CHICKASHA, Okla. – The No. 14 MACU Baseball team continued to swing the big bats in the Sooner Athletic Conference Championship game played at Bill Smith Ballpark on Tuesday afternoon as the Evangels out-slugged No. 22 Oklahoma City for the 12-6 victory to claim the program's first ever SAC Tournament title.
 
SCORE

• Mid-America Christian 12, Oklahoma City 6
  • Mid-America Christian (40-11)
  • Oklahoma City (35-16)

PITCHING DECISIONS

• Win: Cameron Brown (4-1)
• Loss: Connor Ferguson (2-3)

TOP PERFORMERS

• Cameron Brown – W, 7.0 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 5 SO
• D'Andre Gaines – 2-4, HR, 5 RBI, 2 R, BB
• Noel McGarry-Doyle – 2-5, 3B, 2 RBI
• Jacob Police – 2-4, RBI, 2 R, HBP, SB
• Carlos Medina – 3-4, R
• Guillermo Velasco – 2-3, RBI, 2 R, 2 BB

SCORING SUMMARY

• BTM 1^st – MACU – Noel McGarry-Doyle tripled to left-center, 2 RBI; D'Andre Gaines scored; Jacob Police scored – MACU 2, OCU 0
• BTM 2^nd – MACU – Jacob Police singled to right, RBI; Guillermo Velasco scored – MACU 3, OCU 0
• BTM 4^th – MACU – D'Andre Gaines singled thru left side, RBI; Guillermo Velasco scored – MACU 4, OCU 0
• BTM 5^th – MACU – Guillermo Velasco singled thru right side, RBI; Anthony Hampton scored – MACU 5, OCU 0
• TOP 7^th – MACU – Hunter Lenochan hit a sac fly to cf, RBI; Aiden Van Rensum scored – MACU 5, OCU 1
• BTM 7^th – MACU – Jacob Police hit-by-pitch, RBI; Carlos Medina scored – MACU 6, OCU 1
• BTM 7^th – MACU – D'Andre Gaines homered to left, 4 RBI; Jacob Police scored; Taiga Sakuma scored; Joel Nieves scored – MACU 10, OCU 1
• TOP 8^th – MACU – Aiden Van Rensum homered to center, 3 RBI; Barrett Daniel scored; Chad Pike scored – MACU 10, OCU 4
• TOP 8^th – MACU – Hunter Lenochan singled to center, RBI; Tristan Williams scored – MACU 10, OCU 5
• TOP 8^th – MACU – Noah Kang singled to left, RBI; Aiden Alexander scored – MACU 10, OCU 6
• BTM 8^th – MACU – Marcus Burton homered to left, 2 RBI; Anthony Hampton scored – MACU 12, OCU 6

