No. 19 Baseball Returns to Action with NAIA Opening Round Matchup against No. 21 Johnson

OKLAHOMA CITY – No. 19 MACU Baseball returns to the NAIA Tournament Opening Round today with a first pitch slated for 2:30 against No. 21 Johnson (Tenn.) at Pilot Field in Shreveport, Louisiana.

MACU SEASON REPORT

Record: 38-15
Last Game: Lost vs. Wayland Baptist – 13-5 – May 5, 2025 – Chickasha, Okla.
Stat Leaders (Hitting):
- Cristopher Munoz – SR – 2B
  - .418 BA (64-153), 11 2B, 13 HR, 48 RBI, 56 R, 24 BB, 12 HBP, .515 OBP%, .745 SLG%, 1.260 OPS%, 17 SB
- Noel McGarry-Doyle – SR – OF
  - .394 BA (67-170), 9 2B, 8 HR, 54 RBI, 47 R, 40 BB, 15 HBP, .540 OB%, .588 SLG% 1.128 OPS%, 28 SB
- Taiga Sakuma – JR – OF
  - .390 BA (48-123), 8 2B, 3 3B, 5 HR, 32 RBI, 50 R, 28 BB, .500 OB%, .626 SLG% 1.126 OPS%, 17 SB
Stat Leaders (Pitching):
- Fabian Hernandez – JR – LHP
  - 3.96 ERA, 8-1 W-L, 14 APP, 12 GS, 2 CG, 1 SV, 72.2 IP, 73 H, 39 R, 32 ER, 29 BB, 80 SO, .261 OBA
- Gabriel Dixon –SR – LHP
  - 4.68 ERA, 5-2 W-L, 17 APP, 11 GS, 1 CG, 4 SV, 59.2 IP, 69 H, 37 R, 31 ER, 22 BB, 54 SO, .286 OBA
- Brock Cordes – SR – RHP
  - 5.29 ERA, 6-1 W-L, 15 APP, 11 GS, 1 CG, 1 SV, 64.2 IP, 53 H, 38 R, 38 ER, 36 BB, 63 SO, .220 OBA
Team Notes:
- Mid-America Christian enters the regional coming off the largest conference loss in two years, falling 13-5 to Wayland Baptist, eliminating its run at potential back-to-back SAC Tournament Champions.
- MACU expects some big contribution from the heart of the lineup, second basemen Cristopher Munoz has been leading the charge, behind a .500 batting average (10-20) Munoz tore up the SAC Tournament, adding eight runs driven in on a double and a homer.
- A pair of southpaws in Fabian Hernandez and Gabriel Dixon continued to shove on the mound, Hernandez won his team leading eighth game in the 7-5 victory over Oklahoma City, Hernandez tossed seven innings, allowing five runs on eight hits, four strikeouts and no walks. Dixon picked up the save in game one over Nelson and received the win in game two, Dixon worked another save after working 1.2 scoreless frames against the Stars.
- Ultimately the Evangels seek to get the bats going, they have not clipped 10 or more runs in a game in five straight games, marking a season-high.

SCOUTING REPORT
Johnson (Tenn.)

Record: 35-16
Last Game: Lost vs. Tennessee Wesleyan – 12-1 – May 2, 2025 – Kingsport, Tenn.
Series vs MACU (2025-): First meeting
Players to Watch (Hitting):
- Travis Hobbensiefken – SR – OF
  - .395 BA (73-185), 4 2B, 2 3B, 7 HR, 49 RBI, 46 R, 26 BB, .470 OB%, .551 SLG%, 1.021 OPS%, 17 SB
- Luke Wilson – FR – OF
  - .386 BA (64-166), 11 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 23 RBI, 58 R, 23 BB, .480 OBP%, .494 SLG%, .974 OPS%, 34 SB
- Bryson Shown – JR – OF
  - .331 BA (58-175), 12 2B, 2 3B, 7 HR, 43 RBI, 37 R, 10 BB, .396 OBP%, .543 SLG%, 0.939 OPS%, 16 SB
Players to Watch (Pitching):
- Colby Reynolds – JR – RHP
  - 2.72 ERA, 12-2 W-L, 14 APP, 14 GS, 1 CG, 92.2 IP, 76 H, 31 R, 28 ER, 17 BB, 81 SO, .226 OBA
- Garrett Borst – SR – RHP
  - 3.73 ERA, 3-1 W-L, 13 APP, 5 GS, 31.1 IP, 34 H, 14 R, 13 ER, 8 BB, 22 SO, .283 OBA
- Eli Garrett– JR – RHP
  - 6.08 ERA, 7-2 W-L, 11 APP, 8 GS, 37.0 IP, 48 H, 29 R, 25 ER, 13 BB, 27 SO, .322 OBA
Team Notes:
- Johnson enters the NAIA Regional also losing two of its last three, falling twice to Tennessee Wesleyan in the AAC Tournament.
- Despite falling it two of the last three, Johnson has proven its ability to beat talented teams, they have squared off eight times this season against ranked teams, all ranking within the top 10 in which the Royals pulled away with a strong 6-2 record.
- Offensively the Royals are slashing .312 as a team, they do not leave the yard at an alarming rate with 51 as a squad, however they tear up the basepaths in order to manufacture runs, with 153 stolen bases. Overall, 153 stolen bags ranks 10^th in the NAIA and is just two spots above the speedy Evangels, who are just eight behind the Royals.
- On the mound it will be essential for the Evangels to knock Colby Reynolds out the game if he gets the starting nod. He leads the staff in just about every possible statistic, he stands in with a 12-2 record across his 14 starts and a sub-three ERA with a 2.72 rate.
- This will be the first ever meeting amongst the teams and the second straight season MACU opens up with a team from Tennessee.