McPHERSON, Kan. – The No. 20 MACU Baseball Team won a slugfest Tuesday afternoon, defeating McPherson 15-11 after tying a season-high in hits with 16. The Evangels saw six starters record more than one hit in the victory.
 
SCORE

• Mid-America Christian 15, McPherson 11
  • Mid-America Christian (33-12, 18-6 SAC)
  • McPherson (22-22, 15-14 KCAC)

PITCHING DECISIONS

• Win: Ryan Smith (1-0)
• Loss: Nick Thompson (1-1)

TOP PERFORMERS

• Noel McGarry-Doyle – 2-3, 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI
• Jonluke Hobdy – 3-6, 2B, R, RBI
• Taiga Sakuma – 1-3, 3B, 2 R, 3 RBI, BB
• D'Andre Gaines – 2-4, 3B, 2 RBI, 2 SB
• Ryan Smith – W, 2.2 IP, 2 H, 4 BB, 3 SO
• Payton Matthews – 2-2. 3 R, SF, 2 RBI, 3 SB

 
SCORING SUMMARY

• TOP 1^st – MACU – Noel McGarry-Doyle doubled to right field, RBI; Cristopher Munoz scored – MACU 1, MCPH 0
• TOP 1^st – MACU – D'Andre Gaines grounded out to ss, RBI; Noel McGarry-Doyle scored – MACU 2, MCPH 0
• BTM 1^st – MCPH –Dawson Walters doubled to right, RBI; Peyton Starr scored – MACU 2, MCPH 1

• TOP 3^rd – MACU – D'Andre Gaines tripled to center field, RBI; Noel McGarry-Doyle scored – MACU 3, MCPH 1
• TOP 3^rd – MACU – D'Andre Gaines scored on a wild pitch – MACU 4, MCPH 1
• TOP 4^th – MACU – Taiga Sakuma flied out to cf, RBI; Payton Matthews scored – MACU 5, MCPH 1
• BTM 4^th – MCPH – Colin Evers homered, 2 RBI; Marcus Patton scored – MACU 5, MCPH 3
• BTM 4^th – MCPH – Colt Sussex-Uphold singled to left field, RBI, advanced to second on the throw; Jace Essig scored – MACU 5, MCPH 4
• BTM 4^th – MCPH – Peyton Starr reached first on an error by ss; Colt-Sussex Uphold scored – MACU 5, MCPH 5
• TOP 6^th – MACU – Taiga Sakuma tripled to center field, 2 RBI; Elijah Lee scored; Dyson Kinnaman scored – MACU 7, MCPH 5
• TOP 6^th – MACU – Payton Matthews flied out to lf, RBI; Taiga Sakuma scored – MACU 8, MCPH 5
• TOP 6^th – MACU – Carlos Medina singled to center field, RBI; D'Andre Gaines scored – MACU 9, MCPH 5
• TOP 7^th – MACU – Payton Matthews singled to shortstop, RBI; Elijah Lee scored – MACU 10, MCPH 5
• BTM 7^th – MCPH – Colt Sussex-Uphold hit by pitch, RBI; Colin Evers scored – MACU 10, MCPH 6
• BTM 7^th – MCPH – Dawson Walters walked, RBI; Ky'rell Taylor scored – MACU 10, MCPH 7
• TOP 8^th – MACU – Jonluke Hobdy doubled to center field, RBI; Carlos Medina scored – MACU 11, MCPH 7
• TOP 8^th – MACU – Giordany Mendoza singled to center field, RBI; Jonluke Hobdy scored – MACU 12, MCPH 7
• TOP 8^th – MACU – Giordany Mendoza scored on a wild pitch – MACU 13, MCPH 7
• TOP 8^th – MACU – Noel McGarry-Doyle singled, advanced to second on the throw, 2 RBI; Payton Matthews scored; Taiga Sakuma scored – MACU 15, MCPH 7
• BTM 8^th – MCPH – Marcus Patton homered to left – MACU 15, MCPH 8
• BTM 9^th – MCPH – Peyton Starr homered, 2 RBI; Jace Essig scored – MACU 15, MCPH 10
• BTM 9^th – MCPH – Jared Kramp scored on a wild pitch – MACU 15, MCPH 11

