Baseball Begins SAC Tournament Play against Wayland Baptist on Friday

OKLAHOMA CITY – The MACU baseball team will officially open Sooner Athletic Conference play on Friday as the fourth-seeded Evangels will take on No. 6 seed Wayland Baptist at 2:30 p.m. at Bill Smith Ballpark.

The Evangels will then face either No. 2 seed Science & Arts or No. 7 seed Southwestern Christian with the loser's bracket game being played at 6 p.m. on Friday or the winner's bracket contest noon on Saturday.

The SAC Tournament is being played at two different sites, one being the aforementioned Bill Smith Ballpark on the campus of Science & Arts in Chickasha, Okla. and the other being Jim Wade Stadium on the campus of Oklahoma City University. The championship game will be played on Monday at 1 p.m. in Chickasha.

MACU SEASON REPORT

Record: 35-14 (15-9 SAC)
Last Game: Lost vs. Texas Wesleyan – 12-8 – Apr. 30, 2023 – MACU Baseball Field
Players to Watch (Hitting):
- Noel McGarry-Doyle – R-SO – OF
  - .366 BA (49-134), 9 2B, 3 3B, 10 HR, 42 RBI, 55 R, 27 BB, 17 HBP, 13 SB, .511 OB%, .701 SLG%
- Ryan Reed – SR – 2B
  - .376 BA (38-101), 8 2B, 3 HR, 15 RBI, 24 R, 8 BB, 6 HBP, 3 SB, .448 OB%, .545 SLG%
- Carlos Medina – R-SO – SS
  - .368 BA (53-144), 15 2B, 5 HR, 29 RBI, 24 R, 13 BB, 4 HBP, 3 SB, .424 OB%, .576 SLG%
Players to Watch (Pitching):
- Isaac Baez – JR – RHP
  - 8-2 W-L, 4.15 ERA, 14 APP, 14 GS, 2 CG, 2 SHO, 78.0 IP, 92 H, 43 R, 36 ER, 9 BB, 84 SO, .290 OBA
- Cameron Brown – JR – RHP
  - 5-7 W-L, 4.61 ERA, 13 APP, 13 GS, 2 CG, 1 SHO, 68.1 IP, 65 H, 38 R, 35 ER, 21 BB, 67 SO, .250 OBA
- Kelton Lachelt – R-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
Team Notes:
- Mid-America Christian enters SAC Tournament play coming off its best regular season since joining the NAIA in 2008, as the Evangels put together a 35-14 overall record and posted their best finish ever in SAC play, amassing its first winning league season with a 15-9 mark.
- Offensively, the Evangels rank in the middle of the pack of the SAC, turning in the fifth-best batting average at .303 to go with the fifth-ranked on-base clip (.402) and the third-best slugging percentage at .515.
- MACU comes into the tourney as one of the best pitching and defensive teams in the conference, turning in the second-best team ERA at 4.80 while notching the SAC's best fielding percentage at .972.
- Leading the Evangels in the box this season has been redshirt sophomore outfielder Noel McGarry-Doyle. Holding the third-best batting average on the team at .366, McGarry-Doyle leads the Evangels in multiple offensive categories, including runs (55), RBIs (42), triples (3), walks (27) and hit-by-pitch (17) while ranking second in home runs (10) and second in stolen bases (13).
- Another transfer from Southeastern Community College in Iowa along with McGarry-Doyle, Carlos Medina has also been a strong producer both offensively and defensively from the shortstop position. Posting the second-best batting average on the squad at .368, Medina leads the team in (15) to go with 15 RBIs and 24 runs.
- Boasting a relatively balanced pitching rotation, Isaac Baez has established himself as the ace of the squad over the course of the season, turning in the team's best record (8-2) and best ERA (4.15) amongst MACU's starting pitchers while also leading the team in strikeouts (84).
- The Evangels also feature a pair of stellar arms in their pen in Maycin Smothermon and Kelton Lachelt. Smothermon has been huge in middle relief this season, leading the team in ERA (1.04), allowing just two runs, both earned on nine hits, three walks and 16 strikeouts over 17.1 innings of work. In the closer's role, Lachelt is putting together the best season in his career. Tallying a 2.83 ERA, Lachelt has tied the program's single-season saves record (7) to go with a 5-1 record on the mound. Lachelt has only allowed nine earned runs 20 hits with seven walks and 31 strikeouts in 24.1 innings.

SCOUTING REPORT
Wayland Baptist (Texas)

Record: 27-20 (12-12 SAC)
Last Game: Lost vs. Southwestern Christian (Okla.) – 10-7 – Apr. 29, 2023 – Plainview, Texas
Series vs MACU (2008-): WBU leads 35-13
Last Game vs MACU: WBU won 15-6 – Apr. 8, 2023 – Plainview, Texas
Players to Watch (Hitting):
- Arturo Disla – SO – 1B
  - .424 BA (64-151), 22 2B, 11 HR, 57 RBI, 31 R, 17 BB, 3 HBP, 10 SB, .480 OB%, .788 SLG%
- Jake Green – SR – C
  - .353 BA (55-156), 18 2B, 10 HR, 40 RBI, 20 R, 11 BB, 10 HBP, 5 SB, .422 OB%, .660 SLG%
- Samuel Fabian – SO – OF
  - .333 BA (48-144), 9 2B, 20 HR, 50 RBI, 34 R, 15, 7 HBP, 5 SB, .419 OB%, .813 SLG%
Players to Watch (Pitching):
- Ty Jackson – SR – P
  - 6-4 W-L, 4.26 ERA, 13 APP, 13 GS, 9 CG, 1 SHO, 86.2 IP, 91 H, 51 R, 41 ER, 28 BB, 80 SO, .268 OBA
- Nathan Baca – SO – P
  - 4-2 W-L, 6.22 ERA, 16 APP, 6 GS, 46.1 IP, 52 H, 40 R, 32 ER, 27 BB, 45 SO, .278 OBA
Team Notes:
- Wayland Baptist comes into the SAC tourney with a 27-20 overall record and finished with a 12-12 record in conference play.
- The Pioneers have been one of the best hitting teams in the SAC this season, batting the league's fourth-best average (.313), fourth-best on-base percentage (.409) and second-highest slugging percentage (.553).
- As a team, Wayland Baptist has struggled on the mound, allowing the SAC's fourth-highest ERA (6.09) while also ranking just seventh in defensive fielding percentage (.951).
- Offensively, WBU features three of the best bats in the SAC, headlined by Arturo Disla. The sophomore first baseman is posting the league's third-best batting average (.424) to go with the fifth-most RBIs (57) while slugging the most doubles (22) with the SAC's fourh-highest slugging percentage (.788). Samuel Fabian has also been a massive hitter for the Pioneers in 2023, coming into the tourney with the most home runs (20) for the third-highest slugging percentage (.813) and has driven in the seventh-most RBIs (50).
- On the mound, Ty Jackson has been one of the few bright spots on the Pioneers staff this season. The senior is the only regular starter with a sub-5 ERA at 4.26 while posting a 6-4 record in 13 starts. Jackson has a stellar strikeout to walk ratio, issuing just 26 walks while striking out 80.
- The Evangels will be looking to try and get some revenge on the Pioneers as Wayland Baptist is one of just three teams in the SAC this season to win a three-game series against MACU. In their last meeting, the Pioneers slugged eight homers on their way to a 15-6 win on Apr. 8 in Plainview.