OKLAHOMA CITY – The No. 18 MACU Baseball team had a historic day in the box, putting up an NAIA-era (2007-Present) record in homers with ten, including three off the bat of D'Andre Gaines, nonetheless the Evangels could not cool down the Falcons bats, falling to Friends 28-15 in the slugfest.
 
SCORE

• Friends 28, Mid-America Christian 15
  • Mid-America Christian (25-9, 11-2 SAC)
  • Friends (17-14, 11-9 KCAC)

PITCHING DECISIONS

• Win: Jackson Walls (1-0)
• Loss: Jordan Smith (1-1)
• Save: Matthew Benton (2)

TOP PERFORMERS

• D'Andre Gaines – 3-4, 3 HR, 3 R, 4 RBI
• Cristopher Munoz – 2-3, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB
• Jacob Police – 2-4, 2B, HR, 2 R, RBI

 
SCORING SUMMARY

• TOP 1^st – FRND – Zeke Henson homered down the lf line, 2 RBI; Bernie Socarras scored – FRND 2, MACU 0
• TOP 2^nd – FRND – Spencer Davidson homered to center field, 2 RBI; Nijai Armbriste scored – FRND 4, MACU 0
• TOP 2^nd – FRND – Zeke Henson singled up the middle, 2 RBI; Niquan Benjamin scored; Miles Hartman scored – FRND 6, MACU 0
• TOP 2^nd – FRND – Zeke Henson scored on a wild pitch – FRND 7, MACU 0
• BTM 2^nd – MACU – Giordany Mendoza homered to right – FRND 7, MACU 1
• BTM 2^nd – MACU – Jonluke Hobdy homered to center, 2 RBI; Payton Matthews scored – FRND 7, MACU 3
• BTM 2^nd – MACU – Noel McGarry-Doyle singled to left, RBI; Cristopher Munoz scored – FRND 7, MACU 4
• BTM 2^nd – MACU – Brett Justice homered to left-center, 2 RBI; Noel McGarry-Doyle scored scored – FRND 7, MACU 6
• TOP 3^rd – FRND – Bernie Socarras walked, RBI; Spencer Davidson scored – FRND 8, MACU 6
• TOP 3^rd – FRND – Zeke Henson walked, RBI; Miles Hartman scored – FRND 9, MACU 6
• TOP 3^rd – FRND – Carlos Rodriguez walked, RBI; Niquan Benjamin scored – FRND 10, MACU 6
• TOP 3^rd – FRND – Isaias Urriola singled down the lf line, RBI Bernie Socarras scored – FRND 11, MACU 6
• TOP 3^rd – FRND – Tyler Godfrey singled to pitcher, RBI; Zeke Henson scored – FRND 12, MACU 6
• TOP 3^rd – FRND – Nijai Armbrister homered to left center, 4 RBI; Tyler Godfrey scored; Dominic Arellano scored; Carlos Rodriguez scored – FRND 16, MACU 6
• TOP 3^rd – FRND – Zeke Henson walked, RBI; Spencer Davidson scored – FRND 17, MACU 6
• BTM 3^rd – MACU – D'Andre Gaines homered to right center, 2 RBI; Jacob Police scored – FRND 17, MACU 8
• BTM 3^rd – MACU – Conner Thompson homered down the lf line, 2 RBI; Giordany Mendoza scored – FRND 17, MACU 10
• BTM 3^rd – MACU – Cristopher Munoz homered to right center, RBI – FRND 17, MACU 11
• TOP 4^th – FRND – Miles Hartman singled to right center, RBI; Dominic Arellano scored – FRND 18, MACU 11
• BTM 4^th – MACU – Jacob Police homered down the lf line, RBI – FRND 18, MACU 12
• BTM 4^th – MACU – D'Andre Gaines homered to left center, RBI – FRND 18, MACU 13
• BTM 5^th – MACU – Cristopher Munoz homered to left, RBI – FRND 18, MACU 14
• TOP 6^th – FRND – Nijai Armbrister homered to left field, 2 RBI; Tyler Godfrey scored – FRND 20, MACU 14
• TOP 6^th – FRND – Zeke Henson singled to right field, 2 RBI; Nijai Benjamin scored; Spencer Davidson scored – FRND 22, MACU 14
• TOP 6^th – FRND – Isaias Urriola singled up the middle, 2 RBI; Carlos Rodriguez scored; Zeke Henson scored – FRND 24, MACU 14
• TOP 6^th – FRND – Nijai Armbrister doubled down the lf line, 2 RBI; Tyler Godfrey scored; Dominic Arellano scored – FRND 26, MACU 14
• TOP 6^th – FRND – Spencer Davidson homered to right field, 2 RBI; Nijai Armbrister scored – FRND 28, MACU 14
• BTM 6^th – MACU – D'Andre Gaines homered to center, RBI – FRND 28, MACU 15

