Mid-America Christian University

LEWISTON, Idaho – The No. 18 MACU Baseball team put together a phenomenal run to the Avista NAIA World Series, but after going into a rain delay with the score tied at 4-4 in the top of the fifth against No. 1 Taylor, the Evangels struggled to slow down the Trojans bats in the resumption of play as MACU fell 13-4 at Harris Field to see their season come to an end.
 
SCORE

• Taylor 13, Mid-America Christian 4
  • Mid-America Christian (43-15)
  • Taylor (55-6)

PITCHING DECISIONS

• Win: Lane Lewis (5-0)
• Loss: Ibrahim Gonzalez (12-3)

TOP PERFORMERS

• Adam Hanan – 1-3, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R, HBP
• Cole Krepcik – 2-3, R, SB
• Jalen King – 2-4, R
• Tuane Cope – 2-4, R
• Jahzeel Groetelaers – 1-3, RBI

SCORING SUMMARY

• TOP 1^st – TU – Jordan Malott doubled down rf line, RBI; Ben Kennedy scored – TU 1, MACU 0
• TOP 1^st – TU – Brennan Frickel hit a sac fly to rf, RBI; Brayden Manning scored – TU 2, MACU 0
• BTM 2^nd – MACU – Jahzeel Groetelaers singled to center, RBI; Adam Hanan scored – TU 2, MACU 1
• BTM 2^nd – MACU – Elijah Lee hit a sac fly to cf, RBI; Cole Krepcik scored – MACU 2, TU 2
• TOP 3^rd – TU – Jordan Malott homered to center, RBI – TU 3, MACU 2
• BTM 3^rd – MACU – Adam Hanan homered to left, 2 RBI; Jalen King scored – MACU 4, TU 3
• TOP 5^th – TU – Nate Simpson singled to short, RBI; Brennan Frickel scored – MACU 4, TU 4
• TOP 7^th – TU – Quinn Kunkel singled to left, 2 RBI; Sam Gladd scored; Brennan Frickel scored – TU 6, MACU 4
• TOP 8^th – TU – Brennan Frickel singled thru right side, RBI; Luke Sutter scored – TU 7, MACU 4
• TOP 8^th – TU – Fletcher Roemmich singled to left, RBI; Brayden Manning scored – TU 8, MACU 4
• TOP 8^th – TU – Nate Simpson reached on a fielder's choice to short, RBI; Tyler Allemeier scored – TU 9, MACU 4
• TOP 8^th – TU – Peter Ensign reached on a fielding error by ss; Fletcher Roemmich scored – TU 10, MACU 4
• TOP 8^th – TU – Luke Sutter singled through right side, 2 RBI; Brady Gehrig scored; Nate Simpson scored – TU 12, MACU 4
• TOP 8^th – TU – Brennan Frickel homered to left-center, RBI – TU 13, MACU 4

