OKLAHOMA CITY – The MACU baseball team is riding a five-game win streak in its return to Sooner Athletic Conference play this weekend as the Evangels will head to Goodwell for a three-game series against Oklahoma Panhandle State. The Evangels will open the series on Friday with a doubleheader starting at noon at Carroll Gribble Field before wrapping up the slate with a noon first pitch on Saturday.
 
SEASON REPORT

• Record: 17-8 (7-2 SAC)
• Last Game: Won vs. Southern Nazarene (Okla.) – 9-0 – Mar. 19, 2024 – MACU Baseball Field
• Top Performers (Hitting):
  • Noel McGarry-Doyle – JR – OF
    • .436 BA (34-78), 5 2B, 3 3B, 5 HR, 29 RBI, 24 R, 16 BB, 4 HBP, 4 SB, .551 OB%, .769 SLG%
  • Taiga Sakuma – SO – OF
    • .417 BA (25-60), 6 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 14 RBI, 22 R, 11 BB, 6 SB, .500 OB%, .600 SLG%
  • Kyle Williams – JR – 1B/OF
    • .407 BA (33-81), 11 2B, 3 HR, 26 RBI, 16 R, 15 BB, 4 SB, .490 OB%, .654 SLG%
• Top Performers (Pitching):
  • Isaac Baez – SR – RHP
    • 6-1 W-L, 2.68 ERA, 7 APP, 7 GS, 37.0 IP, 28 H, 11 R, 11 ER, 10 BB, 45 SO, .201 OBA
  • Cameron Brown – SR – RHP
    • 1-0 W-L, 2.65 ERA, 7 APP, 2 GS, 2 SV, 17.0 IP, 15 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 7 BB, 15 SO, .242 OBA
  • Zane Robeaux – SR – RHP
    • 3-0 W-L, 2.95 ERA, 7 APP, 1 GS, 21.1 IP, 18 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 4 BB, 17 SO, .231 OBA
• Team Notes:
  • Facing off against an NCAA Division II squad in Southern Nazarene at the MACU Baseball Field on Tuesday, Mid-America Christian put together a dominant performance in all three facets of the game as the Evangels cruised to a 9-0 victory in the three-hit shutout.
  • MACU got encouraging outings from a couple of their bullpen pieces in Breyllin Suriel and Dylan Lyddon in the outing. In getting his first MACU win, Suriel tossed four no-hit innings, allowing just one walk while striking out a season-best seven batters while Lyddon threw three innings of one-hit ball, striking out three without issuing a single walk.
  • Coming into the contest in a bit of a slump, slashing just 5-of-25 (.200) with four RBIs over his previous eight games, senior shortstop Carlos Medina broke out of his slump in a big way after batting 2-for-4 with a homer and a game-high four RBIs to go with a run scored in the victory over the Crimson Storm.
  • The outing against SNU only continued to highlight MACU's might on the mound as the Evangels currently rank 11^th in the entire NAIA in team ERA (4.17) and have allowed three or fewer earned runs in each of the last four games.

SCOUTING REPORT
Oklahoma Panhandle State

• Record: 11-19 (2-7 SAC)
• Last Game: Lost vs (RV) Oklahoma City – 9-1 – Mar. 16, 2024 – Goodwell, Okla.
• Series vs MACU (2018-): MACU leads 9-7
• Last Game vs MACU: MACU won 3-1 – Apr. 1, 2023 – MACU Baseball Field
• Series Streak: MACU won 8
• Players to Watch (Hitting):
  • Ryota Kusumoto – SR – INF
    • .385 BA (47-122), 10 2B, 3 3B, 5 HR, 22 RBI, 23 R, 7 BB, 4 HBP, 3 SB, .436 OB%, .639 SLG%
  • Jose Arrieta – SR – INF
    • .361 BA (30-83), 10 2B, 1 HR, 17 RBI, 19 R, 20 BB, 3 HBP, 2 SB, .500 OB%, .518 SLG%
  • Isaiah Halton – JR – INF
    • .343 BA (34-99), 2 2B, 1 HR, 17 RBI, 24 R, 11 BB, 7 HBP, 3 SB, .441 OB%, .394 SLG%
• Players to Watch (Pitching):
  • Josh Doerr – JR – LHP
    • 3-5 W-L, 6.47 ERA, 8 APP, 8 GS, 2 CG, 40.1 IP, 54 H, 35 R, 29 ER, 12 BB, 26 SO, .329 OBA
  • Colby Diduich – JR – RHP
    • 1-5 W-L, 8.63 ERA, 8 APP, 8 GS, 1 CG, 32.1 IP, 27 H, 33 R, 31 ER, 36 BB, 52 SO, .220 OBA
  • Brandon Rodriguez – SR – P
    • 0-1 W-L, 4.15 ERA, 12 APP, 3 SV, 17.1 IP, 17 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 5 BB, 13 SO, .250 OBA
• Team Notes:
  • Oklahoma Panhandle State is coming off a tough home series loss to Oklahoma City last weekend as the Aggies were outscored 32-6 as the Stars cruised to 15-0, 8-5 and 9-1 victories at Carroll Gribble Field on Mar. 15-16.
  • Pitching has been one of the Aggies biggest weaknesses in 2024 as OPSU ranks second-to-last in the SAC in team ERA (8.54) while also struggling to get production from the plate, sitting in third-to-last in team batting average (.284), including a league-worst .393 on-base percentage with the third-worst slugging percentage (.444).
  • Despite their hitting woes, the Evangels will need to be wary of the Aggies' three biggest bats in the lineup in Ryota Kusumoto, Jose Arrieta and Isaiah Halton. Kusumoto has been one of the best power bats in the SAC this season, boasting a .639 slugging percentage with 10 doubles, three triples and five homers for 22 RBIs and 23 runs. Arrieta has been efficient at getting on, boasting a .500 on-base percentage while Halton has scored 24 runs with a .441 on-base percentage.
  • While Josh Doerr has been the team's most consistent starter from start to finish this season, MACU will be tasked with facing the red-hot Colby Diduich, who has been named back-to-back SAC Pitcher of the Week. After struggling in his first six starts, Diduich has allowed just three earned runs on seven hits with eight walks and 26 strikeouts over his last 13 innings of work.
  • After Oklahoma Panhandle State won seven of the first eight meetings since the two teams started facing each other in 2018, Mid-America Christian has dominated the series since picking up an 8-6 win at Carroll Gribble Field on Apr. 8, 2021 as MACU has won eight-straight, including a pair of wins in the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament. In their last meeting at the MACU Baseball Field on Apr. 1, 2023, Cameron Brown tossed a gem, allowing just one earned run on three hits over six innings of work while Kelton Lachelt notched his then sixth save of the season. MACU scored all three of their runs in the first inning while maintaining its advantage over the next six frames.