FAYETTE, Mo. – The fourth-seeded MACU Softball team will officially compete in the NAIA Opening Round for the first time in program history on Monday as the Evangels open the tournament against No. 5 seed Dickinson State (N.D.) with a noon first pitch at the Cox Softball Complex on the campus of Central Methodist University.
 
SEASON REPORT

• Record: 36-15
• Last Game: Lost at No. 6 Science & Arts – 8-0 (6 Inn) – May 4, 2024 – Chickasha, Okla. (SAC Semifinal)
• Top Players:
  • Kisbel Vizcaya – JR – 3B
    • .345 BA (58-168), 4 2B, 3 3B, 2 HR, 20 RBI, 36 R, 6 BB, 3 HBP, 23 SB, .376 OB%, .440 SLG%
  • Emylee Campbell – JR – UTL
    • .326 BA (46-141), 2 2B, 5 3B, 3 HR, 22 RBI, 34 R, 16 BB, 3 HBP, 22 SB, .399 OB%, .475 SLG%
  • Brooklyn Wilson – JR – OF
    • .318 BA (48-151), 13 BB, 4 3B, 2 HR, 35 RBI, 35 R, 15 BB, 1 HBP, 13 SB, .370 OB%, .497 SLG%
• Top Pitchers:
  • Rachel Eggleston – SR – RHP
    • 12-5 W-L, 2.35 ERA, 23 APP, 18 GS, 10 CG, 2 SHO, 119.1 IP, 100 H, 45 R, 40 ER, 24 BB, 106 SO, .224 OBA
  • Avery Schneringer – SR – RHP
    • 11-3 W-L, 2.56 ERA, 25 APP, 14 GS, 25 APP, 14 GS, 9 CG, 3 SHO, 2 SV, 106.2 IP, 106 H, 51 R, 39 ER, 28 BB, 73 SO, .249 OBA
  • Chana Wolfe – SO – RHP
    • 11-5 W-L, 3.35 ERA, 19 APP, 13 GS, 4 CG, 1 SHO, 1 SV, 69.0 IP, 75 H, 38 R, 33 ER, 16 BB, 42 SO, .266 OBA
• Team Notes:
  • Mid-America Christian was selected to its first NAIA Tournament field after making it to the Sooner Athletic Conference Semifinal. The Evangels opened the SAC tourney with a thrilling 5-4 victory over Texas Wesleyan on a Kisbel Vizcaya walk-off RBI single before dropping a hard-fought 2-0 game to No. 6 Science & Arts. The Evangels locked in their spot in the SAC semi with another 5-0 win over the Rams, but MACU ended up falling to the eventual SAC Tournament Champion Drovers 8-0 in the final four.
  • The Evangels wrapped up the regular season with both their most wins ever and best ever win percentage in SAC play, going 27-9 in league play with a .750 win percentage. The victory tally surpassed the 2019 squad that went 22-14 against conference foes while MACU's previous best win percentage against SAC competition came in 2021 when the Evangels went 21-9 (.700).
  • MACU enters NAIA tourney play led by a pitching staff that's headlined by a pair of senior righties in Rachel Eggleston and Avery Schneringer. The dynamic pitching duo has combined to throw 19 complete games in their 32 starts as Eggleston holds a 12-5 record and a 2.35 ERA with a team-high 106 strikeouts and a 4.4 strikeout-to-walk ratio while Schneringer has been red-hot in the circle, allowing only two earned runs in her last 30.2 innings of work.
  • The Evangels run production has come by committee during the 2024 campaign as MACU has seven players on its roster that have driven in 20 or more RBIs, a feat that has only been accomplished one other time since the program joined the NAIA in 2008. That came all the way back in 2014 in a year where the Evangels recorded 336 RBIs as a team. Part of that success stems from increased power from the plate as MACU has hit a program-record 19 triples while the 17 homers is currently the fourth-most MACU has hit in a year, including the most since the 2015 season.

SCOUTING REPORT
Dickinson State (N.D.)

• Record: 24-22 (15-9 NSAA)
• Last Game: Won vs. Bellevue (Neb.) – 4-3 – May 6, 2024 – Dickinson, N.D. (NSAA Championship Game)
• Series vs MACU: First Meeting
• Last Game vs MACU: N/A
• Series Streak: N/A
• Players to Watch:
  • Cassidy Venner – SR – OF
    • .359 BA (33-92), 5 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 20 RBI, 12 R, 6 BB, 3 HBP, 3 SB, .412 OB%, .489 SLG%
  • Dallis Mitchell – SR – 1B/P
    • .346 BA (47-136), 9 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 23 RBI, 26 R, 22 BB, 13 SB, .434 OB%, .485 SLG%
  • Cassy Loa – SR – UTL
    • .296 BA (42-142), 7 2B, 2 3B, 26 RBI, 34 R, 23 BB, 24 SB, .392 OB%, .373 SLG%
• Pitchers to Watch:
  • Dallis Mitchell – SR – P
    • 14-5 W-L, 3.16 ERA, 23 APP, 19 GS, 13 CG, 2 SHO, 1 SV, 121.2 IP, 137 H, 62 R, 55 ER, 42 BB, 83 SO, .278 OBA
  • Reannan Butler – FR – P
    • 2-6 W-L, 3.63 ERA, 17 APP, 5 GS, 2 CG, 1 SV, 54.0 IP, 81 H, 48 R, 28 ER, 14 BB, 25 SO, .332 OBA
  • Alison Eldridge – JR – P
    • 3-2 W-L, 4.81 ERA, 18 APP, 7 GS, 1 CG, 48.0 IP, 67 H, 41 R, 33 ER, 34 BB, 51 SO, .333 OBA
• Team Notes:
  • Dickinson State earned an automatic berth to the NAIA Tournament after coming away with the North Star Athletic Association Tournament Championship after defeating the league's regular season champion Bellevue (Neb.) 4-3 in the title tilt on May 6.
  • After dropping a four-game set to Bellevue at the end of March to fall to 12-18 on the season, the Bluehawks caught fire in April and May as DSU won 12 of its last 16 games entering the NAIA Tournament.
  • As a team, DSU enters postseason play with a .280 team batting average, the second-best clip in the NSAA to go with the second-best on-base percentage (.366) and the third-best slugging percentage (.380). Meanwhile, Dickinson State also held the third-lowest ERA (4.29) in its conference to go along with the third-best fielding percentage (.956).
  • Senior Cassidy Loa has been the most productive of the Bluehawks bats this season, leading the team in both runs (34) and RBIs (26) while Dallis Mitchell has done a bulk load of DSU's work in the circle while also swinging a productive bat. Starting in 19 of DSU's 46 games, Mitchell has thrown by far and away more innings than any other pitcher at 121.2 innings of work, posting a 14-5 record on a 3.16 ERA. Mitchell is also slashing for a .346 batting average while notching 26 runs and 23 RBIs to go with 13 stolen bases.
  • Monday's matchup will mark the first ever meeting between Mid-America Christian and Dickinson State.