HATTIESBURG, Tenn. – The top-seeded No. 11 MACU Baseball bats struggled to get going through its first 14 innings, falling 4-2 to fourth-seeded Milligan in the NAIA Opening Round game and trailed No. 3 seed Oklahoma Wesleyan in the elimination game.  However, the Evangels rallied back with five unanswered runs over the final four innings to stave off elimination and pick up their first ever NAIA Tournament victory with a 5-4 comeback win over the Eagles at Milton Wheeler Field on Tuesday afternoon.


GAME ONE / Mid-America Christian vs. Milligan
SCORE

• Milligan 4, Mid-America Christian 2
  • Mid-America Christian (40-12)
  • Milligan (34-20)

PITCHING DECISIONS

• Win: Joe Ducharme (3-3)
• Loss: Zane Robeaux (10-1)
• Save: Vicente Mendoza (2)

TOP PERFORMERS

• Jordan Smith – 5 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 3 SO
• Anthony Hampton – 2-3
• Marcus Burton – 1-2, R, BB
• Zachary Stark – 1-3, RBI, BB
• Noel McGarry-Doyle – 1-3, 2B, R, SB
• Jacob Police – 1-3, R, 2 HBP, SB

SCORING SUMMARY

• TOP 2^nd – MU – Cade Kalehuawehe walked, RBI; Braden Spano scored – MU 1, MACU 0
• TOP 2^nd – MU – Andrew Mathius walked, RBI; Vasili Kaloudis scored – MU 2, MACU 0
• TOP 2^nd – MU – Angel Lobo walked, RBI; Ryan Molinari scored – MU 3, MACU 0
• BTM 4^th – MACU – Noel McGarry-Doyle stole home – MU 3, MACU 1
• BTM 6^th – MACU – Zachary Stark singled thru left side, RBI; Marcus Burton scored – MU 3, MACU 2
• TOP 8^th – MU – Ryan Molinari homered to right-center, RBI – MU 4, MACU 2

GAME SUMMARY

• After retiring the first three batters in-order in the top of the first, MACU starting pitcher Zane Robeaux struggled with his command in the second inning as he allowed a single and five walks, including three consecutive bases-loaded walks to give the Buffaloes a 3-0 lead.
• Mid-America Christian put together a major threat of their own in the bottom half of the second when Noel McGarry-Doyle drew a leadoff walk before a pair of singles by Anthony Hampton and Marcus Burton loaded the bases with one out. However, the Evangels came up empty when Guillermo Velasco grounded into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning.
• The Evangels were finally able to push across their first run on another bases-loaded opportunity in the fourth. After McGarry-Doyle laced a leadoff double to left and a Hampton singled through the left side to put runners at the corners before Velasco drew a walk to load the bases with two outs, McGarry-Doyle took advantage of a base-running opportunity when a collision down at first on a back pick allowed him to steal home before the first baseman could get up and throw back to home to get the out, setting the score to 3-1. However, the Evangels missed out on their opportunity to add more in the frame when Zachary Stark struck out to end the frame.
• After coming up empty in the fourth, Stark redeemed himself from the plate in the sixth. After the Evangels mustered a two-out rally behind a Marcus Burton walk and a Guillermo Velasco single up the middle, Stark pushed a hard ground ball single through the left side to bring in Burton, closing the gap to 3-2.
• However, the Evangels gave the run back up in the top of the eighth when Ryan Molinari hammered a leadoff solo home run over the right-center field fence to extend the Buffaloes edge back to 4-2.
• Mid-America Christian managed to bring the tying run to the plate three different times in the bottom of the ninth after Stark drew a walk to start off the frame, but MU closer Vicente Mendoza induced a flyout to right for Taiga Sakuma and a strikeout of Jacob Police before D'Andre Gaines flew out to deep center field to wrap-up the 4-2 final.

