OKLAHOMA CITY – The MACU Softball team continued to ride its red-hot pitching to an 5-2, 8-2 doubleheader sweep to start a four-game series against Nelson at Allen Field on Thursday evening, allowing the Evangels to extend its win streak to nine.
 
GAME ONE
SCORE

• Mid-America Christian 5, Nelson 2
  • Mid-America Christian (14-16, 12-9 SAC)
  • Nelson (15-16, 8-9 SAC)

PITCHING DECISIONS

• Win: Gia Reynosa (5-3)
• Loss: Elena Mendez (5-8)
• Save: Nyssa Dunn (1)

TOP PERFORMERS

• Gia Reynosa – W, 5 IP, 2 R, 2 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 2 SO
• Nyssa Dunn – SV, 2 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB
• Heidi Noisey – 1-2, 2 RBI, R, SB
• Kayten Herman – 1-3, 2B, 2 RBI
• Taylor Martinez – 2-3, 2 2B, 2 R
• Kiley Flores – 2-2, R, SB

SCORING SUMMARY

• TOP 1^st – NELSON – Cadence Hopgood hit a sac fly to cf, RBI; Elena Mendez scored – NELSON 1, MACU 0
• BTM 1^st – MACU – Heidi Noisey reached first on a throwing error by 2b; Taylor Martinez scored on error – MACU 1, NELSON 1
• BTM 1^st – MACU – Kayten Herman doubled to left-center, 2 RBI; Emmerson Dickinson scored; Heidi Noisey scored – MACU 3, NELSON 1
• TOP 3^rd – NELSON – Cadence Hopgood singled down lf line, RBI; Layla Oliver scored – MACU 3, NELSON 2
• BTM 3^rd – MACU – Heidi Noisey hit a sac fly to cf, RBI; Taylor Martinez scored – MACU 4, NELSON 2
• BTM 5^th – MACU – Heidi Noisey singled thru left side, RBI; Kiley Flores scored – MACU 5, NELSON 2

GAME SUMMARY

• Nelson threated to put up a big inning right out of the gate in the top of the first when Elena Mendez reached on an infield single to short and Layla Oliver drew a walk before both runners were moved into scoring position on Trista Ford's sac bunt. However, MACU starting pitcher Gia Reynosa limited the damage to just one run on Cadence Hopgood's sac fly to center before getting Avery Coleman to groundout to third to keep it a 1-0 game.
• The Evangels got the wheels in-motion in their half of the first when Taylor Martinez ripped a one-out double down the left field line before coming around to score on an errant throw by the second baseman on Heidi Noisey's ground ball toward the right side, tying it at 1-1.
• After Emmerson Dickinson dropped a single into right to put runners at the corners and stole second, Kayten Herman put the Evangels in-front for good by ripping a two-RBI double to the left-center field wall to make it a 3-1 game.
• It looked as though Reynosa might get out of trouble in the top of the third after giving up a leadoff triple to Juli King, as she made a sensational defensive play and throw to home to get the runner trying to score on the fielder's choice. However, Nelson bounced back with back-to-back singles by Ford and Hopgood to bring in a run before Coleman drew a walk to load the bases. Reynosa again navigated out of danger, holding the Lions to a run by getting Morgan Womack to pop out to the third baseman in foul territory to keep it to 3-2.
• The Evangels immediately got the run back in their half of the third when Martinez once again led off the frame by hammering a double down the right field line that King wasn't able to quite hang onto on the running, reaching grab. She then got down to third on a wild pitch before Heidi Noisey drove her in with a sac fly to center to make it a 4-2 contest.
• Noisey added to her team's RBI leader total in the bottom of the fifth as Kiley Flores slapped a single to start off the frame before getting down to second on a fielding error before stealing third. Noisey then hit a high-hopper through the left side to bring in Flores, wrapping up the scoring at 5-2.
• Nyssa Dunn came in and pitched two shut out innings of relief, facing the minimum to allow MACU to secure the 5-2 victory.

GAME NOTES

• Mid-America Christian scored its six runs on seven hits and committed three errors while Nelson tallied two runs on six hits and made two miscues.
• Gia Reynosa picked up her fourth win in the circle in the last three weeks, allowing only two earned runs on six hits and issued two walks while striking out a pair over five innings of work.
• Nyssa Dunn earned her first career save in the circle, allowing only one base runner on an error in the two innings she pitched.
• Taylor Martinez continued to swing a red-hot bat for the Evangels, finishing 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles and scored two of MACU's five runs in the contest.
• Heidi Noisey and Kayten Herman produced four of MACU's five runs as Noisey finished 1-for-2 with two RBIs, a run scored, and a stolen base while Herman finished 1-for-3 with a double and two driven in.
• Kiley Flores was the only other Evangels aside from Martinez to finish with multiple hits, slashing 2-for-2 with a run and a stolen base.

GAME TWO
SCORE

• Mid-America Christian 8, Nelson 2
  • Mid-America Christian (15-16, 13-9 SAC)
  • Nelson (15-17, 8-10 SAC)

PITCHING DECISIONS

• Win: Emmerson Dickinson (8-7)
• Loss: Valerie Guzman (6-5)

TOP PERFORMERS

• Emerson Dickinson – W, 5 IP, 2 R, 1 ER, 4 H, 4 BB, 8 SO; 2-2, 2 R
• Nyssa Dunn – 2 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 H, 1 BB
• Taylor Martinez – 1-4, 3B, 2 RBI, R
• Serena Rodriguez – 1-2, 3B, RBI, BB, HBP, SB
• Heidi Noisey – 1-4, 2B, RBI, R