GAME SUMMARY

• Mid-America Christian found itself in the hole right out of the gate. After Ben Kennedy reached on an error and Brayden Manning slapped a one-out single through the left side, Jordan Malott ripped an RBI double that landed just barely inside the right field foul line to bring in the go-ahead run.
• Moments later, Brennan Frickel hit a sac fly to right field, allowing Brayden Manning to tag up and score, making it a 2-0 Taylor lead.
• The Trojans once again threatened in the top of the second, loading the bases on Nate Simpson double, a Jace Schrock infield single, and a Kennedy walk. However, the Evangels got out of the jam as Carlos Uribe got Luke Sutter to ground into a 4-6-3 double play to end the threat.
• The Evangels put together a strong response to tie it up in the bottom of the second. Adam Hanan led it off by getting on via a hit-by-pitch before Cole Krepcik smashed a one-out single into left and Tuane Cope smacked a single through the left side to load the bases. Jahzeel Groetelaers cut it to a one-run game by dropping a bloop single into shallow center just out of the reach of the shortstop before Elijah Lee floated a sac fly to center to bring in Krepcik, setting the score to 2-2.
• Taylor took back the lead in the top of the third when Jordan Malott blasted a solo shot over the center field wall to make it 3-2, however, Uribe was able to limit the damage by striking out the other three batters he faced.
• The Evangels answered back in a big way in their half of the third. After Jalen King started it off with a single hit into right, Adam Hanan gave MACU the lead by blasting a two-run bomb over the left field wall, making it a 4-3 contest.
• MACU once again ran into trouble in the top of the fourth when the Trojans loaded the bases on three walks. However, reliever Byron Madero was able to get out of the jam by striking out Brayden Manning to keep the Evangels in-front.
• The Trojans managed to tie it up in the top of the fifth before a rain delay went into effect. A single, a walk, and a fielder's choice put runners at the corners with two outs and when it looked as though MACU might be able to get out of the jam once again, Simpson legged out an infield single to short to plate the tying run while the errant throw allowed both runners to move up to second and third. Following the play, the umpires called for a delay in the action as the field conditions were too wet to continue play.
• In the resumption of play on Wednesday, Ibrahim Gonzalez came in in relief and induced a flyout to center to get MACU out of the jam in the top of the fifth.
• The Evangels ran into trouble in the top of the seventh when Brennan Frickel drew a leadoff walk and Sam Gladd smacked a double down the right field line to put a pair in scoring position. It looked as though Gonzalez might be able to get out of it when he struck out the next two batters, but unfortunately, the red-hot bat of pinch-hitter Quinn Kunkel slapped a two-RBI single into left to give Taylor the 6-4 lead.
• MACU put together a threat in the seventh as Hallada was hit by a pitch and King drew a walk before Nick Hill's deep fly to right allowed Hallada to get down to third on the tag-up. Unfortunately, the Evangels weren't able to bring in any runs when Hanan grounded into a 5-4-3 double play.
• The Trojans continued to add to their lead in the top of the eighth, scoring six runs on five hits with a walk and an error to all but put the game out of reach with Sutter's two-RBI single making it a 12-4 game.
• The Evangels tried to muster a threat in the bottom of the eighth as Cole Krepcik hit a leadoff infield single before Frankie Giacalone just barely missed a homer on a deep flyball to left. Ned Ceklic smashed a two-out, pinch-hit single into left, but MACU came up empty when Jesse Ortega's pinch-hit was a comebacker to the mound to end the inning.
• Taylor continued scoring insurance in the top of the ninth with Frickel's solo shot to left-center and threatened to add more by loading the bases with two outs. However, MACU reliver Andrws Acosta struck out Ben Kennedy to keep the score at 13-4.
• Unfortunately, MACU was unable to push across any more runs to cut into the deficit as the Evangels fell by a final score of 13-4.

GAME NOTES

• Taylor scored its 13 runs on 17 hits while the Evangels notched their four runs on nine hits and committed three errors.
• Adam Hanan led the MACU batting efforts, finishing 1-for-3 while recording team's lone extra-base hit with his two-run homer, resulting in two RBIs and scored a pair of runs after also reaching on a hit-by-pitch.
• With Jalen King, Cole Krepcik, and Tuane Cope each finished with a pair of hits apiece as King and Krepcik each added a run scored as well.
• Jahzeel Groetelaers wrapped up his tournament by batting 1-for-3 with an RBI while Elijah Lee notched MACU's other RBI after going 0-for-1 with a walk and a sac fly.
• Ibrahim Gonzalez suffered the tough loss on the mound in relief, allowing two earned runs on three hits with a walk and four strikeouts over 2.1 innings of work.
• Krepcik put together a phenomenal tournament from the plate for MACU as he finished batting 8-for-11 (.727) with two RBIs and three runs scored and also drew a pair of walks to notch a .714 on-base percentage.
• The contest marked the first ever meeting between the Evangels and the Trojans.