GAME NOTES

• Milligan scored its four runs on five hits and committed two errors while the Evangels finished with two runs on seven hits with no errors.
• MACU starting pitcher Zane Robeaux suffered his first loss of the season on the mound after allowing three earned runs on one hit with six walks and three strikeouts over two innings of work.
• The Evangels got a stellar outing out of Jordan Smith in the bullpen as the junior lefty threw five innings and allowed only one earned run on three hits with three walks and three strikeouts.
• Anthony Hampton was the only MACU batter to finish with multiple hits in the contest after going 2-for-4 with a pair of singles while Zachary Stark notched the lone RBI by slashing 1-for-3 with a walk.
• Noel McGarry-Doyle tallied MACU's only extra-base hit of the contest, finishing 1-for-3 with a double, a walk, a run scored and a stolen base. The Maple, Ontario, Canada's double marked his 71^st hit of the season, moving him into a tie for the fourth-most hits in a single season in the NAIA Era (2008-present) with former teammate Yan Ely Adames (2021).
• Jacob Police reached base three times after going 1-for-3 with a pair of hit-by-pitches. After getting pegged twice, the Prescott, Arizona product climbed up to third in MACU's NAIA Era single season and career record books, marking the 17^th time he's been hit this season and the 25^th time in his two-year Evangels career.
• With Police and McGarry-Doyle each stealing a base, the two Evangels moved into a three-way tie with teammate Tylor Richey for third in the career record books with 26 apiece.c  
• Marcus Burton scored the Evangels' only other run, slashing 1-for-2 with a walk.
• With the defeat, Mid-America Christian fell in its first ever NAIA Opening Round game and dropped its first ever matchup to Milligan.

GAME TWO / Mid-America Christian vs. Oklahoma Wesleyan
SCORE

• Mid-America Christian 5, Oklahoma Wesleyan 4
  • Mid-America Christian (41-12)
  • Oklahoma Wesleyan (35-20)

PITCHING DECISIONS

• Win: Cameron Brown (5-1)
• Loss: Kellen Brothers (4-3)

TOP PERFORMERS

• Cameron Brown – W, 4 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 4 SO
• Noel McGarry-Doyle – 2-4, HR, RBI, 2 R
• Anthony Hampton – 2-4, 2 RBI
• Carlos Medina – 1-3, RBI
• Jacob Police – 1-2, R, 2 HBP

SCORING SUMMARY

• BTM 1^st – OKWU – Victor Sanchez homered to left-center, RBI – OKWU 1, MACU 0
• BTM 3^rd – OKWU – Alex Austin singled to center, RBI; Josue Vasquez scored – OKWU 2, MACU 0
• BTM 3^rd – OKWU – Jorge Aldrete hit a sac fly to cf, RBI; Victor Sanchez scored – OKWU 3, MACU 0
• BTM 5^th – OKWU – Jesus Maldonado doubled to left-center, RBI; Alex Austin scored – OKWU 4, MACU 0
• TOP 6^th – MACU – Anthony Hampton singled to left, 2 RBI; D'Andre Gaines scored; Jacob Police scored – OKWU 4, MACU 2
• TOP 6^th – MACU – Carlos Medina hit a sac fly to lf, RBI; Noel McGarry-Doyle scored – OKWU 4, MACU 3
• TOP 7^th – MACU – D'Andre Gaines singled to center, RBI; Joel Nieves scored – MACU 4, OKWU 4
• TOP 8^th – MACU – Noel McGarry-Doyle homered to left, RBI – MACU 5, OKWU 4

