MCPHERSON, Kan. – The No. 14 MACU Baseball bats struggled to get going on a windy, cold afternoon at Central Christian on Friday as the Evangels dropped a pair of 4-1, 4-3 decisions.
 
GAME ONE
SCORE

• Central Christian 4, Mid-America Christian 1
  • Mid-America Christian (24-8, 12-4)
  • Central Christian (15-15, 10-6 SAC)

PITCHING DECISIONS

• Win: Justin Evasovic (5-2)
• Loss: Ibrahim Gonzalez (6-2)

TOP PERFORMERS

• Julio Felix – 1-3, RBI, SB
• Cole Krepcik – 1-3, R
• Sammy Hallada – 1-3, 3B

SCORING SUMMARY

• BTM 1^st – CCCK – Braedon Ulrich singled to right-center, RBI; Braden Young scored – CCCK 1, MACU 0
• TOP 2^nd – CCCK – Julio Felix singled to left, RBI; Cole Krepcik scored – MACU 1, CCCK 1
• BTM 3^rd – CCCK – Nico Lopez singled thru left side, RBI; Braedon Ulrich scored – CCCK 2, MACU 1
• BTM 3^rd – CCCK – Noel Aquino doubled down lf line, 2 RBI; Nico Lopez scored; Noel Aquino scored – CCCK 4, MACU 1

GAME SUMMARY

• It looked as though Mid-America Christian was going to start off the game strong when Sammy Hallada ripped a leadoff triple to the right-center field wall, but Tigers pitcher Justin Evasovic got out of trouble by striking out the next two MACU batters before inducing a popout to end the frame.
• Central Christian was able to get things going right out of the gate against MACU's ace in Ibrahim Gonzalez, drawing a leadoff walk and getting back-to-back singles with Braedon Ulrich's RBI base knock to right-center scoring the go-ahead run to make it 1-0. However, Gonzalez managed to bounce back by retiring the next three batters to hold the Tigers to only one.
• After Cole Krepcik reached on a fielder's choice blooper into right-center field and got to second on a balk in the top of the second, Julio Felix tied it up by dropping an RBI single into left field to make it a 1-1 contest.
• It looked as though MACU might get out of trouble in the bottom of the third when the first two CCCK batters reached on a pair of singles by Kurt Ippolito and Ulrich before the next two batters were retired on a sac bunt and a fielder's choice putout at home. However, Nico Lopez slapped the go-ahead RBI single through the left side before Noel Aquino ripped a two-RBI double down the left field line to stretch the CCCK advantage to 4-1.
• The Tigers once again threatened in the bottom of the fourth by putting a pair of runners in scoring position on a walk and an Ippolito single and stolen base with one out, but once again, Gonzalez got out of the jam by inducing a popout and a groundout to keep it to a three-run game.
• Unfortunately, the Evangels were unable to muster a threat for the rest of the way as MACU dropped the opener by a final score of 4-1.

GAME NOTES

• Central Christian scored its four runs on nine hits with two errors while the Evangels scored their lone run on five hits.
• No Evangel finished with multiple hits in the contest as Julio Felix produced MACU's lone RBI on a 1-for-3 day to go with a stolen bag.
• Sammy Hallada notched MACU's only extra-base hit with his third triple of the season.
• Cole Krepcik scored MACU's lone run, finishing 1-for-3 for the game from the dish.
• MACU starting pitcher Ibrahim Gonzalez suffered only his loss of the season on the mound after allowing four earned runs on nine hits with two walks and two strikeouts over 5.2 innings of work.

