OKLAHOMA CITY – The No. 18 MACU Baseball team battled back from a three-run deficit in the bottom of the ninth as Marcus Burton delivered the walk-off RBI single up the middle with the bases loaded and two outs to propel the Evangels to a 9-8 victory over McPherson in hits home finale at the MACU Baseball Field on Tuesday.
 
SCORE

• Mid-America Christian 9, McPherson 8
  • Mid-America Christian (30-9)
  • McPherson (18-25)

PITCHING DECISIONS

• Win: Breyllin Suriel (5-2)
• Loss: Ethan Alexander (7-2)

TOP PERFORMERS

• Noel McGarry-Doyle – 3-5, 2B, 4 RBI, 2 R, SB
• D'Andre Gaines – 1-3, HR, RBI, 3 R, BB, HBP
• Marcus Burton – 1-4, RBI, R
• Kelton Lachelt – ND, 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO

SCORING SUMMARY

• TOP 1^st – MCPH – Andres Artola hit a sac fly to cf, RBI; Evan Morrison scored – MCPH 1, MACU 0
• BTM 1^st – MACU – D'Andre Gaines homered to left, RBI – MACU 1, MCPH 1
• BTM 1^st – MACU – Carlos Medina singled thru right side, RBI; Noel McGarry-Doyle scored – MACU 2, MCPH 1
• TOP 2^nd – MCPH – Jace Essig scored on a throwing error by 1b – MACU 2, MCPH 2
• TOP 2^nd – MCPH – Evan Morrison singled up the middle, RBI; Ky'rell Taylor scored – MCPH 3, MACU 2
• TOP 3^rd – MCPH – Jace Essig doubled to left, RBI; Dawson Walters scored – MCPH 4, MACU 2
• BTM 3^rd – MACU – Anthony Hampton singled to left-center, RBI; Kyle Williams scored – MCPH 4, MACU 3
• TOP 4^th – MCPH – Andres Artola singled to left, RBI; Jorge Olivo scored – MCPH 5, MACU 3
• BTM 5^th – MACU – Noel McGarry-Doyle singled thru right side, RBI; D'Andre Gaines scored – MCPH 5, MACU 4
• BTM 6^th – MACU – Taiga Sakuma grounded out to ss, RBI; Marcus Burton scored – MACU 5, MCPH 5
• TOP 7^th – MCPH – JT Edmunds doubled down lf line, RBI; Peyton Starr scored – MCPH 6, MACU 5
• TOP 8^th – MCPH – Peyton Starr singled up the middle, RBI; Hayden Foster scored – MCPH 7, MACU 5
• TOP 9^th – MCPH – Evan Morrison singled down lf line, Ky'rell Taylor scored – MCPH 8, MACU 5
• BTM 9^th – MACU – Noel McGarry-Doyle doubled down lf line, 3 RBI; D'Andre Gaines scored; Taiga Sakuma scored; Joel Nieves scored – MACU 8, MCPH 8
• BTM 9^th – MACU – Marcus Burton singled up the middle, RBI; Noel McGarry-Doyle scored – MACU 9, MCPH 8

