No. 18 Baseball Set to Take on No. 19 William Carey in Second Tilt at Avista NAIA World Series

OKLAHOMA CITY – After picking up its first ever Avista NAIA World Series victory on Friday, the seventh-seeded No. 18 MACU Baseball team will take on 10^th-seeded No. 19 William Carey in the winner's bracket at 5 p.m. (3 p.m. PST) at Harris Field in Lewiston, Idaho on Monday.

SEASON REPORT

Record: 43-13
Last Game: Won vs. No. 10 Doane (Neb.) – 7-3 – May 22, 2026 – Lewiston, Idaho (NAIA World Series)
Stat Leaders (Hitting):
- Nick Hill – R-JR – 3B
  - .350 BA (69-197), 20 2B, 24 HR, 74 RBI, 61 R, 34 BB, 4 HBP, 12 SB, .442 OB%, .817 SLG%, 1.259 OPS
- Jalen King – JR – OF
  - .380 BA (78-205), 17 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 38 RBI, 62 R, 32 BB, 6 HBP, 28 SB, .475 OB%, .488 SLG%, .963 OPS
- Frankie Giacalone – JR – 1B
  - .321 BA (59-184), 10 2B, 15 HR, 48 RBI, 43 R, 32 BB, 13 HBP, 13 SB, .452 OB%, .620 SLG%, 1.072 OPS
- Sammy Hallada – JR – OF
  - .362 BA (75-207), 10 2B, 4 3B, 6 HR, 30 RBI, 59 R, 22 BB, 16 HBP, 21 SB, .459 OB%, .536 SLG%, .995 OPS
Stat Leaders (Pitching):
- Ibrahim Gonzalez – JR – LHP
  - 12-2 W-L, 2.01 ERA, 15 APP, 14 GS, 6 CG, 1 SHO, 89.2 IP, 72 H, 29 R, 20 ER, 29 BB, 95 SO, .220 OBA, 1.13 WHIP
- Fabian Hernandez – SR – LHP
  - 5-2 W-L, 4.02 ERA, 14 APP, 14 GS, 3 CG, 1 SHO, 78.1 IP, 68 H, 39 R, 35 ER, 24 BB, 103 SO, .232 OBA, 1.17 WHIP
- Gabriel Dixon – SR – LHP
  - 4-2 W-L, 2.87 ERA, 18 APP, 1 SV, 31.1 IP, 26 H, 10 R, 10 ER, 15 BB, 22 SO, .234 OBA, 1.31 WHIP
- Liam Taft – JR – RHP
  - 0-2 W-L, 2.79 ERA, 19 APP, 13 SV, 19.1 IP, 15 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 8 BB, 19 SO, .205 OBA, 1.19 WHIP
Team Notes:
- Facing off against a red-hot fourth-seeded Doane team that entered the World Series by winning 19 of its last 20 games, the Evangels shut down the Tigers, holding DU to only three runs, the fewest allowed by any team through the first round of games as well as the Tigers' lowest run total since Apr. 11 while cruising to a 7-3 victory.
- Cole Krepcik put together a historic performance from the dish to lead the MACU batting efforts in the win, slashing 5-for-5 with a homer, two runs scored, and an RBI, making him only the ninth Evangel in the NAIA Era (2008-present) to record five or more hits in a game and the first to do it during postseason play.
- Elijah Lee also came up big from the plate for MACU in that win, tallying a team-high three RBIs while slashing 1-for-3 from the plate with his two-RBI single and RBI safety squeeze bunt.
- Despite not having his best command, ace Ibrahim Gonzalez still pitched well enough to get his 12^th win of the season, allowing three runs on seven hits with a pair of walks and three strikeouts over five innings of work, allowing him to move into a tie for the NAIA's wins lead.
- The Evangels got two stellar bullpen outings from Byron Madero and Gabriel Dixon, who each allowed no runs on only one hit apiece and one walk apiece while tallying a combined four strikeouts over four innings.
- The victory for MACU started an interesting phenomenon for the first day of the tournament as all four of the lower-seeded teams won their games.

