KANSAS CITY, Mo. – For the third straight year, the MACU softball team will be competing at the NCCAA World Series as the No. 1 seed, hosted by the Kansas City Urban Youth Academy from Tuesday until Thursday.

The Evangels will open the tournament with pool play against No. 8 seed Kansas Christian at noon on Tuesday before wrapping up the first day with a 4 p.m. contest against No. 5 seed Trinity Christian (Ill.).

MACU will wrap-up pool play against No. 4 seed Oakland City (Ind.) at 10 a.m. on Wednesday and if the Evangels finish in the top two of their pool, they will play in either the 6 p.m. or 8 p.m. semifinal. If MACU makes it back to the title game, it will be held on Thursday at 1 p.m.
 
MACU SEASON REPORT

• Record: 36-17
• Last Game: Lost vs. SW Assemblies of God (Texas) – 3-2 – May 6, 2023 – Chickasha, Okla.
• Players to Watch (Hitting):
  • Janessa Larman – SR – 3B
    • .362 BA (55-152), 13 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 47 RBI, 21 R, 9 BB, 3 HBP, .396 OB%, .539 SLG%
  • Cailey Parsells – SR – OF
    • .336 BA (44-131), 2 2B, 1 HR, 18 RBI, 48 R, 26 BB, 8 HBP, 43 SB, .470 OB%, .374 SLG%
  • Rachel Humburg – SR – OF
    • .311 BA (38-122), 4 2B, 1 3B, 15 RBI, 21 R, 20 BB, 2 HBP, 5 SB, .414 OB%, .361 SLG%
• Players to Watch (Pitching):
  • Rachel Eggleston – R-SO – RHP
    • 21-6 W-L, 1.43 ERA, 28 APP, 26 GS, 15 CG, 7 SHO, 161.1 IP, 113 H, 42 R, 33 ER, 32 BB, 159 SO, .193 OBA
  • Avery Schneringer – JR – RHP
    • 14-6 W-L, 2.73 ERA, 25 APP, 23 GS, 12 CG, 3 SHO, 131.0 IP, 135 H, 66 R, 51 ER, 34 BB, 68 SO, .264 OBA
• Team Notes:
  • Mid-America Christian battled in three nail-biting one-run games in the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament last week, winning a walk-off 4-3 victory over Southwestern Assemblies of God on Macy Stockton's game-ending single to left-center. However, the Evangels ended losing a heartbreaker in a walk-off defeat to eventual SAC Tournament Champion Science & Arts 1-0 in eight innings before Trista Ford's go-ahead three-run homer in the sixth inning of the rematch against SAGU eliminated MACU in a 3-2 defeat.
  • In his 12^th and final season at the helm, MACU Head Coach Robert Wakefield will serve as the Evangels skipper in their fifth ever trip to the NCCAA World Series while also competing in their third straight run.
  • In the last three years, MACU has entered the tourney as the No. 1 seed, winning the title in 2021 NCCAA National Championship in dramatic fashion as Olivia Roberts laid down a suicide squeeze bunt to score Mikaylee Allen from third in the bottom of the eighth to propel the Evangels to a 3-2 win. In 2022, MACU once again made it through pool play unblemished until the Evangels saw their season come to a bitter end against a SAC rival in SAGU in the semifinal as a first-inning grand slam eventually doomed them to a 5-2 defeat.
  • On-top of Allen and Roberts who bring a well-spring of NCCAA World Series experience, MACU features a 20-player roster with seven juniors and seniors that competed on the 2021 NCCAA National Championship team, including Cailey Parsells, Rachel Humburg, Avery Schneringer, Aurelia Holguin and Hannah Robbins as well as multiple players that played on last year's tournament team, including: NCCAA All-Tournament Team honoree Janessa Larman, Brooklyn Wilson, Megan Widener, Emylee Campbell, Kenzee Danielson, Karlee Danielson and Harley Beesley.

