OKLAHOMA CITY – The No. 14 MACU Baseball team will be setting its sights on trying to capture the program's first ever Sooner Athletic Conference Championship with an expedited three-game set at rival Southwestern Christian on Thursday and Friday.
With inclement weather looming this weekend, Saturday's nine-inning game at Eagle Field has been moved to Thursday with a noon first pitch before playing the series-ending doubleheader on Friday starting at noon.
SEASON REPORT
- Record: 33-10 (17-4 SAC)
- Last Game: Won at Friends – 13-1 (7 Inn) – Apr. 23, 2024 – Wichita, Kan.
- Top Players:
- Kyle Williams – JR – 1B
- .431 BA (59-137), 17 2B, 6 HR, 47 RBI, 29 R, 20 BB, 1 HBP, 5 SB, .497 OB%, .686 SLG%
- Noel McGarry-Doyle – JR – OF
- .387 BA (55-142), 8 2B, 3 3B, 8 HR, 58 RBI, 43 R, 22 BB, 6 HBP, 9 SB, .480 OB%, .655 SLG%
- D'Andre Gaines – SO – OF
- .376 BA (53-141), 13 2B, 3 3B, 9 HR, 36 RBI, 57 R, 28 BB, 3 HBP, 9 SB, .488 OB%, .702 SLG%
- Top Pitchers:
- Isaac Baez – SR – RHP
- 9-1 W-L, 2.94 ERA, 12 APP, 12 GS, 1 CG, 67.1 IP, 51 H, 22 R, 22 ER, 18 BB, 78 SO, .203 OBA
- Zane Robeaux – SR – RHP
- 8-0 W-L, 2.24 ERA, 12 APP, 6 GS, 2 CG, 52.1 IP, 39 H, 14 R, 13 ER, 11 BB, 55 SO, .207 OBA
- Cameron Brown – SR – RHP
- 3-1 W-L, 2.25 ERA, 15 APP, 4 GS, 4 SV, 28.0 IP, 25 H, 11 R, 7 ER, 11 BB, 24 SO, .238 OBA
- Team Notes:
- Mid-America Christian wrapped up its final non-conference contest with an emphatic 13-1 victory at Friends on Tuesday afternoon. In the victory, the Evangels slugged four home runs, including a pair by Jacob Police while Cameron Brown cemented himself at the top of MACU's NAIA Era (2008-present) record book by tossing three innings in his program-record 56th career start while moving alone into third on the wins list with his 14th career victory.
- Heading into the final weekend of SAC play, the Evangels own a 17-4 conference record with a two-game lead (15-6) over Oklahoma City. For MACU to capture the SAC title, they'd lock up at least a share with a win and an OCU sweep over Wayland Baptist and can win the conference outright if it can win two games or if the Stars lose a game in their series against the Pioneers.
- MACU will be looking to keep its balanced bats going against the Eagles as the Evangels have four players who rank in the top seven in the SAC in batting average: Kyle Williams (.431, 1st), Noel McGarry-Doyle (.387, 4th), Taiga Sakuma (.380, 5th) and D'Andre Gaines (.376, 7th) while Jacob Police also owns the 12th-best average in the conference (.369).
- The top of MACU's rotation in Isaac Baez and Zane Robeaux have also put together remarkable senior campaigns for the Evangels heading into the final weekend. Baez comes into the series with the second-most wins (9), the third-best ERA (2.94), the most strikeouts (78) and the second-best WHIP (1.02). Robeaux also ranks in the top three in multiple categories, posting the best ERA (2.24), the third-most wins (8) and the lowest WHIP (0.96). Brown has anchored the back end by spending his senior campaign in the closer's role. The Blanchard, Oklahoma product has tallied the third-most saves (4) while possessing a 3-1 record and a 2.25 ERA in 28 innings of work.
SCOUTING REPORT
Southwestern Christian
- Record: 27-18 (9-12 SAC)
- Last Game: Lost vs. Wayland Baptist (Texas) – 5-2 – Apr. 19, 2024 – Bethany, Okla.
