OKLAHOMA CITY – The MACU Softball team struggled to get the bats going in the opening game of the series against Langston on Friday at Allen Field, suffering a 5-0 defeat before bouncing back with a dominant 9-1 victory in five innings in the nightcap.
 
GAME ONE
SCORE

• Langston 5, Mid-America Christian 0
  • Mid-America Christian (6-16, 4-9 SAC)
  • Langston (6-5, 1-4 SAC)

PITCHING DECISIONS

• Win: Lilly Ritter (3-2)
• Loss: Emmerson Dickinson (4-7)

TOP PERFORMERS

• Kayten Herman – 1-2, BB
• Jorjanna King – 1-2
• Taylor Martinez – 1-3, SB
• Gia Reynosa – 2 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 4 SO

SCORING SUMMARY

• TOP 2^nd – LU – Azul Rios reached first on muffed catch error by 1b, RBI; Ryan Cornist scored on error; Tandy Garrett scored – LU 2, MACU 0
• TOP 5^th – LU – Meilani Butts reached first on a throwing error by p, SAC bunt; Jadyn Harper scored on error – LU 3, MACU 0
• TOP 7^th – LU – Adlemi Rodriguez homered to left, RBI – LU 4, MACU 0
• TOP 7^th – LU – Asharah Thibodeaux singled to left, RBI; Meilani Butts scored – LU 5, MACU 0

GAME SUMMARY

• Langston put together the first threat in the top of the first when Adlemi Rodriguez reached on a one-out single before eventually getting down to third on a groundout and a wild pitch with two outs. However, MACU starting pitcher Emmerson Dickinson got out of the jam by striking out Asharah Thibodeaux to end the frame.
• However, the Evangels wouldn't hold the Lions down for long as the first two batters reached on an infield single and a walk before both were moved into scoring position on a sac bunt. Unfortunately, a defensive miscue at first allowed both runners to score on Azul Rios' grounder to second, setting the score to 2-0.
• Langston took advantage of another MACU miscue in the top of the fifth. After a walk and single put the first two runners aboard, Meilani Butts laid down a sac bunt to the pitcher to move the runners over. However, Dickinson accidentally threw the ball away trying to get the lead runner out at third, allowing Jadyn Harper to score and make it a 3-0 contest.
• MACU put together its first massive threat of the contest in its half of the fifth as a Taylor Martinez legged out an infield single to short and stole second before Heidi Noisey blooped a single into shallow right-center that was just barely out of the reach of the right fielder, putting runners at the corners with no outs. Unfortunately, the Evangels came up empty as the next three batters were retired on a pop-up and back-to-back strikeouts to keep it at 3-0.
• The Evangels had another threat going in the bottom of the sixth when Kayten Herman drew a one-out walk and Mia Macias dropped a single into left-center to put runners at first and second. Unfortunately, the Lions came up with a huge defensive play when LU right fielder Jadyn Harper made a sensational leaping grab on Saina Willis' hard-hit liner to right before throwing it to first to double off Macias to end the frame.
• After MACU reliever Gia Reynosa struck out Harper to start off the top of the seventh, the Lions strung together three-straight hits as Rodriguez ripped a solo homer over the left field wall before Meilani Butts doubled to left and Thibodeux smashed an RBI single to left to seal the 5-0 win.

GAME NOTES

• Langston scored its five runs on seven hits while the Evangels tallied five hits and committed three errors.
• Five different players notched MACU's hits in the contest as Kayten Herman and Jorjanna King each slashed 1-for-2 as Herman reached twice with a walk.
• Mia Macias, Heidi Noisey, and Taylor Martinez each slashed 1-for-3 while Martinez came up with MACU's lone stolen base.
• Emmerson Dickinson suffered the loss in the circle after she allowed three runs, only one earned on four hits with three walks and two strikeouts over five innings of work.
• Gia Reynosa tossed two innings of relief, allowing two earned runs on three hits with no walks and four strikeouts.
• The Evangels struggled to slow down the red-hot bat of Adlemi Rodriguez, who finished 4-for-4 with a homer, an RBI, and a run scored.
• Lilly Ritter tossed a complete game shutout for the Lions, allowing no runs on five hits with one walk and five strikeouts over seven innings.
• The unfortunate defeat snapped MACU's 14-game win streak over the Lions since the 2022 campaign.

