OKLAHOMA CITY – Making its third-straight trip to the NAIA Opening Round and its second consecutive trip to compete in the Shreveport bracket, the second-seeded No. 18 MACU Baseball team will open tourney play against third-seeded Loyola (La.) at Pilot Field set for a 2:30 p.m. first pitch.
If the Evangels lose, they will play the loser of the fourth-seed Oklahoma Wesleyan/fifth-seed Huston-Tillotson (Texas) game at 11 a.m. on Tuesday or if they win, they will play the winner of the top-seed LSU Shreveport vs. winner of the OKWU/HTU game from Monday's 6 p.m. game at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
SEASON REPORT
- Record: 39-13 (20-7 SAC)
- Last Game: Won vs. No. 15 Texas Wesleyan – 22-4 (7 Inn) – May 3, 2026 – Joplin, Mo. (SAC Championship)
- Top Performers (Hitting):
- Nick Hill – R-JR – 3B
- .350 BA (64-183), 19 2B, 21 HR, 67 RBI, 56 R, 30 BB, 4 HBP, 12 SB, .439 OB%, .798 SLG%, 1.237 OPS
- Jalen King – JR – OF
- .397 BA (75-189), 16 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 38 RBI, 59 R, 31 BB, 4 HBP, 28 SB, .489 OB%, .508 SLG%, .997 OPS
- Frankie Giacalone – JR – 1B
- .327 BA (55-168), 10 2B, 14 HR, 46 RBI, 41 R, 32 BB, 13 HBP, 13 SB, .467 OB%, .637 SLG%, 1.104 OPS
- Top Performers (Pitching)
- Ibrahim Gonzalez – JR – LHP
- 10-2 W-L, 1.83 ERA, 13 APP, 12 GS, 6 CG, 1 SHO, 78.2 IP, 62 H, 25 R, 16 ER, 23 BB, 86 SO, .216 OBA, 1.08 WHIP
- Fabian Hernandez – SR – LHP
- 4-2 W-L, 4.16 ERA, 13 APP, 13 GS, 3 CG, 1 SHO, 71.1 IP, 56 H, 37 R, 33 ER, 23 BB, 94 SO, .214 OBA, 1.11 WHIP
- Liam Taft – JR – RHP
- 0-2 W-L, 2.37 ERA, 18 APP, 12 SV, 19.0 IP, 14 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 7 BB, 19 SO, .197 OBA, 1.11 WHIP
- Team Notes:
- Mid-America Christian enters NAIA Tournament Opening Round play as one of two automatic berth recipients from the Sooner Athletic Conference after the Evangels captured the program's second SAC Tournament title in the last three years, taking down top-seeded No. 15 Texas Wesleyan in back-to-back games by scores of 16-6 and 22-4 at Joe Becker Ballpark in Joplin, Mo. on May 3.
- Overall, the Evangels have put together another sensational season under sixth-year head coach Brett Stanton, amassing a 39-13 overall record entering postseason play and finished second in the SAC standings with a 20-7 league mark. On the whole, it marks the fourth-straight year MACU has amassed at least 39 wins during the season and third consecutive campaign where it amassed at least 20 conference wins.
- MACU has amassed a stellar profile entering the NAIA tourney, posting a 9-6 record against teams that qualified for this year's 48-team tournament field while ranking 18th in the NAIA Top 25 Coaches' Poll, 16th in the NAIA's RPI, and fourth in the final South ARC rating.
- Overall, the Evangels enter tourney play as one of the best teams in all three facets of the game. On the mound, MACU ranks as the No. 9 team in the NAIA in team ERA (4.09) with the 18th-most strikeouts (417), 16th-best strikeout per nine inning rate (9.52), and 16th-lowest WHIP (1.39).
- Offensively, MACU owns the NAIA's 15th-best batting average (.331) with the 16th-highest slugging percentage (.537), and hit the 18th-most home runs (70). Defensively, the Evangels have put together another stellar, ranking 17th in team fielding percentage (.969) while posting the second-best runners caught stealing percentage in the NAIA (35.6).
- The Evangels amassed nine All-SAC performers at the conclusion of the tournament on-top of a program record three Gold Glove recipients. Ibrahim Gonzalez garnered the league's Pitcher of the Year honor, owning the second-lowest qualifying ERA (1.83) and fourth-most wins amongst all NAIA pitchers while Nick Hill earned Newcomer of the Year, smashing the eighth-most home runs (21), 23rd-most doubles (19), and amassing the 16th-most RBIs (67) in the NAIA entering postseason play.