- Series vs MACU (2014-): Series Tied 14-14
- Last Game vs MACU: MACU won 3-2 (10 Inn) – May 23, 2023 – Kansas City, Mo. (NCCAA National Championship)
- Series Streak: MACU won 2
- Players to Watch:
- Jhors Gomez – JR – INF
- .378 BA (51-135), 21 2B, 4 HR, 30 RBI, 35 R, 19 BB, 2 HBP, 7 SB, .453 OB%, .622 SLG%
- Dario Paredes – SO – INF
- .336 BA (49-146), 9 2B, 7 HR, 34 RBI, 21 R, 26 BB, 3 HBP, .441 OB%, .541 SLG%
- Matys Gagnon – JR – C
- .304 BA (34-112), 7 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 23 RBI, 18 R, 31 BB, 13 HBP, .497 OB%, .411 SLG%
- Pitchers to Watch:
- Henry Ogando – SR – RHP
- 6-3 W-L, 3.80 ERA, 11 APP, 11 GS, 6 CG, 1 SHO, 71.0 IP, 54 H, 33 R, 30 ER, 26 BB, 61 SO, .203 OBA
- Gabriel Figueroa – SR – RHP
- 8-3 W-L, 4.28 ERA, 12 APP, 12 GS, 4 CG, 69.1 IP, 72 H, 35 R, 33 ER, 18 BB, 65 SO, .267 OBA
- Alexis Hurens - JR – RHP
- 2-1 W-L, 3.14 ERA, 10 APP, 2 GS, 1 CG, 1 SHO, 2 SV, 28.2 IP, 28 H, 14 R, 10 ER, 9 BB, 23 SO, .264 OBA
- Team Notes:
- Southwestern Christian is coming off a tough three-game home series against Wayland Baptist as the Eagles got swept by scores of 10-0, 7-6 and 5-2 at Eagle Field from Apr. 18-19.
- As SCU ranks seventh in the SAC standings entering the weekend with a 9-12 league mark, the Eagles are one of the better pitching teams in the SAC this season, ranking fourth in team ERA (5.53) with the fourth-lowest WHIP (1.51) while also ranking fourth in the conference in fielding defense at .961.
- The Eagles biggest challenge during the 2024 campaign has come from the plate as SCU ranks sixth in the SAC in team batting average (.279) with the seventh-best slugging percentage (.390), but are patiently getting on-base at the third-highest rate in the league at .405.
- Despite Southwestern Christian's offensive struggles, SCU has a pair of strong hitters in the middle of its lineup in senior infielder Jhors Gomez and sophomore infielder Dario Paredes. An NAIA Preseason All-American, Gomez leads the team with a .378 batting average and is slugging at a .622 clip with 21 doubles and four homers for 30 RBIs and 35 runs scored. Paredes has been the team's best run producer with 34 RBIs with nine doubles and a team-best seven homers off a .336 batting average.
- Much like the Evangels, the Eagles feature a pair of talented starting pitchers in seniors Gabriel Figueroa and Henry Ogando. Figueroa comes into the weekend slate with the third-most wins in the SAC (8) and the fifth-most strikeouts (65) while posting the 11th-best ERA (4.28) and ninth-best WHIP (1.30). Meanwhile, Ogando holds the ninth-best ERA (3.80) and is in the top five in WHIP (1.13, 5th) and the seventh-most strikeouts (61).
- Over the last two seasons, the Evangels have fared well against the Eagles by holding a 7-2 record since the start of the 2022 season. MACU swept the regular season series in 2022 (12-8, 7-0, 2-1) and took two out of three last season with 13-3 and 4-3 wins before suffering a 6-4 loss. After suffering a 16-6 defeat to SCU in the SAC Tournament on May 6 in Chickasha, Oklahoma, the Evangels were able to best the Eagles twice in the NCCAA World Series in Kansas City, Missouri. Following MACU's 6-3 victory during pool play, the Evangels ran into SCU again in the NCCAA Championship game, where the Evangels won a thrilling 3-2 walk-off in the 10th inning on Carlos Medina's RBI single through the left side.