GAME TWO
SCORE

• Mid-America Christian 9, Langston 1 (5 Inn)
  • Mid-America Christian (7-16, 5-9 SAC)
  • Langston (6-6, 1-5 SAC)

PITCHING DECISIONS

• Win: Nyssa Dunn (1-5)
• Loss: Alexus Worth (3-2)

TOP PERFORMERS

• Nyssa Dunn – W, CG, 5 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 1 SO
• Mia Macias – 2-3, 2B, 2 RBI
• Serena Rodriguez – 2-2, 2 R, RBI, BB
• Kayten Herman – 1-2, RBI, R, 2 BB
• Gia Reynosa – 1-2, 2B, RBI, R

SCORING SUMMARY

• TOP 1^st – LU – Asharah Thibodeaux doubled to right-center, RBI; Meilani Butts scored – LU 1, MACU 0
• BTM 3^rd – MACU – Gia Reynosa doubled to left, RBI; Saina Willis scored – MACU 1, LU 1
• BTM 4^th – MACU – Mia Macias hit a sac fly to lf, RBI; Serena Rodriguez scored – MACU 2, LU 1
• BTM 5^th – MACU – Jorjanna King singled to left, RBI; Taylor Martinez scored – MACU 3, LU 1
• BTM 5^th – MACU – Serena Rodriguez walked, RBI; Heidi Noisey scored – MACU 4, LU 1
• BTM 5^th – MACU – Dakota Watson walked, RBI; Gia Reynosa scored – MACU 5, LU 1
• BTM 5^th – MACU – Kayten Herman walked, RBI; Jorjanna King scored – MACU 6, LU 1
• BTM 5^th – MACU – Mia Macias grounded out to 3b, RBI; Serena Rodriguez scored – MACU 7, LU 1
• BTM 5^th – MACU – Saina Willis hit a sac fly to cf, RBI; Dakota Watson scored – MACU 8, LU 1
• BTM 5^th – MACU – Taylor Martinez singled thru right side, RBI; Kayten Herman scored – MACU 9, LU 1

GAME SUMMARY

• Langston put together its only scoring frame in the top of the first when Meilani Butts and Asharah Thibodeaux hit back-to-back two-out doubles to jump out to the early 1-0 advantage.
• Mid-America Christian put together a massive threat of its own in the bottom of the first as a pair of walks drawn by Kayten Herman and Taylor Martinez to go along with a Mia Macias double to left loaded the bases with two outs. However, the Lions got out of it as Langston's center fielder in Butts made a nice running grab on Heidi Noisey's shallow flyball to center field to keep it a 1-0 game.
• The Evangels once again threatened in their half of the second when Serena Rodriguez and Dakota Watson slapped back-to-back two-out singles to put runners at the corners, but Langston pitcher Alexus Worthy once again escaped danger by getting Herman to hit a sharp liner to the left fielder to end the frame.
• MACU put together a solid two-out rally in the third. With Saina Willis sitting at first after reaching on a fielder's choice with two outs, Noisey smacked a single through the left side before Gia Reynosa mashed a hard-hit RBI double off the left field wall to tie the game up at 1-1.
• After Reynosa's clutch hit, she made a stellar 8-3 flyout double play throw out at first to end the top of the fourth before the Evangels answered back with one more run in their half of the fourth. After Rodriguez and Herman reached on a pair of singles in-between a Watson sac bunt to put runners at the corners with one out, Macias hit a sharp liner to left that the outfielder made a strong leaping grab, but got the sac fly as Rodriguez tagged up and scored to make it a 2-1 MACU advantage.
• The Evangels blew the game wide open in their half of the fifth, ending it with a massive seven-run frame. After loading the bases on a Martinez walk, a Noisey infield single, and Reynosa reaching on a muffed catch by the second baseman on a sac bunt, King smacked an RBI single to left to score the first run before Rodriguez, Watson, and Herman each drew bases-loaded walks to make it 6-1.
• After Macias' RBI groundout to third brought it to 7-1 and Willis' RBI sac fly to center put MACU a run away from ending it, Martinez hit a sharp ground ball that hooked just out of the reach of the second baseman as Herman came around to score, wrapping up the 9-1 final.

GAME NOTES

• Mid-America Christian scored its nine runs on 12 hits while Langston notched its lone run on three hits and committed an error.
• After putting together a solid weekend at Wayland Baptist, Nyssa Dunn continued to pitch well in the circle for the Evangels to get her first collegiate win, allowing only one earned run on three hits with only one walk and a strikeout. Impressively, Dunn only allowed one base runner on a walk over the final three innings of the contest as all three of Langston's hits came in the first two innings.
• Impressively, eight of MACU's nine hitters came up with hits in the contest while four different players in Dakota Watson, Mia Macias, Heidi Noisey, and Serena Rodriguez finished with two hits apiece.
• Macias was the only Evangel to finish with multiple RBIs, slashing 2-for-3 with a double and a pair driven in.
• Rodriguez was also the lone Evangel to score multiple runs, finishing 2-for-2 with a walk, a pair of runs scored and an RBI.
• Watson, Kayten Herman, Saina Willis, Taylor Martinez, Gia Reynosa, and Jorjanna King all finished with an RBI and a run scored each from the dish.
• Watson, Herman, and Martinez all reached base three times in the contest, as Watson batted 2-for-2 with a walk while Herman and Martinez each slashed 1-for-2 and each drawing a pair of walks.
• By getting the victory, MACU improved to 30-9 all-time against Langston.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will be back out at Allen Field on Saturday afternoon as the Evangels close out the four-game slate against Langston with a doubleheader slated for a 1 p.m. first pitch.