OKLAHOMA CITY – The No. 14 MACU baseball team is ready to compete as the No. 1 seed in the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament this weekend. The Evangels are competing in the Chickasha, Oklahoma bracket and will open the tourney against No. 8 seed Oklahoma Panhandle State at 11 a.m. at Bill Smith Ballpark.
 
SEASON REPORT

• Record: 36-10 (20-4 SAC)
• Last Game: Won at Southwestern Christian – 6-0 – Apr. 26, 2024 – Bethany, Okla.
• Top Players:
  • Kyle Williams - JR - 1B
    • .436 BA (65-149), 18 2B, 1 3B, 6 HR, 51 RBI, 31 R, 21 BB, 1 HBP, 5 SB, .500 OB%, .692 SLG%
  • Noel McGarry-Doyle – JR – OF
    • .381 BA (59-155), 10 2B, 3 3B, 8 HR, 62 RBI, 46 R, 22 BB, 7 HBP, 10 SB, .471 OB%, .639 SLG%
  • Taiga Sakuma – SO – OF
    • .386 BA (54-140), 9 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 33 RBI, 50 R, 24 BB, 10 SB, .473 OB%, .500 SLG%
  • D'Andre Gaines – SO – OF
    • .373 BA (57-153), 15 2B, 4 3B, 9 HR, 38 RBI, 61 R, 30 BB, 3 HBP, 10 SB, .484 OB%, .699 SLG%
  • Jacob Police – SO – 2B
    • .364 BA (43-118), 8 2B, 3 3B, 9 HR, 32 RBI, 40 R, 10 BB, 12 HBP, 9 SB, .451 OB%, .712 SLG%
• Top Pitchers:
  • Zane Robeaux – SR – RHP
    • 9-0 W-L, 1.97 ERA, 13 APP, 7 GS, 3 CG, 1 SHO, 59.1 IP, 43 H, 14 R, 13 ER, 15 BB, 61 SO, .203 OBA
  • 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
  • Cameron Brown – SR – RHP
    • 3-1 W-L, 2.17 ERA, 16 APP, 4 GS, 5 SV, 29.0 IP, 25 H, 11 R, 7 ER, 11 BB, 24 SO, .231 OBA
  • Breyllin Suriel – JR – RHP
    • 6-2 W-L, 2.80 ERA, 16 APP, 4 GS, 1 CG, 1 SV, 35.1 IP, 32 H, 14 R, 11 ER, 12 BB, 38 SO, .239 OBA
• Team Notes:
  • Mid-America Christian enters Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament play with its first ever No. 1 seed after wrapping up its first SAC regular season title, wrapping up the regular season with a 36-10 overall record and posted its best ever record in SAC play at 20-4.
  • The Evangels are just the second team in the SAC to win all of its three-game conference series during the year since the 2014 season, sitting alongside the 2022 Oklahoma City squad that went 22-2 in SAC play with one of those defeats coming in a 3-2 walk-off win at the MACU Baseball Field on Mar. 26, 2022 on Andrew Enwiya's solo homer to left.
  • Overall, MACU is one of the most well-rounded teams in the NAIA this season with its pitching and defense being elite. The Evangels enter the SAC Tournament ranked sixth in the NAIA in team ERA (3.79) to go with the fourth-lowest WHIP rate (1.28) while notching the 17^th-best fielding percentage (.969) due to committing the 12^th-fewest errors (43). From the plate, the Evangels own the 20^th-best batting average (.334) in the NAIA to go with the 27^th-highest slugging percentage (.524) and the 33^rd-best on-base percentage (.427).
  • In closing out conference play, multiple Evangels led the SAC in several statistical categories. Junior outfielder Noel McGarry-Doyle wrapped up the campaign with the league's most runs-batted-in (RBI) at 62 while sophomore outfielder D'Andre Gaines finished with the runaway league-lead in runs scored at 61. Junior first baseman Kyle Williams also finished at the top of the SAC in both batting average (.436) and was the only player to finish with a .500 or better on-base percentage (.500).
  • On the pitching side, a pair of Evangels finished No. 1 and No. 2 in the conference in qualifying ERA (inning pitched per team games played) as senior righty Zane Robeaux finished with a league-low 1.97 ERA while senior righty Isaac Baez was the only other pitcher in the conference to finish with a sub-3.00 ERA at 2.94. Baez and Robeaux also finished tied for second in the conference in wins (9) while Baez also notched the second-most strikeouts with 78.