GAME SUMMARY

• Friends connected first for a pair of runs on a two-run blast to left off the bat of Zeke Henson, taking a 2-0 lead in the top of the first.
• Mid-America Christian threatened in the bottom half of the frame, Cristopher Munoz walked and Noel McGarry-Doyle reached via an error on a grounder to second, the duo reached scoring position on a double steal, but Falcons starter Gonzolo Armas got Carlos Medina to lineout sharply to center to retire the inning.
• In the top of the second, Friends added five more on the board on six hits, including a two-run homer to right by Spencer Davidson and a two-RBI single from Henson.
• With two outs and nobody on, Giorany Mendoza extended the inning on a solo homer to right, Connor Thompson then was plunked and Jonluke Hobdy provided two more runs for MACU on a no-doubt towering shot over the center field wall.
• The Evangels were not down in the second, they added three more after Munoz was walked, he advanced to second on a wild pitch and was singled home on a flair to left by McGarry-Doyle. Brett Justice then tapped in on the action, homering to left-center for a two-run shot, cutting Friends lead to 7-6.
• Friends continued to stay red-hot on offense, forcing the Evangels to use three different arms in the third, plating 10 runs in the process behind six hits, four walks, two hit-by-pitches and an error.
• MACU responded in the third, Jacob Police led off the frame with a two-bagger on a line drive down the left field line, he was scored on D'Andre Gaines moonshot to right, cutting the Friends lead to 17-8. The homer run party would not stop there though, as Mendoza worked a free pass, he was plated on a homer down the left field line by Conner Thompson. Munoz then joined the club on an opposite field blast to right, making it 17-11.
• The Falcons put runners on the corners with nobody out, and reliever Luke Bourland did a good job minimizing the inning, picking up a pair of punchouts while allowing a RBI single to Miles Hartman in the process, putting Friends ahead 18-11 after three and a half complete.
• Bourland continued to be effective on the bump, tossing a scoreless fifth to keep the Falcons off the board for the first time all game.
• Munoz blasted his second homer of the contest on a towering shot to left, making it 18-14 Friends at the end of five.
• The Falcons struck for their second ten run frame of the game, scoring 10 in the sixth behind nine hits, extending the lead to 28-14.
• Gaines connected for his third homer of the day in the bottom of the sixth on a no-doubt homer to center, putting the Evangels down 28-15, where things would ultimately hold up.

GAME NOTES

• Mid-America Christian allowed 30 hits for 28 runs while putting up 13 of its own including a program record during the NAIA-era with ten long balls, surpassing the previous record of seven that occurred last season in the 15-8 victory over Science & Arts in the SAC Conference Tournament.
• D'Andre Gaines had a legendary game; he became the first MACU player in the NAIA-Era to hit three homers in a contest. He finished 3-for-4 with four runs driven in.
• Cristopher Munoz turned in his first career multi-homer game as a member of the Evangels, he went 2-for-3 with a pair of runs and RBIs.
• Giordany Mendoza and Jacob Police added solo homers, Police added a double on top of his homer to finish 2-for-4 with a couple of runs scored.
• Jonluke Hobdy and Brett Justice struck for two-run homers, they both finished 1-for-4.
• Connor Thompson added a two-run shot, he slashed a 1-for-3 line.
• Noel McGarry-Doyle went 2-for-4 with a run, RBI and a walk. His RBI single in the second was the only run out of the 15 that did not score via a homerun.
• Bradley Waite led the MACU arms, he was the only arm out of seven used to not allow a run, going 1.1 scoreless.
• It was the first time the Evangels have been run ruled at home dating back to a 10-0 loss against Southwestern Christian back on Apr. 30, 2021.
• It is only the fifth loss in which the Evangels have scored at least six runs in the last two seasons, MACU has won 53 of its last 58 games in which they have scored six or more.
• MACU snaps its winning streak at home, falling for the first time on the home floor this season, with a record now of 10-1.

UP NEXT

• MACU returns to SAC play with a road matchup against Southwestern Christian, with the three-game series getting underway Friday with a 1:00 p.m. first pitch slated Cagle Field.