PLAINVIEW, Texas – The MACU Softball team could not quite complete the rally in the second contest to force the series split at Running Water Draw Park on Saturday afternoon as the Evangels took game one of Saturday's doubleheader 8-7 before falling in game two, 5-1.
 
GAME ONE
SCORE

• Mid-America Christian 8, Wayland Baptist 7
  • Mid-America Christian (6-14, 4-7 SAC)
  • Wayland Baptist (15-8, 5-6 SAC)

PITCHING DECISIONS

• Win: Gia Reynosa (2-3)
• Loss: Brooklyn Ray (2-3)

TOP PERFORMERS

• Taylor Martinez – 3-4, 2 3B, 3 RBI, R
• Heidi Noisey – 2-3, 2 R, RBI
• Mia Macias – 1-4, 2B, RBI, R
• Serena Rodriguez – 1-2, 3B, R
• Gia Reynosa – 1-2, RBI, R

SCORING SUMMARY

• TOP 1^st – MACU – Kayten Herman hit a sac fly to lf, RBI; Serena Rodriguez scored – MACU 1, WBU 0
• TOP 2^nd – MACU – Taylor Martinez tripled to left-center, 2 RBI; Gia Reynosa scored; Heidi Noisey scored – MACU 3, WBU 0
• TOP 2^nd – MACU – Mia Macias doubled left-center, RBI; Taylor Martinez scored – MACU 4, WBU 0
• TOP 3^rd – MACU – Heidi Noisey hit a sac fly to cf, RBI; Nyssa Dunn scored – MACU 5, WBU 0
• TOP 4^th – MACU – Nyssa Dunn reached on a fielding error by ss; Mia Macias scored – MACU 6, WBU 0
• BTM 6^th – WBU – Kynleigh Kirby doubled to right-center, RBI; Mikayla Carrillo scored – MACU 6, WBU 1
• TOP 7^th – MACU – Gia Reynosa hit a sac bunt to p, RBI; Saina Willis scored – MACU 7, WBU 1
• TOP 7^th – MACU – Taylor Martinez tripled to right-center, RBI; Heidi Noisey scored – MACU 8, WBU 1
• BTM 7^th – WBU – Reagan Davis singled to center, RBI; Yaneli Jaramillo scored – MACU 8, WBU 2
• BTM 7^th – WBU – Mikayla Carrillo homered to center, 4 RBI; Kailee Sanchez scored; Mikenzi Carlo scored; Reagan Davis scored – MACU 8, WBU 6
• BTM 7^th – WBU – Berkley Bradley tripled to right, RBI; Lia Lozano scored – MACU 8, WBU 7

GAME SUMMARY

• Mid-America Christian continued to ride the red-hot bat of Serena Rodriguez to start off the contest as she hammered a one-out triple to the right-center field gap before Kayten Herman hit a sac fly to left field to score her from third to give MACU the early 1-0 advantage.
• The Pioneers mustered an early threat as the first two batters reached in the bottom of the first on a walk and bloop single to shallow right-center, but MACU starting pitcher Gia Reynosa got out of the jam by striking out the next batter before getting an unassisted lineout double play to short to keep the lead intact.
• The Evangels bats exploded out of the gate in the second as Heidi Noisey led off the frame with a single to the right-center field gap before Gia Reynosa dropped a perfectly placed bunt single down the third base line. It was Taylor Martinez that ripped a two-RBI triple to the left-center field wall before Mia Macias drove her in with an RBI double to the left-center field gap as well, extending the edge to 4-0.
• MACU manufactured a run in the top of the third as Nyssa Dunn and Saina Willis each reached on a dropped third strike and a hit-by-pitch before successfully pulling off a double steal. Heidi Noisey then hit a sacrifice fly to the center fielder in the left-center field gap to bring in Dunn, stretching the lead to 5-0.
• The Evangels took advantage of a costly fielding mistake by the Pioneers in the top of the fourth. With Macias drawing a walk and Rodriguez getting hit by a pitch to put runners at first and second with two outs, Nyssa Dunn had a groundball that was booted by the shortstop, trickling out to the outfield and allowing Macias to score to make it a 6-0 ballgame.
• The Pioneers finally cracked a score across in the bottom of the sixth when Kynleigh Kirby hammered a one-out RBI double to the right-center field gap to bring in Mikayla Carrillo, however, Reynosa settled in by inducing a soft liner to short and a groundout to second to keep it to only one run.
• The Evangels answered right back in the top of the seventh. After Willis led off the frame with a double to right-center and Noisey slapped a Texas Leaguer single into shallow right-center to put runners at the corners, Reynosa successfully laid down a safety squeeze sac bunt to the pitcher to score Willis before Martinez mashed her second RBI triple to the right-center field wall to bring the score to 8-1.
• The Pioneers started to put together a rally in their half of the seventh as Yaneli Jaramillo opened the frame with a triple to center before Reagan Davis smashed a single back up the middle to set the score to 8-2.
• WBU then proceeded to load the bases after Mikenzi Carlo and Kailee Sanchez drew walks sandwiching a Brianna Cloud sac bunt, as Carrillo hammered a grand slam to center field, trimming the deficit down to 8-6.
• The Pioneers continued to hang in there as Brooke McLaurin hammered a hard hit ball to the pitcher with two outs before Bradley mashed the game-tying RBI triple to the right-center field wall, making it an 8-7 contest with the tying run at third.
• Fortunately, Reynosa was finally able to close the door in the Pioneers as she struck out Jaramillo to secure the 8-7 result.