GAME SUMMARY

• Oklahoma City put together a major threat in the top of the first, loading the bases on a Hunter Lenochan single, an error on a fielder's choice for Trent Kiraly and a Chad Pike hit-by-pitch. However, MACU starting pitcher Cameron Brown got out of the bases-loaded jam by inducing a Barrett Daniel flyout to center.
• Mid-America Christian struck first in the bottom half of the first inning. After Jacob Police lined a single to left and D'Andre Gaines drew a walk, Noel McGarry-Doyle hammered a two-RBI triple to the left-center field wall to give MACU the 2-0 advantage.
• The Evangels added to their advantage with a run in the bottom of the second. After loading the bases on a Guillermo Velasco single to left as well as Zachary Stark and Taiga Sakuma reaching on errors, Jacob Police dropped an RBI single into right to make it a 3-0 lead with one out. MACU had a chance to add to it with the bases still loaded, but OCU starting pitcher Connor Ferguson induced a popout and a groundout to limit the damage to one run.
• The Stars put together another scoring chance in the top of the fourth as a Pike hit-by-pitch and Aiden Van Rensum reaching on a throwing error to put runners at second and third with two outs, however, MACU once again left the pair stranded when Gaines made a great running grab on Tristan Williams' flyball in left-center field to end the threat.
• The Evangels continued to add to their lead in the bottom half of the fourth. After putting runners at the corners on a Velasco walk and a fielder's choice, Gaines put a ground ball single through the left side, setting the score to 4-0.
• In the fifth, MACU pushed across one more by tallying three singles in four at-bats as Anthony Hampton's leadoff single to left and Carlos Medina's single up the middle put runners at the corners before Velasco hit a ground ball single through the right side to make it 5-0.
• The Stars were finally able get a run on the board in the top of the seventh. After OCU loaded the bases on three-straight singles to left off the bats of Van Rensum, Williams and Hunter Brown, two batters later, Lenochan hit a flyball to left to score Van Rensum, cutting it to a 5-1 game. However, Brown was able to limit the damage by inducing a flyout to center to keep it a four-run game.
• In the bottom of the seventh, the Evangels all but put the game out of reach with a five-run frame. Loading the bases on a Medina and Stark singles to left and a Sakuma walk, Police was pegged by a pitch for an RBI the easy way before Gaines launched a no-doubt grand slam down the left field line to extend the edge to 10-1.
• The Stars got three runs back in the top of the eighth when Van Rensum lofted a deep flyball that just barely got over the center field wall for a three-run homer before back-to-back RBI singles by Lenochan and Noah Kang later in the frame cut the MACU lead down to 10-6. However, MACU kept it from being an even worse situation when Kang tried to make his RBI hit a hustle double, but Sakuma threw out the runner trying to stretch.
• In the bottom of the eighth, Marcus Burton gave MACU some big-time insurance. After Hampton led off the frame with a single to left-center and stole second, Burton launched a deep homer off the scoreboard in left field to extend the lead to 12-6.

GAME NOTES

• Mid-America Christian scored its 12 runs on 15 hits with two errors while Oklahoma City scored its six runs on 11 hits and committed three errors.
• Despite already making two appearances in relief during the tournament, Cameron Brown put together an incredible start on the mound as the senior pitcher got the win by tossing seven innings and allowing only one earned run on five hits with no walks and five strikeouts.
• On-top of already owning MACU's NAIA Era (2008-present) career records in appearances (60) and games started (37), Brown moved to the top of another career list as he became the first Evangels pitcher to eclipse 200 innings pitched, ending the game at 204.1 to overtake Christian Hill (199.1, 2013-15). While already holding the No. 3 spot in MACU career wins list, the Blanchard, Oklahoma native earned his 15^th career win, becoming only the third MACU pitcher to reach 15 or more career victories.
• D'Andre Gaines led MACU's batting efforts with a massive day from the dish, finishing 2-for-4 while tying a team-lead with his 12^th home run for five RBIs and two runs scored. As a result of the outing, Gaines became the team's NAIA Era single season runs record holder with his 67^th score, overtaking Isaiah Leon (66, 2022) as well as moving into a six-way tie for fourth on the home runs list.
• Carlos Medina also continued his climb up MACU's career hits list after batting 3-for-5 with a run scored. On his third hit of the day, the junior shortstop moved into fifth on the Evangels' career hits list with the 119^th of his two-year career to overtake Luis Martinez (118, 2011-12).
• By getting the victory, Mid-America Christian improved to 3-1 against Oklahoma City during the 2024 campaign after taking two out of the three games during the regular season series. The contest also marked the second-straight SAC Tournament game that MACU reached double-digit runs after defeating Science & Arts 15-8 in the elimination game on Monday.
• The victory also allowed the Evangels to set a new program record for single season wins as the Evangels improved to 40-11, marking the program's first 40-win season. MACU also improved to 15-7 against teams ranked or receiving votes in the NAIA Top 25 Coaches' Poll.
• The Evangels receive the automatic qualifier bid to the NAIA World Series Tournament for the first time in program history by winning the conference tourney, claiming the team's first regular season and tournament titles in the same campaign.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will now await to see where it will be playing in the NAIA Tournament Opening Round. The selection show will air at 4 p.m. on Thursday, May 9 on the NAIA's YouTube channel.