, HR, 2 2B, 3 RBI, 2 R
SCORING SUMMARY
- TOP 3rd – MACU – Yan Ely Adames homered to right, 2 RBI; Isaiah Leon scored – MACU 2, WBU 0
- BTM 3rd – WBU – Justin Porter homered to left, RBI – MACU 2, WBU 1
- BTM 4th – WBU – Matthew Unangst doubled down rf line, RBI; Cooper Jauz scored – MACU 2, WBU 2
- BTM 4th – WBU – Justin Porter doubled down lf line, RBI; Matthew Unangst scored – WBU 3, MACU 2
- BTM 4th – WBU – Caleb Rozier homered to left-center, 2 RBI; Justin Porter scored – WBU 5, MACU 2
- TOP 5th – MACU – Cole Fuecker homered to center, RBI – WBU 5, MACU 3
- TOP 5th – MACU – Yan Adames singled thru left side, RBI; C. Harris scored – WBU 5, MACU 4
- TOP 6th – MACU – Caden Harris hit a sac fly to lf, RBI; Andrew Enwiya scored – WBU 5, MACU 5
- TOP 6th – MACU – Isaiah Leon singled thru right side, RBI; Carlos Medina scored – MACU 6, WBU 5
- TOP 7th – MACU – Yan Adames homered to right, RBI – MACU 7, WBU 5
- BTM 7th – WBU – Jake Green singled to 3b, RBI; Hayden Ingram scored – MACU 7, WBU 6
- BTM 7th – WBU – Delvis Claudio doubled down lf line, RBI; Cesar Lopez scored – MACU 7, WBU 7
- TOP 9th – MACU – Conner McKinney doubled to left-center, 2 RBI; Jacob Police scored; Ryan Reed scored – MACU 9, WBU 7
- TOP 9th – MACU – Cole Fuecker doubled thru right side, 2 RBI; Andrew Enwiya scored; KJ Moo-Young scored – MACU 11, WBU 7
- TOP 9th – MACU – Caden Harris hit a sac fly to cf, RBI; Carlos Medina scored – MACU 12, WBU 7
- TOP 9th – MACU – Isaiah Leon singled up the middle, RBI; Cole Fuecker scored – MACU 13, WBU 7
GAME NOTES
- Mid-America Christian scored its 13 runs on 13 hits while Wayland Baptist cashed in seven runs on 14 hits and committed three errors.
- The Evangels opened things up in the third inning as Yan Ely Adames crushed a two-run shot to right field to tie Jerry McNew's NAIA Era (2007-) record for career home runs, giving MACU a 2-0 lead.
- MACU fell behind 5-2 entering the fifth, however the Evangels came right back by scoring two runs as Cole Fuecker jacked a solo shot to center field followed up by an Adames RBI single, bringing home Caden Harris making it a 5-4 ball game.
- In the sixth inning, Harris drove in Andrew Enwiya on a sacrifice fly ball to left to tie the game before the Evangels took a 6-5 lead on an Isaiah Leon single to plate Carlos Medina. In the seventh, Adames stepped back up and launched his second home run of the day on a solo blast to right to become the NAIA Era home run leader.
- The Pioneers tied things up in the bottom of the seventh with a pair of runs and threatened to walk it off with runners at second and third, but MACU closer Kelton Lachelt was able to get Samuel Fabian to fly out to left for the final out, sending the game to extras.
- In the ninth inning, MACU blew the game wide open by scoring six runs as Fuecker and Conner McKinney notched a pair of two RBI doubles to make it a 11-7 lead. A Harris sac fly and a Leon RBI single extended the lead even further as the Evangels took a 13-7 advantage heading into the bottom of the ninth.
- The win gave the Evangels their third win out of the last four meetings with the Pioneers, it also extended the MACU winning streak out to 10 in a row.
- Making his first start of the season after missing the first two-thirds of the season due to a wrist injury, Isaiah Leon put together an effective bat in the MACU lineup by slashing 4-for-5 with a pair of RBIs and a run scored.
- Adames led the batting efforts with his 3-for-4 day, tallying four RBIs and scoring a pair while his two home runs marked the 30th time in the NAIA Era a MACU player has tallied two homers in a single game.
- Fuecker also finished a strong day by slashing 3-for-5 with a homer and three RBIs to go with two runs.
- Isaac Baez saw his record scoreless inning streak come to an end at 24 straight as Wayland Baptist pushed across its first run on a Justin Porter solo home run in the bottom of the third. Baez recorded his first no-decision on the mound after tallying four straight wins, allowing five earned runs on eight hits with a walk and six strikeouts.
- Kelton Lachelt improved to 5-1 on the mound after throwing three innings and allowing two earned runs on six hits. The victory for Lachelt on the mound marked the 12th of his career, moving him to just one away from tying Keisy Portorreal's (2018-20) NAIA Era career wins mark.
- The win also proved to be historically significant as MACU has now recorded back-to-back 30 win seasons for the first time in program history after going 32-22 in 2022.
GAME TWO
SCORE
- Wayland Baptist 2, Mid-America 0
- Mid-America Christian (30-9, 12-5 SAC)
- Oklahoma Panhandle State (23-13, 8-6 SAC)
PITCHING DECISION
TOP PERFORMERS
SCORING SUMMARY
- BTM 2nd – WBU – Caleb Rozier singled through the left side, 2 RBI; Justin Porter scored; Matthew Unangst scored – WBU 2, MACU 0
GAME NOTES
- Mid-America Christian finished with five hits and one error while Wayland Baptist scored its two runs on six hits while also committing one error.
- Wayland Baptist was able to jump to an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second. After Cameron Brown was able to get the first two batters of the inning out on a foul out and strikeout, the Pioneers pushed two across following a double and a walk to go with a wild pitch to put both runners in scoring position. Caleb Rozier then pushed the would-be game-winning runs across with a two-RBI single through the hole at short.
- It looked as though MACU got a run back on WBU in the top of the third when Caden Harris blasted a solo shot to center to make it a 2-1 game, but the run was called off after Harris missed home plate and was called out on-appeal.
- The Evangels had a golden opportunity at a comeback in the top of the seventh as three of the first four batters reached on a pair of singles and an error to load the bases, but the Pioneers abruptly ended MACU's chances when Cole Fuecker hit a sharp grounder to the third baseman as WBU turned the 5-3 double play to end the game.
- Regardless of the loss, Brown put together a stellar outing in a complete-game, throwing six innings allowing six hits and only two earned runs and mustered seven strikeouts while walking just one.
- With the defeat, the Evangels saw their 10-game win streak come to an end. The defeat also knocked MACU back into a tie for the top of the SAC with Southwestern Assemblies of God (11-4) with a 12-5 league mark.
UP NEXT
- Mid-America Christian will face off against Wayland Baptist in the rubber match at Wilder Field with a 12 pm first pitch.