SCOUTING REPORT
Oklahoma Panhandle State

• Record: 14-31 (5-18 SAC)
• Last Game: Won at Central Christian – 6-4 – Apr. 26, 2024 – McPherson, Kan.
• Series vs MACU (2018-): MACU leads 12-7
• Last Game vs MACU: MACU won 16-2 – Mar. 23, 2024 – Goodwell, Okla.
• Series Streak: MACU won 11
• Players to Watch:
  • Ryota Kusumoto – SR – INF
    • .350 BA (64-183), 15 2B, 3 3B, 8 HR, 28 RBI, 32 R, 9 BB, 5 HBP, 4 SB, .396 OB%, .596 SLG%
  • Jose Arrieta – SR – INF
    • .309 BA (42-136), 12 2B, 1 HR, 22 RBI, 25 R, 26 BB, 5 HBP, 4 SB, .437 OB%, .419 SLG%
  • Isaiah Halton – JR – INF
    • .308 BA (44-143), 3 2B, 1 HR, 25 RBI, 30 R, 17 BB, 10 HBP, 5 SB, .415 OB%, .350 SLG%
• Pitchers to Watch:
  • Josh Doerr – JR – LHP
    • 4-8 W-L, 7.52 ERA, 13 APP, 13 GS, 2 CG, 64.2 IP, 99 H, 68 R, 54 ER, 23 BB, 38 SO, .356 OBA
  • Colby Diduch – JR – RHP
    • 1-9 W-L, 7.83 ERA, 13 APP, 13 GS, 2 CG, 54.0 IP, 54 H, 57 R, 47 ER, 47 BB, 73 SO, .249 OBA
  • Brandon Rodriguez – SR – P
    • 0-1 W-L, 2.96 ERA, 17 APP, 4 SV, 24.1 IP, 21 H, 10 R, 8 ER, 8 BB, 17 SO, .231 OBA
• Team Notes:
  • Oklahoma Panhandle State locked up the final spot in the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament with a two-game sweep at Central Christian last weekend, as the Aggies rallied back from a 14-3 deficit in the first game of the series to come away with a 17-16 victory. In the game that ultimately became the series finale due to weather on Aug. 26, OPSU pushed across the go-ahead runs in the top of the ninth to secure a 6-4 win.
  • Entering the SAC Tournament, hitting has been a struggle for OPSU as the Aggies rank second-to-last in the conference in team batting average (.263) and third-to-last in slugging percentage (.396) while holding the lowest on-base percentage (.371) in the conference. Pitching has also been a challenge for the Aggies, ranking second-to-last in team ERA (8.42) and WHIP (1.89) while the defense is fielding at the third-lowest rate (.947).
  • Despite the Aggies offensive struggles, senior infielder Ryota Kusumoto has been a very strong bat in OPSU's lineup, hitting for a .350 average and a .992 OPS off of 15 doubles, three triples and eight homers for 28 RBIs and 32 runs scored. Senior infielder Jeremy Dibartolomeo also enters tournament play on a tear from the plate, as the reigning SAC Player of the Week leads the team with 34 RBIs and has scored 31 runs.
  • Junior pitchers Josh Doerr and Colby Diduch have started a bulk load of the Aggies games this season at 13 apiece, combining to go the distance in four of those contests as Diduch is a two-time SAC Pitcher of the Week performer, ranking third in the league in strikeouts (73).
  • Mid-America Christian has fared well against Oklahoma Panhandle State as of late as MACU has won the last 11 meetings dating back to Apr. 18, 2021. In a three-game set in Goodwell, Oklahoma this season, the Evangels cruised to a dominant three-game sweep, outscoring the Aggies 48-10 in the 14-7, 18-1, 16-2 victories. MACU and OPSU will be playing each other for the second time in three years in the SAC tourney, as the last time the two teams met in the postseason tournament was at Jim Wade Stadium at OCU on May 7, 2022, a game where the Evangels slugged their way to a 25-14 victory.