GAME NOTES

• Mid-America Christian scored its eight runs on 11 hits while Wayland Baptist tallied its seven runs on 10 hits and committed one error.
• Taylor Martinez found herself in MACU's single game record book with her performance as she slashed 2-for-3 with two triples, three RBIs, and scored a run. It was just the fifth time in program history that a player has notched two triples in one game, joining Cassidy Hart and Emylee Campbell (three times) for the top mark in the MACU record book.
• Heidi Noisey put together a productive outing from the plate as the only other Evangel with multiple hits, slashing 2-for-3 with a pair of runs scored and an RBI.
• Despite a tough outing in the circle, Gia Reynosa was productive with her bat, primarily on bunt attempts as she finished 1-for-2 with an RBI and a run scored.
• Serena Rodriguez continued to swing a strong power bat as she notched another triple to finish 1-for-2 with a run scored.
• Saina Willis registered an extra-base hit going 1-for-3 with a double, a run, and a stolen base.
• Mia Macias also recorded a double on the day with a 1-for-4 performance with an RBI and a run while Emmerson Dickinson tallied her first career double on a 1-for-1 pinch-hit outing.
• Kayten Herman wrapped up her day with a 1-for-3 performance at the dish with an RBI.

GAME TWO
SCORE

• Wayland Baptist 5, Mid-America Christian 1
  • Mid-America Christian (6-15, 4-8 SAC)
  • Wayland Baptist (16-8, 6-6 SAC)

PITCHING DECISIONS

• Win: Kynleigh Kirby (7-2)
• Loss: Nyssa Dunn (0-5)

TOP PERFORMERS

• Heidi Noisey – 3-4, RBI
• Taylor Martinez – 2-4, 2B, R
• Gia Reynosa – 1-1
• Emmerson Dickinson – 1-2; 4 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 5 SO

SCORING SUMMARY

• BTM 2^nd – WBU – Mikenzi Carlo singled to left, RBI; Berkley Bradley scored – WBU 1, MACU 0
• BTM 2^nd – WBU – Brianna Cloud doubled to right, RBI; Mikenzi Carlo scored – WBU 2, MACU 0
• BTM 5^th – WBU – Kynleigh Kirby doubled to right, 3 RBI; Mikayla Carrillo scored; Kailee Sanchez scored; Cayman Ivins scored – WBU 5, MACU 0
• TOP 6^th – MACU – Heidi Noisey singled to right, RBI; Taylor Martinez scored – WBU 5, MACU 1

GAME SUMMARY

• Mid-America Christian tried to muster an early threat as Taylor Martinez and Heidi Noisey hit back-to-back singles to put runners at the corners with two outs, but Wayland Baptist pitcher Kynleigh Kirby got out of the jam by striking out Saina Willis to end the inning.
• The Pioneers broke through in the bottom of the second with two outs. After Berkley Bradley started off the inning with a double to center, WBU got back-to-back RBIs on a single off the bat of Mikenzi Carlo and Brianna Cloud to make it a 2-0 game.
• The Pioneers threatened to add more in the third when Carrillo hit a one-out double to left-center, but MACU reliever Emmerson Dickinson induced a fielder's choice out to get the lead runner before striking out Brooke McLaurin to keep it to a two-run deficit.
• The Evangels mustered a threat of their own in the top of the fifth when Emmerson Dickinson blooped an infield single in-between the pitcher and shortstop and Kayten Herman grounded a single up the middle to start things off. Unfortunately, the next three MACU batters were retired in order to remain scoreless.
• Wayland Baptist blew the game wide open in the bottom of the fifth. Upon loading the bases on a pair of walks and an error, Kynleigh Kirby smacked a bloop double down the right field line that cleared the bases, extending the WBU advantage to 5-0.
• Mid-America Christian finally broke through against Kirby in the top of the sixth as Taylor Martinez hit a one-out double to the left-center field gap before Heidi Noisey slapped an RBI single to right to make it a 5-1 game.
• The Evangels put together one last gasp in the top of the seventh, loading the bases on a pair of errors and an infield bunt single by Gia Reynosa with one out. Unfortunately, the Pioneers got out of it by getting Martinez to pop out to short before WBU's left fielder made a sensational leaping grab on Noisey's line drive to wrap-up the 5-1 final.

GAME NOTES

• Wayland Baptist scored its five runs on 10 hits and committed four errors while the Evangels scored their lone run on eight hits and made one miscue.
• Heidi Noisey was MACU's most productive bat for the game, slashing 3-for-4 with an RBI.
• Taylor Martinez continued to swing an electric bat, slashing 2-for-4 with a double and scored MACU's lone run.
• Gia Reynosa, Emmerson Dickinson, and Kayten Herman were the only other Evangels to get into the hit column with a single apiece.
• Dickinson also tossed four innings of solid relief, only allowing two earned runs on six hits with two walks and five strikeouts.
• With the defeat, the Evangels lost the season series to the Pioneers 3-1.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will seek to right the ship at home next week as the Evangels host Langston for a four-game series at Allen Field. The Evangels will open the set with a doubleheader on Friday slated for a 4:30 p.m. first pitch.