GAME TWO
SCORE

• Central Christian 4, Mid-America Christian 3
  • Mid-America Christian (24-9, 12-5)
  • Central Christian (16-15, 11-6 SAC)

PITCHING DECISIONS

• Win: Anthony Rios (1-0)
• Loss: Liam Taft (0-1)
• Save: Nico Lopez (2)

TOP PERFORMERS

• Nick Hill – 1-3, 2B, RBI
• Jalen King – 1-3, R, SB
• Adam Hanan – 1-3, RBI
• Frankie Giacalone – 1-2, RBI, BB
• Fabian Hernandez – 5.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 7 SO

SCORING SUMMARY

• TOP 1^st – MACU – Nick Hill doubled down lf line, RBI; Sammy Hallada scored – MACU 1, CCCK 0
• TOP 1^st – MACU – Frankie Giacalone singled to right-center, RBI; Nick Hill scored – MACU 2, CCCK 0
• TOP 3^rd – MACU – Adam Hanan singled to left, RBI; Jalen King scored – MACU 3, CCCK 0
• BTM 5^th – CCCK – Nico Lopez reached on an error by 3b, RBI; Gary Ford scored – MACU 3, CCCK 1
• BTM 6^th – CCCK – Mason Bowden walked, RBI; Kurt Ippolito scored – MACU 3, CCCK 2
• BTM 6^th – CCCK – Nico Lopez reached on a fielder's choice to second, RBI; Gary Ford scored; Braedon Ulrich scored on a throwing error by ss – CCCCK 4, MACU 3

GAME SUMMARY

• Mid-America Christian got the wheels in-motion right out of the gate as Sammy Hallada started off the first with an infield single to short before stealing second, advancing to third on a wild pitch and then scoring on Nick Hill's RBI double down the left field line. Hill then came around to score on Frankie Giacalone's bloop single into the shallow right-center field gap to set the score to 2-0.
• The Evangels once again mustered a threat in the top of the second when Jahzeel Groetelaers was tagged by a pitch with two outs before Elijah Lee drew a walk as both Lee and pinch-runner Dyson Kinnaman successfully pulled off the double steal. Unfortunately, Hallada was unable to bring in both runners, keeping it a 2-0 contest.
• MACU pushed across its final run of the contest in the top of the third when Jalen King dropped a single into right and stole second, setting up Adam Hanan's RBI single to left, bringing the score to 3-0.
• After MACU starting pitcher Fabian Hernandez retired the first 12 Tigers batters, Central Christian finally got its first base runner on Gary Ford's leadoff single through the left side. Back-to-back errors committed by MACU's infield allowed CCCK's first run to come across, but Hernandez limited the damage by inducing back-to-back fielder's choice outs and a groundout to second to hold it to 3-1.
• Central Christian brought the tying run into scoring position as Kurt Ippolito and Braedon Ulrich hit back-to-back one-out singles before a wild pitch moved both runners into scoring position. The Evangels elected to go to their closer in Liam Taft out of the pen, but he unfortunately walked the first two batters he faced to score one run before a throwing error on MACU trying to turn a double play allowed the go-ahead run to score, giving the Tigers the 4-3 advantage.
• The Evangels were unable to come up with a tying run in the top of the seventh as MACU dropped a tough 4-3 defeat.

GAME NOTES

• Central Christian scored its four runs on four hits while the Evangels scored their three runs on five hits and committed three errors.
• The first five batters in MACU's batting order came up with all five of the team's hits as Nick Hill, Adam Hanan, and Frankie Giacalone were responsible for all three of the Evangels' RBIs.
• Hill produced the only extra-base hit for the Evangels, finishing 1-for-3 on the day with a run scored to go with his RBI.
• Giacalone wrapped up his day 1-for-2 with a walk while Hanan slashed 1-for-3.
• Jalen King wrapped up his day 1-for-3 with a run scored and stole his 22^nd base of the season, moving him into a tie with Isaiah Haddad (2021) and D'Andrew Gaines (2025) for the fourth-most in a single season in the NAIA Era (2007-present).
• Sammy Hallada was responsible for MACU's other run, finishing 1-for-4 from the plate.
• Fabian Hernandez put together a solid start, allowing only two earned runs on three hits with no walks and seven strikeouts over 5.1 innings of work.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will seek to salvage a game in the series on Saturday with the opening pitch slated for noon.