No. 17 Baseball Back In-Action with Monday Matchup at Sterling

OKLAHOMA CITY – No. 17 MACU Baseball team looks to extend the winning streak to five games with a Monday matchup on the road against Sterling with a first pitch slated for 3:00 p.m.

MACU SEASON REPORT

Record: 22-7, 10-2 SAC
Last Game: Won vs. Panhandle State – 12-4 – Mar. 17, 2025 – Oklahoma City
Stat Leaders (Hitting):
- Noel McGarry-Doyle – SR – RF
  - .411 BA (39-95), 5 2B, 5 HR, 35 RBI, 33 R, 22 BB, 10 HBP, .555 OBP%, .621 SLG%, 1.176 OPS%, 17 SB
- Brett Justice – JR – 1B
  - .360 BA (32-89), 10 2B, 1 3B, 9 HR, 32 RBI, 22 R, 16 BB, .467 OB%, .798 SLG% 1.265 OPS%
- Payton Matthews – SR – OF
  - .351 BA (33-94), 6 2B, 1 3B, 6 HR, 42 RBI, 28 R, 14 BB, .425 OB%, .628 SLG% 1.053 OPS%, 19 SB
Stat Leaders (Pitching):
- Gabriel Dixon – SR – LHP
  - 3.82 ERA, 4-1 W-L, 7 APP, 7 GS, 1 CG, 37.2 IP, 45 H, 20 R, 16 ER, 14 BB, 32 SO
- Fabian Hernandez – JR – LHP
  - 3.82 ERA, 4-1 W-L, 8 APP, 6 GS, 35.1 IP, 32 H, 17 R, 15 ER, 14 BB, 41 SO, .242 OBA
- Angel Miranda – JR – RHP
  - 4.28 ERA, 3-1 W-L, 7 APP, 5 GS, 27.1 IP, 23 H, 16 R, 13 ER, 3 BB, 30 SO, .230 OBA
Team Notes:
- Mid-America Christian comes in winners of four straight, including a three-game sweep over Panhandle State in which the offense banged 46 runs, beating OPSU 46-10 in the scoring department.
- The Evangels offense has been red-hot as of late, MACU ranks first in the SAC in runs batted in with 261, which ranks third across the entirety of the NAIA. Extra-base hits have played a large part, as MACU is tied with Wayland Baptist for the SAC lead with 119 extra-base hits that also is tied for fifth in the NAIA.
- The outfield trio of D'Andre Gaines, Payton Matthews and Noel McGarry-Doyle had tremendous performances against OPSU, Gaines reached base nine times in the series, with six hits, including a pair of doubles, a triple and three walks. Payton Matthews continued to be productive in the box, he drove in eight over the weekend on four hits with three two-baggers. He brought his team leading RBI total up to 42, which is tied with Wayland's Felix Polanco for the SAC lead, and trails only three to Our Lady of the Lake's Jack Kalisky for the national lead.
- Noel McGarry-Doyle moved into sole possession of the all-time stolen base leader during the NAIA-era (2007-present), he had a monster weekend that featured a 6-for-11 stat line with 10 RBI's.
- The Evangels made it 15 consecutive victories over the Aggies with the sweep, dating back to the 2021 campaign.

SCOUTING REPORT
Sterling

Record: 7-17, 2-10 KCAC
Last Game: Won vs. Tabor – 6-4 – Mar. 15, 2025 – Sterling, Kan.
Series vs OPSU (2018-): SC leads 3-2
Series Streak: MACU lost 3
Last Game vs MACU: SC won 4-2 – Mar. 2, 2013 – Oklahoma City
Players to Watch (Hitting):
- Andrew Dutro – SR – OF/1B
  - .435 BA (37-85), 8 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 28 RBI, 23 R, 9 BB, .500 OB%, .659 SLG%, 1.159 OPS%
- Luis Morales – SR –SS
  - .397 BA (31-78), 7 2B, 1 HR, 18 RBI, 25 R, 13 BB, .484 OBP%, .526 SLG%, 1.010 OPS%
- Emmanuel Huerta Cardenas – JR – OF
  - .342 BA (27-79), 2 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 21 RBI, 12 BB, .469 OBP%, .506 SLG%, .975 OPS%
Players to Watch (Pitching):
- Trenton Canaan – SR – P
  - 5.40 ERA, 2-2 W-L, 6 APP, 5 GS, 30.0 IP, 35 H, 19 R, 18 ER, 13 BB, 22 SO
- Aaron Elsasser – SR – P
  - 4.66 ERA, 1-1 W-L, 8 APP, 1 GS, 1 CG, 1 SV, 29.0 IP, 27 H, 16 R, 15 ER, 7 BB, 19 SO
Team Notes:
- Sterling checks into this matchup with a 7-17 record and a 2-10 performance in KCAC play, the Warriors have been solid at the plate with a team average of .290, however their staff era is the issue with a 9.77 clip.
- Andrew Dutro, Emmanuel Huerta Cardenas and Luis Morales lead the charge for Sterling, the trio all steps in hitting over .340. Out of the 10 homers the Warriors have this season, Cardenas and Dutro combine for over half with three a piece.
- On the mound the Warriors are led by Trenton Canaan and Aaron Elsasser. Elsasser comes off his first start of the season, he turned in a gem, going the distance against Tabor to pick up the 6-4 win. He tossed seven innings, giving up seven hits for four runs with a pair of walks and six punchouts.
- This will be the sixth all-time matchup amongst the teams in the NAIA-era, with the last contest being played all the way back in March of 2013.