OKLAHOMA CITY – The No. 19 MACU Baseball Team split Senior Day with an 8-4 loss in game two a big 14-7 win in game three of the series, with the win in game three the Evangels clinched three consecutive regular season series wins over Oklahoma City dating back to 2023.
 
GAME ONE
SCORE

• Oklahoma City 8, Mid-America Christian 4
  • Mid-America Christian (34-13, 19-7 SAC)
  • Oklahoma City (17-22, 12-14 SAC)

PITCHING DECISIONS

• Win: Andrew Limbaugh (4-2)
• Loss: Andrws Acosta (2-5)

TOP PERFORMERS

• Giordany Mendoza – 1-3, HR, R, 3 RBI, BB
• D'Andre Gaines – 2-4, R, SB
• Brett Justice – 2-4, 2B, R, RBI

SCORING SUMMARY

• TOP 1^st – OCU – Barrett Daniel homered to right center, 4 RBI; Trent Kiraly scored; Nic Bennett scored; Ethan Rhodes scored – OCU 4, MACU 0
• BTM 2^nd – MACU – Brett Justice singled through the left side, RBI; D'Andre Gaines scored – OCU 4, MACU 1
• TOP 3^rd – OCU – Nic Bennett homered to right center, 2 RBI; Ethan Rhodes scored – OCU 6, MACU 1
• TOP 4^th – OCU – Hunter Lenochan reached on a fielder's choice, RBI; Will Ellis scored – OCU 7, MACU 1
• TOP 4^th – OCU – Ethan Rhodes grounded out to 2b, RBI; Oliver Falvey scored – OCU 8, MACU 1
• BTM 4^th – MACU – Giordany Mendoza homered to right field, 3 RBI; Brett Justice scored; Carlos Medina scored – OCU 8, MACU 4

GAME SUMMARY

• Oklahoma City opened it up with a bang, they loaded up the bases on an error, and a couple singles, setting up the bases loaded with one-away for Barrett Daniel, who crushed a grand slam to right-center, providing OCU with an early 4-0 advantage.
• Mid-America Christian got a run back in the following frame after D'Andre Gaines led it off with a line drive single to left, he then swiped two and advanced to third on a lineout to center off the bat of Carlos Medina. Brett Justice then stepped up with a single through the left-side, putting the Evangels on the board down 4-1.
• The Stars answered right back though, Ethan Rhodes singled to right and Nic Bennett homered to right-center, extending the lead to 6-1.
• Three straight singles to start the fourth allowed OCU to score two more on RBI groundouts, making it 8-1 Stars.
• Medina got on via an error and Justice doubled in the left-center gap, bringing Giordany Mendoza to the plate. Mendoza came up big for MACU with a three-run Jack to right, keeping the Evangels in it with a now 8-4 score.
• Both sides failed to put anything else on the scoreboard the rest of the way, the Evangels had plenty of opportunities as they left two on in the fifth, three in the sixth and one in the seventh.
• Relievers Ryan Harney and Ryan Smith did a good job of silencing the Stars bats, they both tossed a scoreless inning with Harney getting the sixth and Ryan Smith the seventh.

GAME NOTES

• Oklahoma City connected for 11 hits while surrendering nine to Mid-America Christian, both teams committed an error.
• MACU stranded nine on the basepaths, the dagger for the Evangels was the long ball, as six of the eight runs came off homers for OCU.
•  Giordany Mendoza led the offense with three runs driven in, he did it all in one swing of the bat on his three-run homer in the fourth.
• Brett Justice made an impact, he went 2-for-4 with a double, a run and an RBI.
• D'Andre Gaines was the only other Evangel to crack two hits, he went 2-for-4 with a run and stolen base.
• Andrws Acosta received the loss, he moves to 2-5 on the season after going five innings, allowing ten hits on eight runs (seven earned) with five punchouts and a walk.