SCOUTING REPORT
Kansas Christian

• Record: 7-24
• Last Game: Won vs. Ecclesia (Ark.) – 8-0 – Apr. 15, 2023 – Kansas City, Mo.
• Series vs MACU: First Meeting
• Last Game vs MACU: N/A
• Players to Watch (Hitting):
  • Cherie Green – SO – INF
    • .322 BA (29-90), 3 2B, 1 HR, 18 RBI, 10 R, 11 BB, 1 HBP, .402 OB%, .389 SLG%
  • Ari Lopez – SO – P
    • .320 BA (31-97), 3 2B, 4 RBI, 12 R, 4 BB, 3 HBP, 4 SB, .365 OB%, .351 SLG%
  • Alexis Williams – SO – UTL
    • .317 BA (32-101), 8 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 15 RBI, 19 R, 4 BB, 6 SB, .343 OB%, .495 SLG%
• Players to Watch (Pitching):
  • Ari Lopez – SO – P
    • 5-14 W-L, 6.02 ERA, 29 APP, 21 GS, 15 CG, 1 SHO, 145.1 IP, 227 H, 168 R, 125 ER, 70 BB, 93 SO, .338 OBA
• Team Notes:
  • In its inaugural season, Kansas Christian, the host of the NCCAA World Series, wrapped up the regular season with a 7-24 overall record, wrapping up with a 9-8, 8-0 doubleheader sweep over Ecclesia (Ark.) at the Kansas City Urban Youth Academy on Apr. 14-15.
  • Offensively, the Falcons rank just 26^th in the NCCAA in batting average at .266 while slugging for just a .326 clip and getting on-base .335 percent of the time. Pitching has also been a challenge for KCC in their first season, ranking just 31^st out of 40 teams in team ERA at 6.95 while also ranking near the bottom in defensive efficiency with the 37^th-best fielding percentage at .904.
  • Leading the KCC batting efforts will be sophomore infielder Cherie Green and sophomore Alexis Williams. Two of just three hitters on the team batting north of .300, Green leads the team in batting average (.322), on-base percentage (.402) and RBIs (18), while Williams has been the team's best slugger, hitting for a .495 slugging clip with team-highs in doubles (8), triples (2) and home runs (2).
  • Sophomore hurler Ari Lopez has been the workhorse of the Falcons pitching staff in 2023, starting in 21 of KCC's 30 games while logging 75.8 percent of KCC's frames with 145.1 innings pitched. The Falcons ace this season has amassed a 5-14 record in the circle with a team-best 6.02 ERA and 93 strikeouts.
  • While it will go down as the first "official" meeting between the two programs, MACU and Kansas Christian were scheduled to meet each other on Mar. 31 at Allen Field. The two teams started a doubleheader where MACU jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first inning, but the games were canceled after the first inning due to dangerously high winds.

Trinity Christian (Ill.)

• Record: 21-19
• Last Game: Lost vs. Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) – 1-0 – May 5, 2023 – Crownpoint, Ind. (CCAC Tournament)
• Series vs MACU: First Meeting
• Last Game vs MACU: N/A
• Players to Watch (Hitting):
  • Giulia Cianfriglia – SR – C/UTL
    • .396 BA (42-106), 13 2B, 4 3B, 2 HR, 23 RBI, 18 R, 9 BB, .440 OB%, .651 SLG%
  • Charlie Sartoris – JR – INF
    • .388 BA (50-129), 9 2B, 6 3B, 1 HR, 28 RBI, 30 R, 3 BB, 2 HBP, 23 SB, .404 OB%, .574 SLG%
  • Myleigh Halmon – SO – P/UTL
    • .298 BA (31-104), 6 2B, 2 3B, 15 RBI, 17 R, 10 BB, 5 HBP, 3 SB, .380 OB%, .394 SLG%
• Players to Watch (Pitching):
  • Katie Lorscheider – JR – P
    • 8-6 W-L, 2.07 ERA, 21 APP, 12 GS, 10 CG, 3 SHO, 1 SV, 105.0 IP, 104 H, 48 R, 31 ER, 25 BB, 73 SO, .246 OBA
  • Myleigh Halmon – SO – P
    • 10-9 W-L, 3.15 ERA, 21 APP, 18 GS, 11 CG, 3 SHO, 102.1 IP, 117 H, 74 R, 46 ER, 35 BB, 60 SO, .282 OBA
• Team Notes:
  • Competing in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC), Trinity Christian enters the NCCAA World Series with a 21-19 record after finishing in the middle of the pack of the conference with a 10-10 league mark. The Trolls put up a tough fight against Olivet Nazarene in an elimination game of the CCAC Tournament on May 5 after giving up the winning run in the top of the ninth in a 1-0 defeat.
  • Overall, TCC ranks 24^th out of 40 teams in the NCCAA in batting average (.271) while slugging for a .371 rate to go with a .331 team on-base percentage. One of the biggest strengths for the Trolls this season has been their pitching, as they rank sixth in the NCCAA in team ERA (2.96) and rank 12^th in team fielding percentage (.948).
  • The combination of CCAC First Team honorees Giulia Cianfriglia and Charlie Sartoris have produced a large chunk of the TCC offense, as Cianfriglia leads the team with a .396 batting average and 13 doubles while Sartoris is boasting a highly respectable .388 average in her own right while leading the team in triples (6), RBIs (28), runs (28) and stolen bases (23).
  • The duo of Katie Lorscheider and Myleigh Halmon have started a bulk load of the Trolls contests this season as Lorscheider is boasting the seventh-best ERA in the NCCAA at 2.07 and has struck out 73 while walking just 25 over 105.0 innings of work while Harmon has been just as big with her arm as she has with her bat, tossing 102.1 innings and allowing just a 3.15 ERA.
  • Tuesday's meeting between the Evangels and the Trolls will mark the first time in program history that the two teams will have played against one another.

