Mid-America Christian University

SHREVEPORT, La. – The No. 18 MACU Baseball team will be back in the NAIA Opening Round Championship game on Wednesday at Pilot Field, but this time in the winner's bracket as the Evangels took down last year's undefeated National Champion and this year's top seed in the Shreveport bracket.

The Evangels got the job done with both the bats and the defense the MACU came away with the 8-2 victory over No. 12 LSU Shreveport.
 
SCORE

• Mid-America Christian 8, LSU Shreveport 2
  • Mid-America Christian (41-13)
  • LSU Shreveport (42-13)

PITCHING DECISIONS

• Win: Fabian Hernandez (5-2)
• Loss: David Hankins (7-2)

TOP PERFORMERS

• Nick Hill – 2-4, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 2 R
• Fabian Hernandez – W, 7 IP, 2 R, 2 ER, 12 H, 1 BB, 9 SO
• Tuane Cope – 2-4, 3B, RBI, R
• Frankie Giacalone – 2-4, RBI, R
• Jahzeel Groetelaers – 2-4, RBI
• Jalen King – 2-5, 2B, R

SCORING SUMMARY

• TOP 1^st – MACU – Nick Hill homered to left, RBI – MACU 1, LSUS 0
• TOP 3^rd – MACU – Nick Hill reached on a dropped fly error by cf, sac fly, RBI; Elijah Lee scored – MACU 2, LSUS 0
• TOP 3^rd – MACU – Adam Hanan reached on a fielder's choice to short, RBI; Sammy Hallada scored – MACU 3, LSUS 0
• BTM 3^rd – LSUS – Carlos Sanchez doubled to left-center, RBI; Quaterrion Walton scored – MACU 3, LSUS 1
• TOP 6^th – MACU – Frankie Giacalone singled up the middle, RBI; Cole Krepcik scored – MACU 4, LSUS 1
• TOP 6^th – MACU – Tuane Cope tripled to right-center, RBI; Frankie Giacalone scored – MACU 5, LSUS 1
• TOP 6^th – MACU – Jahzeel Groetelaers singled to right, RBI; Tuane Cope scored – MACU 6, LSUS 1
• BTM 6^th – LSUS – Quaterrion Walton doubled down lf line, RBI; Spencer Sullivan – MACU 6, LSUS 2
• TOP 7^th – MACU – Nick Hill homered to left-center, 2 RBI; Jalen King scored – MACU 8, LSUS 2

GAME SUMMARY

• Mid-America Christian jumped on-top in the early going in the top of the first when Nick Hill took a full-count two-out pitch over the left field fence for a solo shot, giving MACU the 1-0 advantage.
• It looked as though LSU Shreveport would find an answer in its half of the first when back-to-back one-out singles and an error in right allowed both runners to move into scoring position. However, MACU starting pitcher Fabian Hernandez got out of the jam with a strikeout and a shallow flyout to right to keep it a 1-0 game.
• The Pilots once again threatened in the bottom of the second when former Evangel Brett Justice lined a leadoff double down the right field line. However, Jahzeel Groetelaers came up huge for MACU when he made a stellar throw to second to get Justice caught stealing in a rundown to third on a strike out-throw out double play. Jalen King then made a sensational sliding grab in the right center field gap to rob LSUS of a hit and getting MACU out of the inning unscathed.
• LSUS answered back with a run of its own in the bottom of the third with three hits in four at-bats, with Carlos Sanchez's RBI double to the left-center field gap making it a 3-1 game and putting the tying runs at second and third. However, Hernandez once again came up huge with back-to-back strikeouts to keep the two-run lead intact.
• The Evangels tried to add a run back in the fourth when Tuane Cope slapped a one-out single through the right side before being moved down to second on Jahzeel Groetelaers slow grounder to short. However, LSUS starting pitcher David Hankins got Lee to flyout to center to end the frame.
• The Pilots once again threatened to tie it in the bottom of the fourth when Spencer Sullivan's single and Makana Olaso's deep double to center put a pair in scoring position with only one out. However, MACU once again danced out of it as Hernandez struck out Quaterrion Walton on three pitches before getting Dorien Jackson to flyout to left to keep the score to 3-1.
• The MACU bats came up huge in the top of the sixth by pushing across three crucial insurance runs. Cole Krepcik opened the frame by smashing a triple down the right field line before Frankie Giacalone came up with an RBI single slapped right back up the middle. Tuane Cope immediately answered an RBI triple hammered to the right-center field gap to score Giacalone from first before Groetelaers poked an RBI single into right to set the score to 6-1.
• The Pilots answered back in the bottom of the sixth as Sullivan smacked a one-out single up the middle before moving up to second on a groundout to third. Walton smashed an RBI double down the left field line to cut it to 6-2. LSUS threatened to add more when Jackson drew a walk and both runners advanced to scoring position on a balk. However, Hernandez once again left both in scoring position by striking out Rodrigo Bravo to keep it a 6-2 contest.
• The Evangels added two more in their half of the seventh when Jalen King blooped a double down the right field line before Hill mashed his second home run of the day over the left-center field wall to stretch the advantage to 8-2.
• LSU Shreveport once again left a runner in scoring position when Carlos Vega dropped a two-out single into right-center and advanced to second on an error, but Hernandez once again struck out the side to hold it to an 8-2 game in the bottom of the seventh.
• MACU had an opportunity to add to its lead in the top of the eighth when Groetelaers led off the frame with a single to left-center and his courtesy runner Dyson Kinnaman was moved to second on Lee's sac bunt. Unfortunately, Hallada's groundout to short preceded Kinnaman getting caught stealing third when he overslid the bag for the final out.
• The Pilots once again tried to battle back by getting runners on the corners on a two-out fielding error and a Jackson single to right, but once again Groetelaers came up big by throwing Jackson trying to steal second.
• LSUS tried to muster one last gasp in the bottom of the ninth as they notched three hits in the frame, but the Evangels turned a crucial 6-4-3 double play and with runners at the corners, Lee flipped it to Krepcik to get the force out at second for the fielder's choice to end the game.