GAME TWO
SCORE

• Mid-America Christian 14, Oklahoma City 7
  • Mid-America Christian (35-13, 20-7 SAC)
  • Oklahoma City (17-23, 12-15 SAC)

PITCHING DECISIONS

• Win: Fabian Hernandez (7-1)
• Loss: Jacob Burkett (5-3)

TOP PERFORMERS

• Taiga Sakuma – 3-5, 2B, HR, 3 R, 4 RBI
• D'Andre Gaines – 2-4, 2B, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, BB
• Carlos Medina – 2-4, R, 2 RBI
• Payton Matthews – 1-2, R, HR, 2 RBI

SCORING SUMMARY

• BTM 1^st – MACU – Noel McGarry-Doyle singled to left; Taiga Sakuma scored – MACU 1, OCU 0
• BTM 1^st – MACU – D'Andre Gaines homered to center; Jonluke Hobdy scored; Noel McGarry-Doyle scored – MACU 4, OCU 0
• BTM 2^nd – MACU – Carlos Medina singled through the left side, RBI; Noel McGarry-Doyle advanced to second; Jonluke Hobdy scored – MACU 5, OCU 0
• BTM 3^rd – MACU – Taiga Sakuma doubled down the rf line, RBI; Dyson Kinnaman scored – MACU 6, OCU 0
• BTM 3^rd – MACU – Jonluke Hobdy singled up the middle, RBI; Taiga Sakuma scored – MACU 7, OCU 0
• TOP 4^th – OCU – Hunter Brown doubled to center field, 2 RBI; Brett Daniel scored; Nic Bennett scored – MACU 7, OCU 2
• BTM 4^th – MACU – Carlos Medina singled to right field, RBI; D'Andre Gaines scored – MACU 8, OCU 2
• BTM 4^th – MACU – Payton Matthews homered to center field, 2 RBI; Carlos Medina scored – MACU 10, OCU 2
• BTM 4^th – MACU – Taiga Sakuma homered to center field, 3 RBI; Elijah Lee scored; Dyson Kinnaman scored – MACU 13, OCU 2
• TOP 5^th – OCU – Nic Bennett singled through the left side, RBI; Oliver Falvey scored – MACU 13, OCU 3
• TOP 5^th – OCU – Barrett Daniel homered to left field, 4 RBI; Trent Kiraly scored; Nic Bennett scored; Ethan Rhodes scored – MACU 13, OCU 7
• BTM 6^th – MACU –Joel Nieves stole home – MACU 14, OCU 7

GAME SUMMARY

• Mid-America Christian batted around in the first, scoring four runs after Taiga Sakuma started it off with a leadoff single and ended up getting to third after an errant pickoff throw by OCU starter Jacob Burkett sailed into right field. Jonluke Hobdy then worked a walk and Noel McGarry-Doyle picked up a historic RBI single to plate Sakuma. It was McGarry-Doyle's 200^th hit as an Evangel.
• Following the RBI single, D'Andre Gaines stepped up with a towering three-run blast to center, making it 4-0 MACU with still nobody out.
• A pair of walks starting off the second let Carlos Medina bring home Jonluke Hobdy on a single through the left side, bumping the MACU lead to 5-0.
• Evangel starter Fabian Hernandez was extremely settled in, he struck out six of seven batters faced over innings two and three, keeping MACU ahead by a score of 5-0.
• Zachary Stark walked and was ran for by Dyson Kinnaman, Kinnaman stole second and advanced to third on another poor pickoff attempt, giving Sakuma the chance to score him on a double down the right field line. Sakuma then scored during the next at bat when Hobdy singled up the middle.
• A hit-by-pitch and walk followed up with a Hunter Brown double to center got the Stars on the board in the fourth, with MACU still leading, up 7-2.
• The Evangels blew it open in the fourth, scoring six runs behind six hits, including a RBI single from Medina and a pair of homers. Payton Matthews drilled a two-run shot to center, and Sakuma also sent one over the centerfield wall, this time for a three-run dinger, making it 13-2 MACU.
• After cruising through the first four, Hernandez gave up four hits and a grand slam in the fifth frame, ending his day at 4.2 innings tossed, Carlos Escobosa was called upon in relief and worked around a walk by striking out Oliver Farley swinging and leaving two on base. Nonetheless the Stars scored five in the inning, making it 13-7 MACU.
• Andrew Long was inserted for the sixth and worked a 1-2-3 inning while picking up a punchout in the process.
• Mid-America Christian added the last score of the day on a Joel Nieves steal of home, Nieves pinch ran for Julian Martinez and got to second on after McGarry-Doyle was plunked, he shifted to third on a deep flyout to center by Gaines. With first-and-third and two-outs, McGarry-Doyle left early from first base as reliever Austin Kopecky stepped off and ran at McGarry-Doyle, meanwhile Nieves broke home and slid in safely for the stolen base.
• Gabriel Dixon closed it out for the second day in a row, although he did not pick up a save this time around, he also worked a 1-2-3 inning with a strikeout to wrap up a 14-7 MACU victory.

