Mid-America Christian University

SHREVEPORT, La. – For the first time in program history, the No. 18 MACU Baseball team will be making its way to the NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho as the Evangels battled back to beat last year's National Champion No. 12 LSU Shreveport 7-4 in the Opening Round Championship at Pilot Field on Wednesday afternoon.
 
SCORE

• Mid-America Christian 7, LSU Shreveport 4
  • Mid-America Christian (42-13)
  • LSU Shreveport (43-14)

PITCHING DECISIONS

• Win: Carlos Uribe (4-1)
• Loss: Calvin Shepherd (2-3)
• Save: Byron Madero (1)

TOP PERFORMERS

• Adam Hanan – 2-4, 2B, 4 RBI, R, BB
• Nick Hill – 1-2, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R, 3 BB
• Tuane Cope – 4-4, 2B, RBI, SB
• Sammy Hallada – 2-5, 2B, 2 R
• Carlos Uribe – W, 6 IP, 4 R, 4 ER, 8 H, 2 BB, 4 SO
• Byron Madero – SV, 3 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 3 SO

SCORING SUMMARY

• BTM 1^st – MACU – Nick Hill doubled to left, 2 RBI; Sammy Hallada scored; Jalen King scored – MACU 2, LSUS 0
• BTM 1^st – MACU – Adam Hanan singled up the middle, RBI; Nick Hill scored – MACU 3, LSUS 0
• TOP 2^nd – LSUS – Makana Olaso hit a sac fly to rf, RBI; Nazir Mendez scored – MACU 3, LSUS 1
• TOP 2^nd – LSUS – Quaterrion Walton tripled down rf line, 2 RBI; Spencer Sullivan scored; Carlos Vega scored – MACU 3, LSUS 3
• TOP 2^nd – LSUS – Dorien Jackson singled to short, RBI; Quaterrion Walton scored – LSUS 4, MACU 3
• BTM 6^th – MACU – Adam Hanan doubled to left, 3 RBI; Nick Hill scored; Jalen King scored; Sammy Hallada scored – MACU 6, LSUS 4
• BTM 6^th – MACU – Tuane Cope singled thru left side, RBI; Adam Hanan scored – MACU 7, LSUS 4

GAME SUMMARY

• Mid-America Christian opened the contest on a strong note as Sammy Hallada ripped a double to the left-center field gap before Jalen King was hit by a pitch with both runners advancing on a wild pitch. Nick Hill immediately put the Evangels in-front with a two-RBI double to left to bring in both runners before Adam Hanan's RBI single up the middle extended the edge to 3-0.
• MACU had a chance to add more later in the inning when Tuane Cope lined a two-out double to left-center to put runners at second and third, but LSUS reliever Virot Siharath got Jahzeel Groetelaers to ground out to third to end the inning.
• The Pilots put together a strong response in the top of the second, loading the bases on a pair of singles and a walk with one out. While MACU starting pitcher Carlos Uribe came close to getting out of it by allowing a sac fly to score a run, the Pilots quickly captured the advantage when Quaterrion Walton lined a game-tying two-RBI triple down the right field line and Dorien Jackson smacked the game-tying RBI infield single to short to make it a 4-3 LSUS edge.
• The Pilots once again mustered a major threat in the top of the fourth when a pair of singles off the bats of Makana Olaso and Jackson along with an advancement on the throw put runners at second and third with two outs, but Uribe induced a routine flyout to center to get out of the jam.
• The Evangels mustered a massive threat of their own in the bottom of the fourth when King reached on an error before Hill and Hanan drew back-to-back walks to load the bases. However, Siharath once again got out of trouble by getting Cole Krepcik to flyout to right to keep it a 4-3 game.
• MACU once again mustered a threat in the fifth when Tuane Cope drew a one-out walk, got down to second on Groetelaers' groundout to third and stole third, but unfortunately Elijah Lee flied out to center to end the frame.
• LSUS had the chance to put across an insurance run in the top of the sixth when Brett Justice hit a leadoff single through right side before a sac bunt moved his pinch-runner Nathaniel De La Cruz to second with one out. However, Uribe got out of it by inducing back-to-back groundouts to the left side of the infield, holding the score to 4-3.
• In the bottom of the sixth, the Evangels finally came through in a huge way to take back the lead. MACU loaded the bases in a hurry when Hallada hit a leadoff single up the middle, King was hit by a pitch for the second time on the day, and the Pilots issued another walk to Hill. After making a pitching change, Hanan hit a massive bases-clearing double to left to give MACU the 6-4 advantage.
• The Evangels added more insurance as Krepcik battled to draw a walk and Frankie Giacalone laid down a sac bunt to move two runners in scoring position with only one out. Cope came up with his third hit of the day, slapping an RBI single through the left side to put runners at the corners and set the score to 7-4.
• MACU threatened to add more as Groetelaers tried to lay down a safety squeeze, but the Pilots managed to get the throw out of Krepcik at home. While pinch-hitter Jesse Ortega loaded them up once again on a hit-by-pitch, Hallada's next time through the order in the inning didn't go so well as he struck out looking to end it.
• The Evangels ran into some massive trouble in the top of the eighth when the Pilots caught some lucky breaks when Nazir Mendez reached on an infield single popup that the MACU infield lost in the sun before Brett Justice drew a one-out walk to put runners at first and second. However, Byron Madero battled well, inducing a fielder's choice out on the 3-6 before Hill made a strong play to throw out the final runner on a grounder to third to hold the three-run advantage.
• LSU Shreveport was unable to put together any sort of threat in the top of the ninth as Madero retired all three batters he faced to secure the 7-4 victory.

