No. 11 Baseball Meets Milligan to Begin NAIA Tournament Opening Round

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Earning the top seed in the Hattiesburg, Mississippi bracket, the No. 11 MACU baseball team will open its first ever NAIA Tournament against fourth-seeded Milligan (Tenn.) with a 5 p.m. first pitch at Milton Wheeler Field on the campus of William Carey University on Monday.

SEASON REPORT

Record: 40-11 (20-4 SAC)
Last Game: Won vs. No. 22 Oklahoma City – 12-6 – May 7, 2024 – Chickasha, Okla. (SAC Championship)
Top Players:
- Noel McGarry-Doyle – JR – OF
  - .398 BA (70-176), 12 2B, 4 3B, 8 HR, 67 RBI, 48 R, 24 BB, 7 HBP, 11 SB, .481 OB%, .648 SLG%
- Jacob Police – SO – 2B
  - .370 BA (51-138), 8 2B, 3 3B, 12 HR, 41 RBI, 47 R, 10 BB, 15 HBP, 12 SB, .455 OB%, .732 SLG%
- D'Andre Gaines – SO – OF
  - .366 BA (64-175), 15 2B, 4 3B, 12 HR, 47 RBI, 67 R, 31 BB, 3 HBP, 11 SB, .469 OB%, .703 SLG%
Top Pitchers:
- Isaac Baez – SR – RHP
  - 10-1 W-L, 2.78 ERA, 13 APP, 13 GS, 1 CG, 74.1 IP, 55 H, 24 R, 23 ER, 19 BB, 86 SO, .198 OBA
- Zane Robeaux – SR – RHP
  - 10-0 W-L, 2.59 ERA, 14 APP, 8 GS, 3 CG, 1 SHO, 66.0 IP, 55 H, 20 R, 19 ER, 17 BB, 68 SO, .225 OBA
- Cameron Brown – SR – RHP
  - 4-1 W-L, 1.82 ERA, 19 APP, 5 GS, 6 SV, 39.2 IP, 34 H, 12 R, 8 ER, 11 BB, 32 SO, .227 OBA
Team Notes:
- Mid-America Christian makes way into its first NAIA Tournament after coming off both its first Sooner Athletic Conference regular season title after going 20-4 in league play as well as winning its first ever SAC Tournament Championship with a 12-6 victory over No. 22 Oklahoma City on May 7 inside Bill Smith Ballpark in Chickasha, Okla.
- After the Evangels bats were kept relatively quiet through the first three games of the tourney, being held to just 15 runs through first three contests, MACU found its bats in the final two games of the SAC tourney as MACU pushed across 27 runs for a pair of 15-8, 12-6 victories over rivals Science & Arts in the elimination game and the Stars in the title tilt.
- A big reason for MACU's offensive explosion in the SAC Tournament was due in-large part to redshirt sophomore second baseman Jacob Police and sophomore centerfielder D'Andre Gaines. While the duo combined to hit 15-for-42 in the tournament, six of the pair's 15 hits came via the long ball while each tallied nine RBIs to go with a combined 15 runs scored batting out of the 2-3 spot in MACU's order.
- MACU's starting pitching also proved to be vital to win the conference tourney as Devan Quesada, Isaac Baez and Cameron Brown each threw seven or more innings and allowed a sub-2.00 ERA in each of their starts. Brown got the bump in the SAC Championship game, allowing just one earned run in the title tilt over seven innings of work while also tossing 3.2 innings of relief and getting a save throughout the tournament.

SCOUTING REPORT
Milligan (Tenn.)

Record: 33-20 (18-12 AAC)
Last Game: Lost vs. No. 9 Reinhardt (Ga.) – 9-8 – Kingsport, Tenn. (AAC Tournament)
Series vs MACU: First Meeting
Last Game vs MACU: N/A
Series Streak: N/A
Players to Watch:
- Caleb Berry – SR – C
  - .370 BA (71-192), 17 2B, 4 3B, 11 HR, 42 RBI, 39 R, 39 BB, 7 HBP, 8 SB, .481 OB%, .672 SLG%
- Angel Lobo – JR – OF/C
  - .357 BA (66-185), 12 2B, 1 3B, 9 HR, 43 RBI, 45 R, 16 BB, 6 HBP, 9 SB, .419 OB%, .578 SLG%
- Braden Spano – SR – 1B
  - .310 BA (57-184), 9 2B, 8 HR, 41 RBI, 36 R, 23 BB, 13 HBP, 1 SB, .417 OB%, .489 SLG%
Pitchers to Watch:
- Anfernee Fernandez – JR – RHP
  - 6-2 W-L, 3.46 ERA, 10 APP, 10 GS, 3 CG, 54.2 IP, 48 H, 22 R, 21 ER, 16 BB, 62 SO, .239 OBA
- Ian Weil – JR – RHP
  - 7-3 W-L, 4.34 ERA, 13 APP, 11 GS, 1 CG, 58.0 IP, 59 H, 34 R, 28 ER, 22 BB, 47 SO, .255 OBA
- Vicente Mendoza – GR – RHP
  - 3-1 W-L, 3.35 ERA, 15 APP, 1 SV, 37.2 IP, 28 H, 14 R, 14 ER, 27 BB, 33 SO, .219 OBA
Team Notes:
- Milligan is one of four teams from the powerhouse Appalachian Athletic Conference to make its way into the NAIA Tournament after wrapping up AAC Tournament play with a 9-8 loss to No. 9 Reinhardt (Ga.) in the semifinal round on May 3.
- The Buffaloes are a solid hitting team, ranking 48^th in the NAIA in team batting average (.318) while posting the 33^rd-best slugging percentage (.506) and 50^th-best on-base percentage (.415). Meanwhile, MU has also been solid on the mound, owning the 41^st lowest ERA (5.27) in the NAIA to go with the 40^th-best WHIP (1.51).
- Senior catcher Caleb Berry has been the most dangerous bat in the Buffaloes lineup in 2024, slashing for a team-best .370 batting average while boasting a phenomenal .672 slugging percentage for 42 RBIs and 39 runs while Angel Lobo has also been a 40-40 performer with 45 runs and 43 RBIs to go with a .357 batting average.
- Also a team that goes deep into its pitching well, the duo of Anfernee Fernandez and Ian Weil have been Milligan's most effective starters on the season while Vicente Mendoza headlines a deep bullpen.
- The matchup between Mid-America Christian and Milligan will mark the first time in the two programs histories.