- Joining Gonzalez and Hill on the All-SAC First Team were first baseman Frankie Giacalone, outfielder Jalen King, and relief pitcher Liam Taft while second baseman Cole Krepcik, designated hitter Adam Hanan, outfielder Sammy Hallada, and starting pitcher Fabian Hernandez were tabbed to the Second Team. Catcher Jahzeel Groetelaers joined Giacalone and Hill on the SAC's Gold Glove list, garnering the most Gold Gloves of any team in the SAC.
SCOUTING REPORT
(RV) Loyola (La.)
- Record: 36-17 (15-12 Southern States Athletic Conference)
- Last Game: Won vs. No. 17 Abraham Baldwin (Ga.) – 5-3 – May 2, 2026 – Jackson, Tenn. (SSAC Championship)
- Series vs MACU: First Meeting
- Last Game vs MACU: N/A
- Series Streak: N/A
- Players to Watch (Hitting):
- Jaxon Buratt – JR – INF
- .382 BA (63-165), 11 2B, 4 3B, 2 HR, 50 RBI, 44 R, 31 BB, 10 HBP, 24 SB, .495 OB%, .533 SLG%, 1.028 OPS
- Nathan McDonald – R-JR – UTL
- .353 BA (61-173), 9 2B, 12 HR, 50 RBI, 49 R, 33 BB, 8 HBP, 22 SB, .470 OB%, .613 OPS, 1.083 OPS
- Jed Cambre – JR – UTL
- .295 BA (39-132), 7 2B, 3 3B, 2 HR, 33 RBI, 52 R, 43 BB, 7 HBP, 29 SB, .486 OB%, .439 SLG%, .925 OPS
- Players to Watch (Pitching):
- Michael Hotard – JR – LHP
- 6-2 W-L, 4.60 ERA, 13 APP, 13 GS, 62.2 IP, 75 H, 41 R, 32 ER, 21 BB, 48 SO, .295 OBA, 1.53 WHIP
- Brady Bowen – SR – RHP
- 6-4 W-L, 4.99 ERA, 14 APP, 12 GS, 66.2 IP, 1 CG, 68 H, 42 R, 37 ER, 16 BB, 51 SO, .262 OBA, 1.26 WHIP
- Jake Cohen – GR – RHP
- 0-2 W-L, 2.16 ERA, 18 APP, 13 SV, 25.0 IP, 20 H, 9 R, 6 ER, 4 BB, 28 SO, .211 OBA, 0.96 WHIP
- Team Notes:
- Despite finishing sixth in the SSAC regular season standings, Loyola went on a tear through its conference tournament, shooting straight through Pool B play with wins against Thomas (Ga.), Tennessee Southern, and No. 19 William Carey (Miss.) before toppling No. 17 Abraham Baldwin (Ga.) 5-3 in the title tilt.
- Even though the Wolfpack ranked only fourth in the SSAC in team batting average (.301), where LUNO excelled was its ability to steal bases and score runs, ranking sixth in all of the NAIA in stolen bases (179) and second in the Southern States in runs scored (427).
- On the mound, the Wolfpack posted the third-best ERA in the SSAC at 5.31 while tallying the second-most strikeouts (368) and second-lowest WHIP (1.56). Loyola has also been strong defensively, owning the second-best fielding percentage in its conference at .965.
- Offensively, the duo of Jaxon Buratt and Nathan McDonald have been the two biggest run producers on the team with each tallying 50 RBIs while both hitting for better than a .350 batting average while Jed Cambre was able to navigate around a .295 batting average with a .486 on-base percentage to lead the team in both runs scored (52) and stolen bases (29).
- From a pitching standpoint, the Evangels will likely see either Michael Hotard or Brady Bowen on the bump in their matchup. These two pitchers started the most games for the Wolfpack this season as Hotard has the team's lowest qualifying ERA (4.60) while Bowen tossed the most innings (66.2) while owning a strong 1.26 WHIP. MACU will want to try and jump on the Wolfpack early to keep LUNO's closer at-bay, as Jake Cowen enters the week with the second-most saves in the NAIA (13), possessing a 2.16 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP over 25 innings of work.
- Monday's matchup will mark the first ever meeting between the Evangels and the Wolfpack.