SCORING SUMMARY

• BTM 3^rd – MACU – Serena Rodriguez tripled to right-center, RBI; Emmerson Dickinson scored – MACU 1, NELSON 0
• TOP 4^th – NELSON – Reese Yoder singled up the middle, RBI; Avery Coleman scored – MACU 1, NELSON 1
• TOP 4^th – NELSON – Layla Oliver reached on fielding error by ss; Reese Yoder scored – NELSON 2, MACU 1
• BTM 5^th – MACU – Kiley Flores reached on dropped fly error by cf; Saina Willis scored on error – MACU 2, NELSON 2
• BTM 5^th – MACU – Taylor Martinez tripled to right-center, 2 RBI; Kiley Flores scored; Emmerson Dickinson scored – MACU 4, NELSON 2
• BTM 5^th – MACU – Heidi Noisey doubled to left-center, RBI; Taylor Martinez scored – MACU 5, NELSON 2
• BTM 5^th – MACU – Mia Macias reached on a fielding error by ss; Heidi Noisey scored on error – MACU 6, NELSON 2
• BTM 6^th – MACU – Kiley Flores singled to right, RBI; Madison Schroeder scored – MACU 7, NELSON 2
• BTM 6^th – MACU – Serena Rodriguez walked; Kiley Flores stole third, scored on throwing error by c – MACU 8, NELSON 2

GAME SUMMARY

• Nelson threatened in the very early going as Elena Mendez and Layla Oliver hit back-to-back singles before Cadence Hopgood drew a one-out walk to load the bases. However, MACU starting pitcher Emmerson Dickinson struck out the side to navigate out of the jam and keep it a scoreless game.
• While the Evangels struggled to find baserunners through the first three innings, Serena Rodriguez delivered first for MACU as she hammered a two-out RBI triple to right-center to score Emmerson Dickinson after she reached on a one-out single, setting the score to 1-0.
• Nelson got a few fortuitous bounces to take the lead in their half of the first. After retiring the first batter, the Lions got the wheels in-motion with an Avery Coleman single through the right side and a K'Leigh Williams walk before Reese Yoder bounced a single up the middle that took a tough hop and slipped by Saina Willis for an RBI single, drawing the game even at 1-1.
• The Lions continued to make life difficult when Marcella Bryan drew a walk to load the bases. While Dickinson managed to get Elena Mendez to bounce into a fielder's choice out at third to get the runner at home, Layla Oliver's grounder at short unfortunately ate up Martinez at short as the run on the error gave Nelson the 2-1 advantage.
• Despite MACU being kept in-check through the first four frame, the Evangels blew the game wide open in their half of the fifth. After Willis reached on a bunt single to third and then Emmerson Dickinson hammered a hard-hit infield single that went off the backhand stab of the pitcher to put runners at first and second, Willis came around to score the tying run when the center fielder dropped Kiley Flores' flyball hit to the left-center field gap.
• While the Lions went back to their pen in Braylei Pylant and retiring Rodriguez for the second out, the Evangels went to work with two outs as Taylor Martinez rifled a screaming liner triple to the right-center field wall for a pair of RBIs before Heidi Noisey's RBI double to the left-center field fence made it a 5-2 game. Mia Macias drove in the fifth run of the frame when Nelson's shortstop booted a routine groundball that trickled into the outfield, allowing Noisey to score on the error and make it a 6-2 contest.
• Nelson threatened to battle back in the top of the sixth, but caught a few unlucky breaks. After Williams started it off with a walk, Yoder smacked a single to left that allowed both base runners to move up to second and third. However, Williams overran the bag at third, allowing Flores to tag out the runner for the first out. Even though Marcella Bryan's single to center allowed the Lions to put runners at the corners once again, Flores made a sensational defensive play by snagging Mendez's liner and tagging out Yoder on the dive back to third for the inning-ending double play.
• The Evangels threatened to put up another big inning in the sixth when Madison Schroeder smacked a pinch-hit single through the left side before getting down to second on a misplay in left field. MACU put a pair in scoring position when Schroeder got down to third on a wild pitch before Nyssa Dunn was hit by a pitch and then stole second. Flores drove in a run with an RBI single to right before Dunn was unfortunately thrown out at home trying to score the second run. However, MACU did add its second run when Flores stole third and came around to score on an errant throw by the catcher to wrap-up the scoring at 8-2.

GAME NOTES

• Mid-America Christian scored its eight runs on nine hits and committed a pair of errors while Nelson notched its two runs on six hits and mustered four miscues.
• Emmerson Dickinson continued to be a strikeout machine for MACU, as she tied a career-high eight strikeouts in five innings of work despite working around four hits and four walks in allowing two runs with just one earned.
• Once again, Nyssa Dunn tossed two scoreless innings of relief, working around two hits and a walk.
• On-top of a strong pitching performance, Dickinson was the only Evangel to record multiple hits, finishing 2-for-2 with a pair of runs.
• Taylor Martinez was also the only MACU player to finish with multiple RBIs, slashing 1-for-4 with her two-RBI triple, notching her third three-bagger of the year.
• Serena Rodriguez was an active bat for MACU, swatting 1-for-2 with her fourth triple of the year resulting in an RBI while reaching base three times with a walk and hit-by-pitch to go along with a stolen bag.
• Kiley Flores scored a pair of runs after slashing 1-for-3 with a stolen base while Heidi Noisey wrapped her day 1-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored off a double.
• Kayten Herman continued to add to her team-leading doubles total as she notched her ninth double of the season after going 1-for-3 at the dish.
• By getting the victory, the Evangels have forced no worse than a split in the series while extending their win streak to nine games.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will wrap-up the four-game set on Friday with the first game of the twin bill being moved up to an 11 a.m. first pitch due to the threat of inclement weather in the mid-afternoon.