BETHANY, Okla. – The No. 14 MACU Baseball team battled back late, scoring three runs in the top of the ninth to come away with a 9-7 victory over Southwestern Christian at Eagle Field on Thursday afternoon as the win secured the top seed in the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament for the Evangels.
 
SCORE

• Mid-America Christian 9, Southwestern Christian 7
  • Mid-America Christian (34-10, 18-4 SAC)
  • Southwestern Christian (27-19, 9-13 SAC)

PITCHING DECISIONS

• Win: Jordan Smith (1-1)
• Loss: Alexis Hurens (2-2)
• Save: Cameron Brown (5)

TOP PERFORMERS

• Zachary Stark – 2-5, 2B, 3 RBI
• Kyle Williams – 3-5, 2B, RBI, R
• Carlos Medina – 3-5, RBI, R
• D'Andre Gaines – 2-5, 2B, 3B, RBI, R
• Jordan Smith – W, 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 SO
• Cameron Brown – 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO

SCORING SUMMARY

• TOP 1^st – MACU – Kyle Williams doubled to right-center, RBI; Noel McGarry-Doyle scored – MACU 1, SCU 0
• BTM 1^st – SCU – Matys Gagnon reached on a fielder's choice, RBI; Draike Sparks scored; Jhors Gomez scored on throwing error by p – SCU 2, MACU 1
• BTM 1^st – SCU – Joseph Boone singled thru right side, RBI; Dario Paredes scored – SCU 3, MACU 1
• BTM 1^st – SCU – Phoenix Nelson hit a sac fly to rf, RBI; Joey Thornton scored – SCU 4, MACU 1
• TOP 2^nd – MACU – Zachary Stark grounded out to 2b, RBI; Carlos Medina scored – SCU 4, MACU 2
• BTM 2^nd – SCU – Dario Paredes singled up the middle, RBI; Draike Sparks scored – SCU 5, MACU 2
• TOP 3^rd – MACU – Noel McGarry-Doyle grounded out to 1b, RBI; D'Andre Gaines scored – SCU 5, MACU 3
• TOP 3^rd – MACU – Carlos Medina singled to left, RBI; Kyle Williams scored – SCU 5, MACU 4
• TOP 4^th – MACU – D'Andre Gaines doubled down lf line, RBI; Taiga Sakuma scored – MACU 5, SCU 5
• BTM 4^th – SCU – Joseph Boone singled to right, RBI; Tyler Reeves scored – SCU 6, MACU 5
• BTM 4^th – SCU – Braden Browning hit a sac fly to lf, RBI; Jhors Gomez scored – SCU 7, MACU 5
• TOP 7^th – MACU – Marcus Burton doubled to left-center, RBI; Jacob Police scored – SCU 7, MACU 6
• TOP 9^th – MACU – Zachary Stark doubled down lf line, 2 RBI; Jacob Police scored; K.J. Moo-Young scored – MACU 8, SCU 7
• TOP 9^th – MACU – Taiga Sakuma singled to right, RBI; Caden Harris scored – MACU 9, SCU 7

GAME NOTES

• Mid-America Christian scored its nine runs on 15 hits and committed three errors while Southwestern Christian tallied its seven runs on nine hits with an error.
• After the first two Evangels batters were retired, MACU managed to push across a run in the top of the first after Noel McGarry-Doyle was hit by a pitch leading to Kyle Williams slugging an RBI double to the right-center field gap to make it a 1-0 Evangels lead.
• The Eagles answered back with a four-run bottom of the first as SCU took advantage of three singles, a walk and a hit-by-pitch in the frame to grab the 4-1 advantage.
• MACU got a run back in the top of the second as a Carlos Medina single, a Jacob Police hit-by-pitch and a Marcus Burton sac bunt set up Zachary Stark for an RBI groundout to second. However, SCU immediately recaptured a 5-2 lead on a Dario Paredes two-out RBI single up the middle.
• The Evangels closed the gap with two runs in the top of the third as D'Andre Gaines started the frame with a leadoff triple before McGarry-Doyle brought him in with an RBI groundout to first. MACU followed it up with three-straight singles off the bats of Williams and Anthony Hampton before Medina slapped an RBI single to left, bringing it to a 5-4 game.
• Mid-America Christian tied the game up in the top of the fourth when D'Andre Gaines laced a double down the left field line to score Sakuma following a walk, but was thrown out at third trying to get his second triple of the day.
• Southwestern Christian captured its final lead of the game in the bottom half of the fourth as a trio of singles and a sacrifice fly by Braden Browning brought it to 7-5.
• After a scoring onslaught by both teams through the first four innings, the next four innings would be relatively quiet offensively as MACU scored the only run during this stretch on a Marcus Burton RBI single to left-center following a Police hit-by-pitch and stolen base, closing the gap to just one at 7-6.
• With the Evangels having just one last chance to tie or take the lead in the top of the ninth, MACU delivered. Following back-to-back singles by Medina and Police before moving both runners over on a Burton sacrifice bunt, Stark delivered the go-ahead two-RBI double down the left field line to put MACU in-front for good at 8-7. The Evangels added an insurance run in the very next at-bat when Sakuma slapped a single to right to plate pinch-runner Caden Harris to wrap-up a 9-7 final.
• Williams and Medina each finished the day with a trio of hits with both batters slashing 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored. For Williams, his first inning double was his 18^th of the season, moving him into a tie for second in MACU's NAIA Era (2008-present) single season record book alongside Jerry McNew (2017) and Felix Martinez (2018).
• Gaines also recorded a pair of extra base hits with his 2-for-5 day with an RBI and a run. The three-bagger for the sophomore outfielder was his fourth of the season as he also moved into a tie for second in MACU's single-season record book with Nathan Milton (2009) and Isaiah Leon (2022).
• Stark was the most productive bat in MACU's lineup as the starting catcher finished 2-for-5 with a double and three RBIs.
• Despite the Evangels' pitching struggles through the first four innings, MACU's bullpen tandem of Dylan Lyddon, Jordan Smith and Cameron Brown were outstanding over the final five innings, allowing no runs on no hits and walked just two batters. The save for Brown marked his fifth of the season, marking the third-most in a single season for a MACU pitcher in the NAIA Era.
• By getting the win, MACU secured the top seed in next week's Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament and secured at least a share of the SAC regular season title for the first time in program history. The Evangels can win the SAC Championship outright with a win in the doubleheader finale on Friday or an Oklahoma City loss in its three-game series against Wayland Baptist.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will be looking to secure the outright SAC title tomorrow as the Evangels wrap-up their series at Southwestern Christian with a doubleheader slated for a noon start at Eagle Field.