OKLAHOMA CITY – No. 16 MACU Baseball returned home for Sooner Athletic Conference play to face Nelson in a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon. The Evangels were unable to overcome an early deficit in Game one's 9-4 defeat, followed by conceding the winning run in the top of the seventh in a 2-1 loss in Game two at the MACU Baseball Field.
 
GAME ONE

SCORE

• Mid-America Christian 4, Nelson 9
  • No. 16 Mid-America Christian (14-6, 5-2 SAC)
  • Nelson (17-6, 4-3 SAC)

PITCHING DECISION

• Win: Javier Balderas (3-1)
• Loss: Fabian Hernandez (0-2)

TOP PERFORMERS

• Sammy Hallada: 3-4, R
• Ned Ceklic: 1-1, HR, 2 RBI

SCORING SUMMARY

• TOP 1^st – Nelson – Odnal Rivera scored on a wild pitch – MACU 0, Nelson 1
• TOP 1^st – Nelson – Mitchell Baker singled to left field, 2 RBI; Zeke Velazquez and Drew Ortiz scored – MACU 0, Nelson 3
• TOP 2^nd – Nelson – Justin Amesquita scored on a throwing error – MACU 0, Nelson 4
• TOP 4^th – Nelson – Odnal Rivera singled to left field, RBI; Carter Harrison scored – MACU 0, Nelson 5
• TOP 4^th – Nelson – Drew Ortiz homered to right field, 3 RBI; Odnal Rivera and Addison Patton scored– MACU 0, Nelson 8
• TOP 6^th – Nelson – Drew Ortiz homered to center field, RBI – MACU 0, Nelson 9
• BTM 6^th – MACU – Adam Hanan sacrifice fly, RBI; Sammy Hallada scored and Jalen King scored on throwing error – MACU 2, Nelson 9
• BTM 7^th – MACU – Ned Ceklic homered to center field, 2 RBI; Jesse Ortega scored – MACU 4, Nelson 9

GAME SUMMARY

• Nelson didn't take long to score the opening run with a lead off walk and quickly loading the bases with two more walks. A wild pitch scored the first run from third, followed by a two-RBI single to score two more in the top of the first.
• The Lions tacked on a fourth run in the second inning with a single up the middle to advance the runner from second to third, later scoring the run on a throwing error for a 4-0 lead.  
• The lead doubled in the fourth inning with another lead off walk and then a single to get a pair of baserunners. An RBI single scored the fifth run. Then Drew Ortiz hit his first of two home runs to score three runs and take an 8-0 lead.
• MACU finally saw baserunners in the bottom of the fourth as Frankie Giacalone doubled and Adam Hanan singled to left field. However, the final out came to leave both Evangel runners stranded on base.
• Ortiz homered for the second time in the top of the sixth for a 9-0 Nelson advantage.
• The Evangels started the surge for a wild comeback in the bottom half of the sixth inning as Sammy Hallada laid down a perfect bunt for a hit, followed by Jalen King hit by the pitch. Giacalone walked to load the bases and Hanan's sacrifice fly scored two runs.
• MACU added two more in the seventh thanks to a two-run homer from Ned Ceklic after a lead off single from Jesse Ortega. However, the Evangel comeback ended there, falling  9-4 in Game one.

 
GAME NOTES

• Although the Evangels suffered a large defeat in the run column, MACU outhit Nelson by a narrow 9-8 margin. However, the Evangels committed two errors to the Lions one.
• Fabian Hernandez started on the mound and pitched 3.2 innings conceding seven earned runs on six hits. Hernandez struck out five batters with five walks. Carlos Uribe came in to pitch the final 3.1 innings, with just one earned run and two strikeouts.
• Sammy Hallada was the only Evangel with multiple hits, tallying a 3-4 at bat with one run. Ned Ceklic hit a home run in his only at bat, while Frankie Giacalone had the only extra base hit with a double to center field in a 1-3 outing.

 
GAME TWO

SCORE

• Mid-America Christian 1, Nelson 2
  • No. 16 Mid-America Christian (14-7, 5-3 SAC)
  • Nelson (18-6, 5-3 SAC)

PITCHING DECISION

• Win: Reagan Smith (5-0)
• Loss: Ibrahim Gonzalez (4-1)

TOP PERFORMERS

• Sammy Hallada: 1-3, HR, RBI
• Ibrahim Gonzalez: 7.0 IP, CG, 5 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 8 SO

SCORING SUMMARY

• BTM 1^st – MACU – Sammy Hallada homered to center field, RBI – MACU 1, Nelson 0
• TOP 2^nd – Nelson – Mitchell Baker singled up the middle, RBI; Ethan Starks scored – MACU 1, Nelson 1
• TOP 7^th – Nelson – TJ Sweat scored on a balk – MACU 1, Nelson 2

GAME SUMMARY

• Sammy Hallada sparked MACU right away with a lead off solo home run in the top of the first for a 1-0 lead.
• The Lions responded immediately with an RBI single right after a double to center field. Consecutive strikeouts from Ibrahim Gonzalez retired the inning conceding just the equalizing run.
• Nelson loaded the bases with two outs in the third inning with a double sandwiched by a pair of walks. However, an important third out came from a deep fly out to center field to keep a 1-1 contest.
• Frankie Giacalone was hit by the pitch and advanced to second on a wild pitch. However, the third out came shortly after to retire the fourth inning.
• In the sixth inning, Jalen King singled through the right side. However, his perfect 15-15 stolen base record this season was broken after King was picked off for the first time this season to end the sixth inning.
• With two outs in the top of the seventh, pinch hitter Justin Amesquita singled and advanced to second on an error. A ground out advanced him to third and a walk added a second base runner. An unfortunate balk called on Ibrahim Gonzalez scored the Lions second run.
• The Evangels' last chance to walk it off in the bottom half of the seventh opened with two outs. However, Adam Hanan singled to gain momentum. Jesse Ortega in to pinch hit singled to center field to put the tying run two bags away. A line out to the second baseman ended the game, as Nelson took Game two 2-1.

 
GAME NOTES

• Nelson outhit MACU by a narrow 5-4 margin. The Lions also left six runners on base to the Evangels three. MACU committed the only error of the game.
• Ibrahim Gonzalez completed his second game of the season, striking out eight batters on just three walks, conceding five hits and one earned run. The one earned run was enough for Gonzalez to suffer his first loss of the season, falling to 4-1 on the year.
• Sammy Hallada's lead off home run was the only hit for extra bases for MACU in his 1-3 outing. Adam Hanan and Jalen King also went 1-3, while Jesse Ortega had the fourth hit in a 1-1 evening.  
• Mid-America Christian still holds a 30-20 all-time record against Nelson. However, Nelson's two wins snapped a three-game winning streak for MACU after winning four of five in last year's meetings.   

 
 
UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian stays home for Game Three of its series against Nelson with first pitch set for 1 p.m. Sunday afternoon at the MACU Baseball Field.