Oakland City (Ind.)

• Record: 24-19
• Last Game: Won vs. Alice Lloyd (Ky.) – 14-5 – May 9, 2023 – Evansville, Ind. (NCCAA Mideast Regional Championship)
• Series vs MACU (2007-): MACU leads 2-1
• Last Game vs MACU: MACU won 13-3 – May 17, 2023 – Kansas City, Mo. (NCCAA World Series)
• Players to Watch (Hitting):
  • Megan Ghrist – SR – C/1B
    • .432 BA (57-132), 13 2B, 6 HR, 37 RBI, 13 R, 17 BB, 1 HBP, .490 OB%, .667 SLG%
  • McKendree Ward – GR – INF
    • .428 BA (65-152), 17 2B, 1 3B, 6 HR, 41 RBI, 36 R, 9 BB, 2 HBP, .461 OB%, .671 SLG%
  • Abbi Jaquess – SR – OF
    • .329 BA (54-164), 8 2B, 3 3B, 25 RBI, 39 R, 9 BB, 13 SB, .364 OB%, .427 SLG%
• Players to Watch (Pitching):
  • Emily Fitzwater – SO – P
    • 14-7 W-L, 3.38 ERA, 29 APP, 21 GS, 14 CG, 4 SHO, 1 SV, 143.0 IP, 92 R, 69 ER, 23 BB, 77 SO, .277 OBA
  • Liberty Smith – FR – P
    • 9-9 W-L, 4.07 ERA, 22 APP, 20 GS, 8 CG, 106.2 IP, 144 H, 81 R, 62 ER, 34 BB, 42 SO, .321 OBA
• Team Notes:
  • Coming off its third straight NCCAA Mideast Regional Championship win, Oakland City makes its way into the NCCAA World Series as the No. 4 seed after defeating Alice Lloyd (Ky.) 13-3 in the regional championship game. The Mighty Oaks have amassed a 24-19 record thus far in the 2023 campaign and to go with a 14-14 record in the River States Conference to post the sixth-best record in league play.
  • OCU enters the tournament as one of the best hitting teams in the NCCAA, posting the nation's fifth-highest batting average (.321) while also turning the fifth-best on-base percentage (.389) slugging for the seventh-best percentage (.445). In the pitching department, the Mighty Oaks rank 12^th in the NCCAA in team era (4.02) and rank eighth in team defense with a .954 fielding percentage.
  • Oakland City features a pair of massive bats in its lineup in senior infielders Megan Ghrist and McKendree Ward. Entering the tournament, Ghrist has amassed a .432 batting average while slugging 13 doubles and six homers for 37 RBIs while Ward is slashing .428 with 17 doubles, six jacks, 41 RBIs and has also scored 36 runs.
  • The Mighty Oaks have been relying a pair of young pitchers in its rotation in 2023 as sophomore Emily Fitzwater leads the throwing efforts with a 14-7 record in the circle to go with a 3.38 ERA. Freshman Liberty Smith has also been a strong No. 2 for OCU, turning in a 9-9 record on a 4.07 ERA.
  • For the third straight year, Mid-America Christian and Oakland City will square off in pool play at the NCCAA World Series. During MACU's 2021 championship run, the Evangels defeated OCU 8-0 in five innings before coming away with a 13-3 win over the Mighty Oaks last season at the Kansas City Urban Youth Academy on May 17, 2022. In that win, Janessa Larman swatted 3-for-5 with a double, a home run and six RBIs while Olivia Roberts slashed 4-for-4 with a pair of runs scored.