GAME NOTES

• Despite getting out-hit in the contest, Mid-America Christian came out on-top by scoring its eight runs on 12 hits and committed three errors while LSU Shreveport scored only two runs on 16 hits and made one miscue.
• One of the biggest factors in the contest was MACU out-hit the Pilots with runners in scoring position as LSUS hit only 3-for-11 in those situations while the Evangels batted 4-of-9 in those scenarios.
• The power bats also played a massive factor as the Evangels notched two homers, two triples, and a double for five extra-base hits while the Pilots were limited to four extra-base knocks with all coming on doubles from their 16 hits.
• Nick Hill continued to shatter MACU records as he led the batting efforts slashing 2-for-4 with a pair of homers for four RBIs and a pair of runs scored. With his four RBI performance, Hill moved into a tie for first at the top of MACU's NAIA Era single season record along with Noel McGarry-Doyle, who broke the record last season with 72 driven in.
• Jalen King also continues to make marks in MACU's single season record book following his 2-for-5 day at the plate, notching a double and scoring a run. With his 78^th base knock on the year, the Spokane Valley, Wash. matched McGarry-Doyle for second on the list, placing him just one back of James Frederick's record set during the 2010 campaign.
• King also moved up to seventh on MACU's season doubles list with his 17^th of the year while his 60^th run moved him into a tie for sixth.
• Tuane Cope continued to make an impact with his bat as he mashed 2-for-4 with a triple, an RBI, and a run scored while Frankie Giacalone also put together a 2-for-4 day with an RBI and a run.
• Jahzeel Groetelaers was one of five Evangels to finish with two hits on the day as he also turned in an RBI.
• Fabian Hernandez joined some elite company with his pitching performance as he improved to 5-2 on the mound after allowing only two earned runs on 12 hits while walking only one and striking out nine. By ending the day with 103 strikeouts, he became only the fourth pitcher in the NAIA Era to eclipse 100 strikeouts in a season and the first MACU pitcher to do it since 2018.
• Hernandez also moved into the program's career top five in both wins and strikeouts as his 13^th career win moves him into a tie for fourth with Keisy Portorreal (2018-20) and his 187 strikeouts allowed him to surpass Isaac Baez (182, 2023-24) for fourth.
• With his game-ending fielder's choice out at second, Elijah Lee notched his 146^th assist of the season, allowing him to surpass former teammate Carlos Medina who broke the record with 145 during the 2025 campaign.
• The Evangels path to the NAIA Opening Round Championship game came with a little less stress than last year at Pilot Field. MACU also played for the NAIA Opening Round Championship last year after it battled back from a 13-6 loss to No. 21 Johnson in the first game. The Evangels won three-straight elimination games against Southern-New Orleans (16-7), Ottawa (7-6), and No. 21 Johnson (16-4) in a rematch.
• MACU got a little revenge against LSU Shreveport after the Pilots defeated the Evangels in last year's NAIA Opening Round title game before eventually completing an undefeated 59-0 NAIA World Series Championship run.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will be back in-action on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. as it will take on the winner of the LSU Shreveport/Oklahoma Wesleyan game taking place at 11 a.m.