GAME NOTES

• Mid-America Christian scored its seven runs on nine hits while LSU Shreveport notched its four runs on nine hits with an error.
• The scoring came in bunches for both teams as MACU scored all of its runs in the first and sixth innings while the Pilots tallied all four of their runs in the top of the second frame.
• Facing last year's first ever undefeated 59-0 NAIA National Champion, the Evangels impressively shut down a powerhouse program in the Pilots. Before MACU defeated LSUS in yesterday's winner's bracket game, the Pilots won eight-straight games, including winning the Red River Athletic Conference Tournament Championship entering the tourney.
• Under sixth-year head coach Brett Stanton, the Evangels have progressively taken steps further and further in each of the last five years. In 2022, MACU qualified for its first NCCAA World Series since joining the Division I level in 2008 before a year later winning its first NCCAA World Series title. In 2024, the Evangels qualified for their first ever NAIA Opening Round and in 2025, MACU advanced to its first NAIA Opening Round Championship game before falling to that undefeated LSUS squad.
• In the win over LSUS, Carlos Uribe got the win on the mound to improve to 4-1 on the season. The junior lefty bounced back from a rough four-run second inning, throwing up goose eggs over the next four frames to lock up the win.
• Getting his first career save at MACU, Byron Madero tossed three spectacular innings of relief, allowing only a hit and a walk while striking out three.
• Adam Hanan came up big to lead the batting efforts, ending his afternoon hitting 2-for-4 with a double, four RBIs and a run scored to go with a walk.
• Nick Hill wrapped up a sensational week in Shreveport with another stellar game, wrapping up the day batting 1-for-2 with a double, a pair of RBIs, and scored a pair of runs while drawing three walks.
• Overall, Hill ended the three-game tourney by hitting an astounding 5-for-9 (.556) with a double, three homers, seven RBIs, and five runs for a 1.667 slugging percentage while also drawing four walks for a .643 on-base percentage.
• With his two-RBI two-bagger in the first, Hill moved alone into first place in MACU's NAIA Era single season record book for RBIs, boosting his season total to 74 on the year.
• Tuane Cope continued to swing an electric bat out of the seven-hole in MACU's batting order as he slashed 4-for-4 with a double and an RBI.
• Sammy Hallada also came up big at the top of the order for the Evangels, slashing 2-for-5 with a double and a pair of runs scored.
• Frankie Giacalone came up with a pair of defensive records by the end of the day as he moved alone into first in MACU's single season putouts record, ending the day with 365 to top overtake Axel Poesman (357, 2018). By finishing out a double play in the first, Giacalone also captured the team's double plays record outright with 28, besting the previous marks set by Kevin Parsons (2012) and Carlos Medina (2025).
• While Jalen King saw his 15-game hit streak come to a tough end after wrapping up his day batting 0-for-2, he still continued his climb up MACU's record book as his two runs scored as a result by hit-by-pitches, his 62 runs on the year moves him into a tie for fifth alongside Noel McGarry-Doyle (2023).
• With the victory, MACU established a new single season wins record with its 42^nd of the year.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will await to see who it will face first in the AVISTA NAIA World Series being played at historic Harris Field on the campus of Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho from May 22-30.