GAME SUMMARY

• Mid-America stuck first on a pair of doubles by Cristopher Munoz and Noel McGarry-Doyle in the top of the first, with a 1-0 lead D'Andre Gaines pushed across McGarry-Doyle on a grounder to short.
• McPherson went down on strikes through the first two batters but extended the inning on an error and a Dawson Walters double brought home Peyton Star, cutting the lead to 2-1.
• Noel McGarry-Doyle worked a seven pitch walk to start of the third and scored on a RBI triple hit by Gaines that was lost in the sunlight by centerfielder Jace Essig, putting MACU ahead 3-1. Gaines then scored two pitches later on a wild pitch, making it 4-1.
• Gabriel Dixon worked his way out of a first-and-third two out jam by getting Jared Kramp to flew out to left to retire the frame.
• Conner Thompson was plunked to lead off the fourth, Payton Matthews then courtesy ran and moved to third on a sac bunt from Elijah Lee. Taiga Sakuma then flew out to center, scoring Matthews in the process and pushing the lead to 5-1.
• The Bulldogs put up back-to-back extra-base hits in the fourth, including a two-run home to right  by Colin Evers. McPherson brought home two more in the frame on a hit-by-pitch, a single, two walks and an error, allowing them to tie it up at 5-5.
• Reliever Ryan Smith worked a scoreless fifth with some help from McGarry-Doyle in right, who relayed a single in to home that was cut off by first basemen Giordany Mendoza who fired it home to catch Braden Schiffner trying to score, keeping it tied up at 5-5.
• Backstop Conner Thompson was plunked to start the sixth, Dyson Kinnaman courtesy ran and swiped second and advanced to third on a single to right by Lee. Sakuma brought the pair home by drilling a triple off the center field wall, putting MACU back on top 7-5. Matthews then executed a sac fly to center and Gaines started it back up with two outs and nobody on with a walk and a stolen base, allowing Carlos Medina to single him home on a grounder up the middle.
• Ryan Smith remained on the bump and fanned three in the sixth, working around a walk, stolen base and wild pitch to strand Peyton Starr at third.
• The Bulldogs pushed two across in the seventh without putting a ball in play. Three hit-by-pitches and a pair of walks cut the MACU lead to 7-5. Carlos Escobosa did a good job limiting the damage as he stranded the bases loaded by catching Kramp looking to end the inning.
• The Evangels batted around in the eighth, putting up six hits including RBI hits from Mendoza, Hobdy, and a two-RBI single from McGarry-Doyle, providing the Evangels with a 15-7 lead.
• Marcus Patton led off the eighth with a solo shot, but Escobosa battled back by getting the next three McPherson hitters out including a pair of K's.
• McPherson added three more in the ninth on a two-run homer and a wild pitch, but Escobosa bared down, picking up his sixth punchout to get Marcus Patton swinging to end it with a 15-11 MACU victory.

GAME NOTES

• Mid-America Christian laced 16 hits for 15 runs, while drawing seven walks and making a couple errors as McPherson put up 12 hits and did not commit an error.
• Both teams generated a lot of offense but had the capability to do more with 12 left on base for both sides, both teams had seven walks, and the Bulldogs were hit by four pitches to five for MACU.
• 16 hits for the Evangels tied a season-high that occurred in the 14-1 win over Texas Wesleyan on Apr. 7^th, MACU drilled five extra-base hits including two triples which was another season-high that was matched today.
• Behind 16 hits were six different Evangels recording multi-hit games, Jonluke Hobdy led the crew with three hits, he finished 3-for-6 with a double, a run and RBI.
• Noel McGarry-Doyle picked up three runs driven in after going 2-for-3 with a double, two runs and two walks.
• Payton Matthews took advantage of his opportunities, he was inserted in the fourth and finished 2-for-2 with a sac fly, three runs, two RBIs and three stolen bases. Matthews is now 31-32 in stolen base attempts this season, he joins Sam Lewis (2010) as the only Evangels in the NAIA-era (2007-present) who have recorded thirty or more stolen bases in a season.
• Centerfielder D'Andre Gaines had a very productive day, he went 2-for-4 with a triple, two runs, two RBIs, and a pair of stolen bags.
• Carlos Medina and Cristopher Munoz both turned in two-hit games, Munoz went 2-for-3 with a double and a run. Medina went 2-for-6 with a run and run batted in.
• Elijah Lee got the starting nod at second base and reached base three times, he went 1-for-2 with a couple of walks and scored twice.
• Taiga Sakuma drove in three, he went 1-for-3 with a triple, two runs, a sac fly, hit-by-pitch and a walk.
• Ryan Smith picked up his first win in an Evangel uniform, he went 2.1 innings, he walked four and gave up two-hits, but he picked up three strikeouts in order to keep the Bulldogs off the board. Out of a combined 13 pitchers used on both sides, Ryan Smith was the only pitcher to not allow a run.
• Gabriel Dixon tossed three strong frames, he allowed just one unearned run on three hits, a walk and four punchouts.
• Carlos Escobosa picked up a season-high of six strikeouts across 2.2 innings of work.
• MACU arms finished with 15 strikeouts overall, which fell two short of a season high of 17 that happened in the 12-1 win over College of the Ozarks on Feb. 24.
• With the win MACU extends the all-time streak (2014) to 6-4 against McPherson as well as three straight victories since 2024.

 
 
UP NEXT

• MACU gets back to SAC play with a three-game set against crosstown rival Oklahoma City with game one currently slated for Friday at 7:00 p.m.