OKLAHOMA CITY – The MACU baseball team will officially open Sooner Athletic Conference play this weekend as the Evangels host rival Science & Arts for a three-game set at the MACU Baseball Field. MACU will open the series on Friday with a 1 p.m. first pitch before closing out the set on Saturday with a doubleheader slated for a noon start.
 
SEASON REPORT

• Record: 9-5
• Last Game: Lost vs (RV) Tabor (Kan.) – 9-5 – Feb. 27, 2024 – MACU Baseball Field
• Top Performers (Hitting):
  • Kyle Williams – JR – OF/1B
    • .477 BA (21-44), 6 2B, 2 HR, 15 RBI, 11 R, 10 BB, 3 SB, .564 OB%, .750 SLG%
  • D'Andre Gaines – SO – OF
    • .432 BA (19-44), 5 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 13 RBI, 17 R, 3 BB, 1 HBP, 4 SB, .479 OB%, .773 SLG%
  • Noel McGarry-Doyle – JR – OF
    • .372 BA (16-43), 3 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 14 RBI, 14 R, 7 BB, 1 HBP, 3 SB, .471 OB%, .674 SLG%
• Top Performers (Pitching):
  • Isaac Baez – SR – RHP
    • 3-1 W-L, 2.70 ERA, 4 APP, 4 GS, 20.0 IP, 13 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 8 BB, 28 SO, .178 OBA
  • Carlos Escobosa – JR – RHP
    • 2-0 W-L, 0.00 ERA, 3 APP, 1 GS, 10.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 18 SO, .088 OBA
  • Cameron Brown – SR – RHP
    • 1-0 W-L, 0.75 ERA, 4 APP, 2 GS, 12.0 IP, 9 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 5 BB, 13 SO, .214 OBA
• Team Notes:
  • Mid-America Christian saw its seven-game win streak come to a tough end at the MACU Baseball Field on Tuesday as Tabor rallied from a 5-0 deficit to steal a 9-5 victory for the Evangels.
  • Despite the defeat, the Evangels got another encouraging start from senior righty Cameron Brown, who threw three scoreless scheduled innings in the start, allowing only one hit and one walk while striking out three.
  • Over the last eight games, the Evangels have been getting incredible production from the plate from Kyle Williams, Taiga Sakuma and D'Andre Gaines with each player batting above .500. During this stretch, Williams is batting .538 (14-26) with five doubles, two homers, nine RBIs, nine runs, seven walks and three stolen bases. Primarily serving as a designated hitter the last six contests, Sakuma is slashing .526 (10-19) with three doubles, a triple, six RBIs and eight runs to go with three walks and two stolen bags. Gaines went .516 (16-31) with five doubles, a triple, two homers, 12 RBIs and 14 runs with two walks and three steals.
  • As MACU enters SAC competition, the Evangels have fared extremely well in all three facets of the game. With the bat, MACU is posting the league's second-best batting average (.313) and slugging percentage (.524), own by far and away the SAC's lowest team ERA (3.30) and are also the SAC's best defensive team with a .971 team fielding percentage.

SCOUTING REPORT
(RV) Science & Arts (Okla.)

• Record: 10-5
• Last Game: Won at Kansas Christian – 12-3 – Feb. 24, 2024 – Kansas City, Mo.
• Series vs MACU (2005-): USAO leads 48-14
• Last Game vs MACU: USAO won 1-0 – Mar. 11, 2023 – Chickasha, Okla.
• Series Streak: USAO won 1
• Players to Watch (Hitting):
  • Ben Lawson – JR – UTL
    • .405 BA (15-37), 5 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 13 RBI, 9 R, 4 BB, 2 HBP, 2 SB, .477 OB%, .730 SLG%
  • Gage Ninness – JR – INF
    • .368 BA (21-57), 5 2B, 1 3B, 9 RBI, 18 R, 11 BB, 1 HBP, 3 SB, .478 OB%, .491 SLG%
  • Ben Bach – JR – INF
    • .366 BA (15-41), 5 2B, 1 3B, 10 RBI, 19 R, 17 BB, 1 HBP, .550 OB%, .537 SLG%
• Players to Watch (Pitching):
  • Ryan Cullinane – JR – RHP
    • 0-1 W-L, 3.24 ERA, 5 APP, 1 SV, 16.2 IP, 13 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 18 SO, .206 OBA
  • Brian Ereu – SO – RHP
    • 4-0 W-L, 4.18 ERA, 5 APP, 5 GS, 23.2 IP, 27 H, 13 R, 11 ER, 8 BB, 24 SO, .290 OBA
  • Kyler Denton – JR – RHP
    • 2-0 W-L, 4 APP, 3 GS, 17.0 IP, 20 H, 11 R, 8 ER, 2 BB, 9 SO, .294 OBA
• Team Notes:
  • Much like the Evangels, Science & Arts comes into the weekend series on a bit of a hot streak, winning five of the last six games which includes a pair of wins over No. 7 Bellevue (Neb.) as well as winning three out of a four-game slate at Kansas Christian this past weekend.
  • The matchup with MACU will feature the two best hitting teams in the SAC as the Drovers lead the league in batting average (.322), as well as rank third in both slugging percentage (.498) and on-base percentage (.416). While USAO poses a strong .957 fielding percentage, the third-best in the SAC, the Drovers have struggled from the mound as USAO possesses the fifth-best earned run average (5.19).
  • Overall, the Drovers are a strong hitting team up-and-down their lineup with six players posing a .300 or better batting average. Junior infielder Ben Bach has scored the most runs for USAO with 19 off a .366 batting average while junior infielder Ian Ortiz has been the team's best run producer, tallying 16 RBIs with a .364 batting average.
  • Of USAO's starting rotation, sophomore righty Brian Ereu has been the team's most effective starter, going 4-0 in his five starts with a 4.18 ERA with a 3-to-1 strikeout to walk ratio. In the pen, Ryan Cullinane has been the team's best late reliever, allowing a 3.24 ERA in 16.2 innings of work while notching a save in those five appearances.
  • Mid-America Christian will be seeking its first series win against the Drovers since 2021 and will be hoping its home confines continue to play a factor. Over the last two years, USAO took four of the six matchups with all but one of the games being played in Chickasha and MACU winning the lone meeting at the MACU Baseball Field by a score of 8-5 on Mar. 31, 2022. MACU is 2-1 against USAO at home since that 2021 campaign.