SEASON SUMMARY

• Mid-America Christian amassed a program record 43 wins to wrap-up its historic season, capturing its second Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament title and advanced to the NAIA World Series for the first time in program history after capturing the program's first NAIA Opening Round Championship.
• MACU notched a 20-win season in SAC play for the third-straight year, wrapping up league play with a 20-7 conference mark to finish second in the final standings.
• The Evangels put together a stellar resume in proving they were one of the top teams in the country over the year, amassing a 9-6 record against teams that finished ranked in the final NAIA Top 25 Coaches' Poll.
• Overall, MACU had nine players that earned All-Sooner Athletic Conference honors, headlined by Ibrahim Gonzalez being named the SAC Pitcher of the Year and Nick Hill garnering the SAC Newcomer of the Year. Joining Gonzalez and Hill on the First Team was Frankie Giacalone, Jalen King, and Liam Taft while Cole Krepcik, Sammy Hallada, Adam Hanan, and Fabian Hernandez were named to the Second Team. The Evangels also earned a program record three Gold Glovers as Jahzeel Groetelaers joined Giacalone and Hill on the team.
• The Evangels also recorded the second-most NCCAA All-Americans as Gonzalez was selected as the program's first ever NCCAA Player of the Year while Hill joined him on the First Team, Taft was tabbed to the Second Team, and King collected Third Team accolades.
• MACU has continuously improved under head coach Brett Stanton. Recording a 43-15 record in his sixth year as the team's skipper, the Evangels have won 40 or more games in each of the last three years. Over that six-year time frame, Stanton has amassed an incredible 220-110 record for a 66.7 percent win clip.

IN THE RECORD BOOKS (TEAM – NAIA ERA – 2008-PRESENT)

• Hitting
  • Hit-By-Pitch – 97 (1^st)
  • Runs – 445 (2^nd)
  • Hits – 557 (2^nd)
  • Home Runs – 76 (2^nd)
  • RBIs – 401 (2^nd)
  • Total Bases – 929 (2^nd)
  • Stolen Bases – 144 (2^nd)
  • On-Base Percentage - .432 (2^nd)
  • Slugging Percentage - .526 (2^nd)
  • OPS - .958 (2^nd)
  • Walks – 249 (3^rd)
  • Batting Average - .327 (4^th)
  • Doubles – 102 (4^th)
  • Triples – 11 (5^th)
• Pitching (Pitching)
  • Saves – 16 (1^st)
  • Innings Pitched – 448 (1^st)
  • Strikeouts – 464 (1^st)
  • Opponent Batting Average - .247 (1^st)
  • ERA – 4.06 (2^nd)
  • Shutouts – 5 (2^nd)
  • Fewest Runs Allowed – 240 (2^nd)
  • Fewest Earned Runs Allowed – 202 (2^nd)
  • WHIP – 1.42 (2^nd)
  • Strikeouts Per Nine Innings Ratio – 9.32 (4^th)
• Defensive
  • Putouts – 344 (1^st)
  • Fielding Percentage - .968 (1^st)
  • Caught Stealing Base – 50 (1^st)
  • Caught Stealing Percentage - .384 (1^st)
  • Assists – 483 (2^nd)
  • Fewest Errors – 61 (3^rd)
• Team Notes
  • On the offensive end, the Evangels posted one of their best offensive seasons. On-top of setting the record for the most hit-by-pitches, MACU finished second in almost every other statistical category, including: runs, hits, home runs, RBIs, total bases, stolen bases, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS.
  • The Evangels were just as lethal on the mound during the 2026 campaign as well. On-top of capturing the program's single season records in strikeouts, saves, and opponent batting average while tossing the most innings, MACU also notched the second-best marks in ERA, WHIP, and shutouts while allowing the second-fewest runs and earned runs in a year that spanned 58 games.
  • MACU also put together an elite year on the defensive end, capturing the program records in putouts, fielding percentage, and runners caught stealing on the best caught stealing percentage.

IN THE RECORD BOOKS (INDIVIDUAL – POSITION – NAIA ERA – 2008-PRESENT)