GAME NOTES

• Mid-America Christian scored its nine runs on nine hits and committed one error while McPherson scored eight runs on 20 hits and committed three errors.
• The Bulldogs were able to jump on the Evangels in the top of the first as a leadoff walk and pair of singles sandwiched an Andres Artola sac fly, giving McPherson an early 1-0 lead with runners on first and second and just one out. However, MACU starting pitcher Cameron Brown bounced back with a strikeout and a groundout to third to limit the damage.
• In the bottom of the second, the Evangels captured their first lead. In the second at-bat, D'Andre Gaines launched a solo homer over the left field wall to tie the game. Later in the frame after Noel McGarry-Doyle reached on a single to left and Anthony Hampton via a hit-by-pitch, Carlos Medina slapped a ground ball single through the right side to bring in McGarry-Doyle to make it a 2-1 game.
• The Bulldogs recaptured the advantage in the top of the second when a leadoff Jace Essig double and a Luke Nordean single put runners at the corners with no outs. It appeared the Evangels were going to get an out when Jordan Smith had Nordean's pinch-runner Ky'rell Taylor picked off, but an errant throw down to second allowed the Essig to score before Taylor eventually came across on Evan Morrison's RBI single up the middle to set the score to 3-2.
• McPherson added one more run to its lead in the top of the third no Essig's two-out double to the left field wall to bring it to 4-2 before the Evangels got one back behind a two-out rally in the bottom of the third as a Kyle Williams single and error by the center fielder put him on second before Anthony Hampton dropped a single into left-center field to bring in Williams, closing the gap to 4-3.
• MCPH regained a two-run lead on another two-out base knock to left by Artola in the top of the fourth the Evangels put together a huge threat in their half of the fifth. After Gaines led off the frame with a walk and got down to second on a wild pitch, McGarry-Doyle got a slow chopper just barely out of the reach of the first baseman for a base hit through the right side to plate Gaines, closing it to 5-4. MACU continued to threaten when Williams drew a walk while both runners advanced to second and third on a wild pitch with one out. However, Bulldogs reliever Francisco Paradis managed to strikeout and lineout to third to hold the lead.
• However, the Evangels did manage to push across the tying run in the bottom of the sixth by taking advantage of a pair of miscues in the bottom of the sixth.
• After Marcus Burton reached on a one-out dropped third strike and a throwing error by the catcher allowed him to get to second before Zachary Stark reached on a bobble by the shortstop to put runners at the corners. After pinch-runner Joel Nieves stole second, Taiga Sakuma plated the tying run with an RBI chopper to the shortstop, setting the score to 5-5.
• McPherson threatened to put up a crooked number in the top of the seventh when the first three batters reached on a pair of doubles and a single in the first three batters as JT Edmunds RBI double down the left field line put runners at second and third with no outs. However, MACU went to one of its most reliable bullpen pieces in Kelton Lachelt and after striking out Essig and hitting Nordean with a pitch, Lachelt got Jorge Olivo to ground into a 6-4-3 double play to end the threat.
• The Bulldogs added to their advantage with a Peyton Starr RBI single and threatened to add more by loading the bases with another single and a walk, but Carlos Escobosa managed to strikeout Essig to get out of the jam.
• McPherson did add one more score in the top of the ninth on a Morrison RBI single down the left field line to set the score to 8-5.
• Mid-America Christian's incredible rally in the bottom of the ninth began when pinch-hitter Jordan Crawford slipped a lead-off single just out of the reach of the shortstop before loading the bases on Sakuma's walk and Gaines being struck by a pitch.
• With one of the best bats in program history at the plate, McGarry-Doyle emphatically tied the game up by lacing a bases-clearing double down the left field line to bring it to an 8-8 game.
• The remainder of the inning became a game of strategy for both teams as the Bulldogs elected to intentionally walk Williams before pinch-hitter Julian Martinez laid down a perfectly executed sac bunt to move the runners to second and third. After strategically intentionally walking one of the most clutch hitters in program history in Medina, McPherson threatened to get out of the job when Ethan Alexander struck out Jacob Police looking for the second out.
• In a last-chance at-bat for both teams, Burton came up clutch when he grounded a ball up the middle just barely out of the reach of the shortstop for the walk-off RBI single to wrap-up the 9-8 victory.
• A pair of MACU NAIA Era (2008-present) career pitching records were matched on the day as Cameron Brown tied Christian Hill (2013-15) for the most games pitched with his 35^th start while Kelton Lachelt's relief appearance moved him into a tie with Zach Carley (2014-17) for the most games pitched with his 57^th appearance.
• Noel McGarry-Doyle led the MACU batting efforts by slashing 3-for-5 with a double and four RBIs to go with a pair of runs scored. The stellar outing by the All-American right fielder allowed him to climb MACU's record book in some season and career lists as his 53th RBI of the year in the ninth moved him into a tie for fourth with Felix Martinez (2018). On the career lists, he moved in a tie for seventh with Pete Feurtado (2009-10) for hits with 112 while also becoming just the fourth Evangel in the NAIA Era to eclipse 100 career RBIs with his 102^nd.
• Marcus Burton's game-winning single marked just the second time this season the Evangels won in walk-off fashion. The only other occasion came in a 5-4 victory over Science & Arts on Mar. 2 when MACU also overcame a three-run deficit in the final inning as Carlos Medina slapped the game-ending single down the left field line.
• The victory allowed the Evangels to wrap-up the regular season with a 17-3 record at the MACU Baseball Field in 2024, marking the best home split by win percentage (.850) in the NAIA Era. The win also allowed MACU to reach 30 wins for the third consecutive season.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will return to Sooner Athletic Conference play on Thursday as the Evangels head down to Fort Worth, Texas for a huge three-game road series at Texas Wesleyan in a matchup of the two top teams in the league. MACU will open with a doubleheader at Sycamore Park at noon before wrapping up the slate with a 1 p.m. contest on Friday.