OKLAHOMA CITY – No. 19 MACU Baseball preps for a best-of-three game set at home against Nelson for the first round of the SAC Tournament. The series is slated for the first pitch at 4:00 p.m. Friday with game two to be played after. If a game three is necessary, it will take place on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.  
 
MACU SEASON REPORT

• Record: 35-13, (20-7 SAC)
• Last Game: Won vs. Oklahoma City – 14-7 – Apr. 18, 2025 – Oklahoma City
• Stat Leaders (Hitting):
  • Noel McGarry-Doyle – SR – OF
    • .424 BA (64-152), 9 2B, 8 HR, 54 RBI, 46 R, 34 BB, 15 HBP, .562 OBP%, .642 SLG%, 1.204 OPS%, 28 SB
  • Cristopher Munoz – SR – 2B
    • .406 BA (54-133), 10 2B, 12 HR, 40 RBI, 52 R, 21 BB, 11 HBP, .509 OB%, .752 SLG% 1.261 OPS%, 16 SB
  • D'Andre Gaines – SR – OF
    • .337 BA (40-120), 13 2B, 5 3B, 13 HR, 46 RBI, 62 R, 32 BB, 6 HBP, .452 OB%, .711 SLG% 1.163 OPS%, 20 SB
• Stat Leaders (Pitching):
  • Fabian Hernandez – JR – LHP
    • 3.70 ERA, 7-1 W-L, 13 APP, 11 GS, 2 CG, 1 SV, 65.2 IP, 65 H, 34 R, 27 ER, 29 BB, 76 SO, .260 OBA
  • Brock Cordes – JR – RHP
    • 4.88 ERA, 5-0 W-L, 13 APP, 9 GS, 51.2 IP, 41 H, 28 R, 28 ER, 29 BB, 54 SO, .211 OBA
  • Gabriel Dixon – SR – LHP
    • 5.07 ERA, 4-2 W-L, 14 APP, 11 GS, 1 CG, 2 SV, 55.0 IP, 67 H, 37 R, 31 ER, 22 BB, 47 SO, .296 OBA
• Team Notes:
  • Mid-America Christian is coming off another strong regular season campaign, finishing with 20-plus wins in the SAC for the second straight season. At a 20-7 record in conference play the Evangels earned the second seed for the SAC Tournament and are lined up against the seven-seeded Nelson.
  • MACU has attributed a lot of its success due to the powerhouse offense that has shattered numerous season records without postseason play even starting yet. With 85 long balls on the season, MACU has surpassed the previous record of 68, (2023). 85 homers for the Evangels leads the SAC and ranks seventh overall across all of the NAIA.
  • Although the Evangels threatened to homer all throughout the lineup, with 11 players logging four or more homers on the season, the ability to steal bases has played a massive role in the team's success. MACU has swiped 136 bags, which ranks first in the SAC and is just outside the NAIA top ten at eleventh. 136 stolen bases is the most in a single season, nearly half of the team's stolen bases have come from the speedy outfielders in Noel McGarry-Doyle and Payton Matthews. Matthews has 31 and McGarry-Doyle has 28, combining for 59 of the 136 overall.
  • MACU will look for some big outings from starters Fabian Hernandez and Brock Cordes, the duo has been very strong over the past month. Hernandez has a team low ERA of 3.70 with a 7-1 record in 11 starts. Cordes has yet to receive a loss in his 13 appearances (nine starts), he has surrendered just one run in his past three outings, totaling 16 innings on seven hits, seven walks and 16 punchouts.
  • D'Andre Gaines is chasing MACU history as he needs just one homer to tie the single season record of homers with 14, which has been done twice, once by Adrain Bravo-Carmona (2010) and more recently Yan Adames (2023).

SCOUTING REPORT
Nelson

• Record: 23-23, (11-16 SAC)
• Last Game: Won at Panhandle State – 16-4 – Apr. 7, 2025 – Goodwell, Okla.
• Series vs Nelson (2005-): MACU Leads 28-18
• Last Game vs MACU: MACU won 6-2 – Apr. 12, 2025 – Waxahachie, Texas
• Players to Watch (Hitting):
  • Andrew Ortiz – JR – OF
    • .397 BA (54-136), 14 2B, 2 3B, 6 HR, 40 RBI, 33 R, 22 BB, .494 OB%, .662 SLG%, 1.156 OPS%
  • Nick Mosley – SR – OF
    • .350 BA (50-143), 10 2B, 2 3B, 4 HR, 34 RBI, 43 R, 22 BB, .449 OBP%, .531 SLG% 0.980 OPS%, 18 SB
  • Zeke Holder– GS – INF
    • .328 BA (45-137), 9 2B, 1 3B, 6 HR, 34 RBI, 28 R, 12 BB, 11 HBP, .420 OBP%, .540 SLG%, 0.960 OPS%
• Players to Watch (Pitching):
  • Jake McMahan – FR – P
    • 4.67 ERA, 2-4 W-L, 16 APP, 8 GS, 1 SV, 44.1 IP, 38 H, 34 R, 23 ER, 41 BB, 36 SO, .236 OBA
  • Ryan Avalos – SO – P
    • 5.64 ERA, 3-8 W-L, 14 APP, 13 GS, 1 CG, 1 SHO, 60.2 IP, 73 H, 56 R, 38 ER, 35 BB, 56 SO, .340 OBA
  • Javier Balderas – SO – RHP
    • 6.45 ERA, 3-4 W-L, 15 APP, 13 GS, 1 CG, 60.0 IP, 63 H, 53 R, 43 ER, 34 BB, 52 SO, .275 OBA
• Team Notes:
  • Nelson enters the series off a four-game skid including losing five of its last six games. The Lions traveled up to Bethany and had little success on the offensive end against Southwestern Christian. Although Nelson allowed just 13 runs combined in three games, they put up just two runs, getting blanked in games two and three to get swept by the Eagles.
  • Offensively Nelson is extremely hit or miss, 21 times this season they have scored under five runs in a game, however they have 18 games in which they have plated ten or more.
  • Andrew Ortiz is the main contributor on offense for the Lions, he leads the team in average just under the .400 mark with a .397 clip, a team-high 22 extra-base hits and 40 runs batted in.
  • On the mound Nelson has had a rough go at it this season, with a staff ERA of 6.70. Freshmen Jake McMahan has found the most success, he stands in with a 2-4 record but a solid 4.67 ERA across 16 appearances (eight starts).
  • This will be the second time squaring off this season for the teams, the Evangels have won the regular season series over the last three seasons. This will also be the first time the teams face each other in the SAC Tournament.