OKLAHOMA CITY – The No. 3 seed MACU softball team will officially open postseason play on Thursday as the Evangels will start the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament that will be played at two different sites, Ann Lacy Stadium in Oklahoma City and Bill Smith Ballpark in Chickasha, Okla.

MACU will take on sixth-seed Southwestern Assemblies of God in the 1 p.m. game at Bill Smith Ballpark and will then play either second-seeded No. 10 Science & Arts or seven-seed Central Christian in either the loser's bracket at 3 p.m. or the winner's bracket at 5 p.m.

The tournament is scheduled to run through Saturday as elimination games for each side of the bracket will be played on Friday at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. with an if-necessary game at 3 p.m. before the championship will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Ann Lacy Stadium.
 
MACU SEASON REPORT

• Record: 35-15 (20-12 SAC)
• Last Game: Lost at No. 5 Oklahoma City – 4-1 – May 2, 2023 – Oklahoma City (OCU)
• Players to Watch (Hitting):
  • Janessa Larman – SR – 3B
    • .371 BA (53-143), 13 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 46 RBI, 21 R, 9 BB, 3 HBP, .406 OB%, .559 SLG%
  • Cailey Parsells – SR – OF
    • .350 BA (43-123), 2 2B, 1 HR, 18 RBI, 46 R, 25 BB, 8 HBP, 42 SB, .484 OB%, .390 SLG%
  • Mikaylee Allen – SR – SS
    • .299 BA (43-144), 8 2B, 6 3B, 2 HR, 29 RBI, 35 R, 7 BB, 2 HBP, 28 SB, .340 OB%, .479 SLG%
• Players to Watch (Pitching):
  • Rachel Eggleston – R-SO – RHP
    • 21-4 W-L, 1.42 ERA, 26 APP, 24 GS, 14 CG, 7 SHO, 148.0 IP, 105 H, 38 R, 30 ER, 28 BB, 151 SO, .195 OBA
  • Avery Schneringer – JR – RHP
    • 13-6 W-L, 2.85 ERA, 23 APP, 22 GS, 11 CG, 3 SHO, 123.0 IP, 130 H, 63 R, 50 ER, 32 BB, 65 SO, .269 OBA
• Team Notes:
  • Mid-America Christian is putting together one of its best seasons in program history entering the SAC Tournament, as the Evangels have amassed the third-most overall wins in program history after completing the regular season with a 35-15 (.700) mark while also notching the second-most conference wins in the team's history as well after going 20-12 (.625) in league play.
  • The Evangels enter postseason play as the SAC's third-best pitching team with a 2.17 ERA and are the best defensive team in the SAC with a .970 team fielding percentage while turning the second-most double plays with 19. Offensively, MACU ranks fifth in the league in team batting average (.297) while posting the fourth-best on-base percentage (.383) and fourth-highest slugging percentage (.412).
  • Senior third baseman Janessa Larman has been the team's most productive bat, as she has knocked in the fourth-most RBIs in the SAC with 46 while hitting the league's 11^th-best batting average (.371).
  • Third-year starter Cailey Parsells has continued to be one of the team's best run producers in program history at the top of the order, as her 46 runs ranks seventh in the SAC and is tied for the third-most in a single season with Ribbin Dorado (2018). Parsells needs just six more runs to tie her own program record set last season. The Oklahoma City product has also stolen a league-best 42 bases, which also tied for the third-most in a season at MACU and needs 12 more to catch her own record set in 2022.
  • Headlining the pitching staff entering the tournament is redshirt sophomore righty Rachel Eggleston. Eggleston currently holds the SAC's second-most wins (21), second-best earned run average (1.42) and third-most strikeouts (151). Her wins count is the single-season MACU record while her seven shutouts rank as the second-most in the conference and is also tied for Regan Martin for the MACU annual record.

SCOUTING REPORT
SW Assemblies of God (Texas)

• Record: 19-24 (13-19 SAC)
• Last Game: Lost vs. Southwestern Christian (Okla.) – 8-6 – Apr. 30, 2023 – Waxahachie, Texas
• Series vs MACU (2013-): MACU leads 33-11
• Last Game vs MACU: MACU won 9-1 (5 Inn) – Apr. 22, 2023 – Allen Field
• Players to Watch (Hitting):
  • Sasha Jennings – SO
    • .431 BA (62-144), 3 2B, 1 3B, 17 RBI, 36 R, 6 BB, 1 HBP, 19 SB, .457 OB%, .465 SLG%
  • Trista Ford – FR
    • .403 BA (50-124), 8 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 29 RBI, 32 R, 9 BB, 6 SB, .444 OB%, .573 SLG%
  • Airiana Magaleno – SR
    • .346 BA (44-127), 7 2B, 5 3B, 1 HR, 24 RBI, 31 R, 13 BB, 1 HBP, 14 SB, .411 OB%, .504 SLG%
• Players to Watch (Pitching):
  • Trista Ford – FR
    • 11-9 W-L, 4.82 ERA, 28 APP, 18 GS, 10 CG, 2 SHO, 1 SV, 130.2 IP, 201 H, 108 R, 90 ER, 26 BB, 80 SO, .348 OBA
  • Annie Charanze – FR
    • 4-15 W-L, 7.91 ERA, 28 APP, 22 GS, 7 CG, 108.0 IP, 183 H, 141 R, 122 ER, 45 BB, 40 SO, .369 OBA
• Team Notes:
  • Southwestern Assemblies of God put together a strong finish to the regular season as the Lady Lions split a four-game series with Southwestern Christian in Waxahachie last weekend to finish with a 13-19 conference mark and a 19-24 overall record.
  • The Lady Lions enter the SAC Tournament as one of the better hitting teams in the conference, ranking fourth in batting average (.317) while posting the fifth-best on-base (.378) and fifth-rated slugging percentage (.412).
  • While SAGU ranks in the middle of the pack defensively with a .945 fielding percentage, the Lady Lions have turned the second-fewest double plays (5) and also sit in eighth in team ERA at 6.14.
  • Sasha Jennings will lead the SAGU batting efforts as she comes into the tourney with the SAC's fourth-highest batting average .431 while leading the team with 36 runs, the 12^th-most in the league. Trista Ford has also been a big producer with the bat as not only does her .403 batting average rank second on the team, but she also leads the squad with 29 RBIs.
  • Featuring a pair of freshmen in their rotation, the Lady Lions have had to battle through some challenges in its pitching staff. On-top of being one of the team's best hitters, Ford has also been the team's best pitcher, posting an 11-9 record in the circle on a 4.82 ERA.
  • While MACU holds a 33-11 record in the all-time series, the Evangels have fared well against the Lady Lions since the turn of the decade. Since the 2021 season, MACU holds a 9-4 record against SAGU, which includes taking three out of the four games in this year's series. In their meetings at Allen Field back on Apr. 21-22, the Evangels split a pair of close games in the opening doubleheader, winning 2-0 before falling 3-1 before the Evangels cracked the bats open on Senior Day Saturday. The Evangels cruised to a pair of 8-0, 9-1 victories to claim the series win.