SCOUTING REPORT
William Carey (Miss.)

Record: 39-18
Last Game: Won vs. No. 1 Taylor (Ind.) – 7-4 – May 22, 2026 – Lewiston, Idaho (NAIA World Series)
Series vs MACU: First Meeting
Last Game vs MACU: N/A
Series Streak: N/A
Players to Watch (Hitting):
- DeeJay Booth – SR – OF
  - .369 BA (72-195), 13 2B, 1 3B, 12 HR, 63 RBI, 71 R, 53 BB, 9 HBP, 29 SB, .513 OB%, .631 SLG%, 1.144 OPS
- Jayden Mark – SR – C
  - .342 BA (66-193), 16 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 55 RBI, 34 R, 40 BB, 12 HBP, 6 SB, .461 OB%, .482 SLG%, .943 OPS
- Taylor Walters – JR – INF
  - .317 BA (60-189), 15 2B, 3 3B, 2 HR, 57 RBI, 48 R, 45 BB, 10 HBP, 7 SB, .460 OB%, .460 SLG%, .920 OPS
Players to Watch (Pitching):
- Matthew Davis – SR – RHP
  - 11-2 W-L, 3.48 ERA, 18 APP, 16 GS, 3 CG, 1 SV, 98.1 IP, 91 H, 45 R, 38 ER, 36 BB, 112 SO, .241 OBA, 1.29 WHIP
- Dylan Wallace – JR – RHP
  - 3-3 W-L, 5.37 ERA, 24 APP, 4 GS, 4 SV, 52.0 IP, 45 H, 36 R, 31 ER, 34 BB, 59 SO, .231 OBA, 1.52 WHIP
- Jimmie Johnson – JR – RHP
  - 7-2 W-L, 4.12 ERA, 23 APP, 4 SV, 43.2 IP, 38 H, 23 R, 20 ER, 22 BB, 51 SO, .235 OBA, 1.37 WHIP
Team Notes:
- William Carey, the lowest seeded team in the NAIA World Series came up with the most stunning upset of the tournament on the opening day as it took down No. 1 Taylor (Ind.) by scoring three runs in the top of the ninth to secure a 7-4 victory and hand the Trojans only their sixth loss of the season.
- Even though the Crusaders are a blue blood program at the NAIA level, WCU has put together a bit of a Cinderella run to get to this point as they were the No. 3 seed to advance out of their Opening Round in the Williamsburg, Ky. bracket. William Carey finished second in a loaded Southern States Athletic Conference final standing before being eliminated by Loyola (La.) in the SSAC Semifinal.
- WCU enters Monday's game ranked 62^nd in the NAIA in team batting average (.301) and 94^th in slugging percentage (.428), but rank 24^th in on-base percentage (.437). On the mound, the Crusaders rank 35^th in team ERA (4.98) and are posting the 64^th-lowest WHIP (1.61).
- The most dangerous bat in the William Carey lineup this season has been All-SSAC First Team senior outfielder DeeJay Booth, who leads the team in runs (71), RBIs (63), home runs (12), batting average (.369), and OPS (1.144). The Crusaders have also gotten strong play from All-SSAC First Team senior catcher Jayden Mark, who is posting a .342 batting average with 55 RBIs and a team-best 16 doubles.
- Senior righty Matthew Davis has spearheaded a balanced William Carey pitching staff, as he owns an 11-2 record on the mound with a 3.48 ERA to go with 112 strikeouts in garnering the SSAC Pitcher of the Year honor. Although, it is likely MACU will not face the WCU ace after he threw against Taylor to open the tournament.
- The Crusaders have been a team that's relied heavily on its pen this season as Everett Thompson and Josh MacCord have started 12 and 11 games apiece, but relied on Dylan Wallace to carry the start that got WCU to the NAIA Opening Round Championship game with a start after serving as one of the team's two primary closers. Jimmie Johnson has also played a huge role in the back end of the bullpen, as he got the win over the Trojans on Friday after throwing 3.2 innings of scoreless relief.
- Monday's meeting will mark the first ever matchup between the Evangels and the Crusaders.