GAME NOTES

• Mid-America Christian pounded out 14 hits for 14 runs and did not commit an error. Oklahoma City pieced seven hits and made three errors.
• A big impact on the game was the extra-base hits as MACU outnumbered OCU 6-2 in that regard.
• The Evangels also capitalized off the free passes as they drew nine walks, were hit-by-a-pitch twice, and watched the Stars defense commit three errors.
• Taiga Sakuma fell a triple shy of the cycle, he put up season highs in hits with three and RBIs with four. With seven total bases in the game Sakuma set a career-high in that regard, surpassing his previous of six that occurred in his three-double game in the 18-1 win over Panhandle State back on Mar. 22, 2024.
• D'Andre Gaines continued to swing a hot stick, he joined Sakuma as the only two players to pick up multiple extra-base hits in the contest. Gaines went 2-for-4 with a double, a homer, and three RBIs.
• With the big fly Gaines tied his total from last season with 13, he needs just one more to tie Yan Adames' single season record of 14 that occurred during the 2023 season. Adrain Bravo-Carmona also blasted 14 homers in a season back in 2010, making it a two-way tie for first.
•  Noel McGarry-Doyle made history, he had just one hit, but it was a big one. His RBI single in the first was his 200^th as an Evangel, he trails only Yan Adames' 267 for the lead at MACU. He finished 1-for-2 with a run, RBI, two walks and a stolen base.
• Payton Matthews made a major impact despite coming off the bench, he smacked a two-run long-ball for his seventh home run of the season.
• Carlos Medina drove in a pair on a couple of singles, he finished 2-for-4 with a run.
• Seniors Julian Martinez, Jason Thurman and Guillermo Velasco offered singles in their plate appearances; Martinez reached base twice as he also drew a walk.
• Zachary Stark had a very productive game, he went 1-for-2 with a single, but two walks allowed courtesy runner Dyson Kinnaman to enter and score two runs in result of the walks.
• Fabian Hernandez pitched better than the stat sheet indicated, as a five-run fifth really hurt the stat line, overall, he picked up his seventh victory of the season which ties Andrew Long for a team lead. The final line for Hernandez was 4.2 IP on seven runs (all earned) behind seven hits, two walks and seven K's.
• Andrew Long and Gabriel Dixon retired the last six in order with a couple of strikeouts mixed in to close it out.
• With the victory MACU makes it three straight seasons with a regular-season series victory over OCU.

UP NEXT

• MACU will scoreboard watch tomorrow in order to determine who they face off against next weekend. With a new format to the SAC Tournament, the second-seeded Evangels will host the seven-seed in a three-game series and the winner advances to the final four the following weekend. The first pitch of the opening round will be next Friday, Apr. 25 with a time to be announced.