GAME SUMMARY

• Mid-America Christian put together a promising start in the top of the first when Taiga Sakuma looped a leadoff double into the left-center field gap, but OKWU starting pitcher Kellen Brothers retired the next three Evangels batters in-order to leave Sakuma stranded at second.
• In the bottom of the first, Oklahoma Wesleyan captured the lead when Victor Sanchez launched a solo home run that just barely crawled over the left-center field fence out of the reach of D'Andre Gaines on the reach to make it a 1-0 Eagles advantage.
• In the bottom of the third, OKWU took advantage of a pair of walks and a single to load the bases as Alex Austin slapped an RBI single to center to plate one run before Sanchez scored his second run on an RBI sac fly to center by Jorge Aldrete, extending the Eagles' edge to 3-0.
• MACU had a phenomenal chance to cut into the OKWU lead in the top of the fourth after loading the bases on a Jacob Police hit-by-pitch and back-to-back two-out singles by Anthony Hampton and Carlos Medina. However, Brothers once again got out of the jam by striking out Guillermo Velasco to keep it to a 3-0 game.
• The Eagles threatened to put up a crooked innings in the fourth and the fifth innings. OKWU loaded the bases with two outs in the fourth, but reliever Kelton Lachelt managed to strike out Josh Logan to get out of the jam.
• In the fifth, Oklahoma Wesleyan managed to push across a run after drawing back-to-back walks to start the frame and an RBI double to left-center by Maldonado extend the lead to 4-0 while another walk loaded the bases with one out. However, MACU managed to limit the damage when Dylan Lyddon entered in relief and induced a foul out to first and a flyout to center to keep it to a four-run game.
• In the top of the sixth, the Evangels were finally able to get to Brothers as MACU started off the frame by loading the bases on a Police leadoff single to left, a fielding error by the third baseman allowed D'Andre Gaines to reach before Noel McGarry-Doyle executed a perfect bunt single down the third base line. Anthony Hampton then dropped a two-RBI single into left to cut the deficit in half before Carlos Medina lofted a deep flyball to left for the sacrifice fly, scoring McGarry-Doyle and making it a 4-3 game.
• In the top of the seventh, MACU tied it up when a Zachary Stark single and a Police hit-by-pitch put runners at first and second with one out. Gaines then dropped a shallow single into center to score pinch-runner Joel Nieves, but the Eagles were able to catch Police in a rundown between second and third to end the frame.
• In the top of the eighth, McGarry-Doyle emphatically gave the Evangels the lead after launching a go-ahead leadoff solo home run over the left field fence for MACU's first lead of the tournament at 5-4.
• In the bottom of the ninth, the Eagles tried to muster a two-out rally as Josue Vasquez was hit by a pitch and a Ravaughn Morgan single to left put runners at first and second, but reliever Cameron Brown finally ended the contest by getting Sanchez to fly out to right to wrap-up the 5-4 final.

GAME NOTES

• Mid-America Christian scored its five runs on nine hits and committed two errors while Oklahoma Wesleyan tallied four runs on 11 hits and made one error.
• Cameron Brown picked up the win in relief after throwing four shutout innings, allowing no runs on three hits with a walk and four strikeouts.
• As a result of his outing, Brown continued his ascent up MACU's NAIA Era career record for strikeouts, surpassing former teammate Frensly Leito (2021-23) with 182 on the list.
• Despite a somewhat short start for Isaac Baez, the senior righty also climbed up MACU's career pitching lists as his three strikeouts moved him into a tie with David Wynn (2010-11) for second at 189. He also moved alone into third on the career games started list with his 30^th to overtake Ben Donnell (2017-19).
• Anthony Hampton and Noel McGarry-Doyle led the MACU batting efforts with two hits apiece as Hampton slashed 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs while McGarry-Doyle went 2-for-4 with a homer, an RBI and two runs scored.
• With his pair of hits, McGarry-Doyle extended his team-leading total to 73 on the season, allowing him to overtake Felix Martinez (72, 2018) for third on the single season hits list, putting him just one back of Pete Feurtado (74, 2010) for second. He also moved into a tie with former teammate Yan Ely Adames (121, 2023) for fourth on the season total bases list.
• McGarry-Doyle has also been making his mark in the NAIA Era career record book as he became the sixth Evangel to reach 20 career home run.
• After getting hit by two more pitches and scoring a run, Jacob Police is also continuing to ascent up the season and career books in both categories. The Prescott, Arizona native tied teammate McGarry-Doyle (2023) for second in season hit-by-pitches with 19, sitting just one back of record-holder Trent Daniels (2013) while moving alone into eighth on the single season runs list with his 48^th of the season.
• On the career list, Police overtook McGarry-Doyle for second on the career hit-by-pitch list at 27 while his 81^st career run moves him alone into sixth on the list.
• The victory for the Evangels marked their first ever NAIA Tournament Opening Round victory while MACU improved to 2-0 over Oklahoma Wesleyan on the season after defeating the Eagles at the MACU Baseball Field 10-1 back on Mar. 27. The win also allowed MACU to tie the all-time series at 14-all against OKWU.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will be seeking a revenge win against fourth-seeded Milligan (Tenn.) in the second elimination game on Wednesday as the Evangels will take on the Buffaloes at 1:30 p.m. at Milton Wheeler Field. If MACU can get the win, they'd then take on second-seeded No. 15 William Carey (Miss.) at 5 p.m.