• Nick Hill
  • Game
    • Doubles – 3 (1^st)
    • Home Runs – 2 (3^rd) *four times
  • Season (Min. 100 AB)
    • Home Runs – 24 (1^st)
    • RBIs – 75 (1^st)
    • Total Bases – 163 (1^st)
    • Slugging Percentage - .787 (2^nd)
    • Doubles – 20 (2^nd)
    • At-Bats – 207 (4^th)
    • Consecutive Game Hit Streak – 15 (4^th)
    • OPS – 1.220 (5^th)
    • Walks – 34 (5^th)
    • Runs – 62 (6^th)
    • Hits – 71 (9^th)
  • Career (Min. 200 AB)
    • Slugging Percentage – .787 (2^nd)
    • OPS – 1.220 (2^nd)
    • Home Runs – 24 (6^th)
    • RBI – 75 (9^th)
  • Nick Hill put together a historic season from the dish for the Evangels, annihilating the team's home run record by mashing 24 on the year, surpassing last year's mark set by Cristopher Munoz (16). His 75 RBIs surpassed a MACU legend in Noel McGarry-Doyle (72, 2025) and his 163 total bases shattered the previous mark set by D'Andre Gaines (137, 2025).
  • Hill also narrowly missed matching Logan Gipson's 2018 doubles record of 21, becoming only the second Evangel to reach 20 doubles in a season while he also finished in a tie for second on the slugging percentage list at .787, matching Andrew Enwiya's 2022 mark.
  • Hill's season was so great from the plate, he also broke into the program's career records list with his 24 long balls ranking in a tie for sixth with Enwiya (2022-23) and his 75 RBIs surpassed Taiga Sakuma (74, 2024-25) for ninth.

• Jalen King
  • Game
    • Runs – 6 (1^st)
    • Stolen Bases – 3 (5^th) *two times
  • Season
    • Hits – 81 (1^st)
    • At-Bats – 214 (1^st)
    • Doubles – 18 (3^rd)
    • Stolen Bases – 29 (3^rd)
    • Runs – 64 (4^th)
    • Consecutive Game Hit Streak – 15 (4^th)
    • Stolen Base Attempts – 31 (4^th)
    • Walks – 33 (7^th)
  • Career (Min. 200 AB)
    • Batting Average - .379 (3^rd)
    • On-Base Percentage - .472 (4^th)
    • Stolen Bases – 29 (7^th)
  • Jalen King found himself at the top of MACU's season record book by ending the year with 81 hits, surpassing a record that held up for 16 years when James Frederick recorded 79 during the 2010 campaign.
  • King also tallied MACU's single game record when he scored six runs in a win at Oklahoma Panhandle State.
  • The Spokane Valley, Wash. native wrapped up his sensational first season with the Evangels by tallying the third-most doubles and the third-most stolen bases.
• Frankie Giacalone
  • Game
    • Home Runs – 2 (3^rd) *two times
  • Season
    • Putouts – 379 (1^st)
    • Double Plays – 30 (1^st)
    • Home Runs – 15 (3^rd)
    • Walks – 34 (5^th)
    • Hit-By-Pitch – 13 (10^th)
  • Career
    • Putouts – 379 (8^th)
    • Double Plays – 30 (8^th)
  • Frankie Giacalone was a player for MACU that was extremely productive with both his glove and his bat over the course of the 2026 campaign. The San Diego native shattered the single season putouts record (379) that was previously held by Axel Poesman (357, 2018) as well as the double plays record (30), surpassing the previous mark of 27 set by Kevin Parson (2012) and Carlos Medina (2025).
  • Giacalone also capped off his 2026 campaign by mashing 15 home runs, matching D'Andre Gaines (2025) for the third-most in a single season.
• Sammy Hallada
  • Game
    • Runs – 5 (2^nd)
  • Season
    • At-Bats – 214 (1^st)
    • Triples – 4 (3^rd)
    • Hit-By-Pitch – 19 (3^rd)
    • Hits – 75 (4^th)
    • Consecutive Game Reached Base Streak – 26 (6^th)
    • Stolen Base Attempts – 27 (6^th)
    • Stolen Bases – 21 (7^th)
    • Runs – 60 (8^th)
  • Career (Min. 200 AB)
    • Triples – 4 (5^th)
    • On-Base Percentage - .453 (8^th)
    • Batting Average - .350 (10^th)
  • In his first season at MACU, Sammy Hallada was a staple at the top of the team's batting order, tying the program record with teammate Jalen King with 214 while also tallying the third-most triples and hit-by-pitches as well as the fourth-most hits in a season.
• Elijah Lee
  • Game
    • Stolen Bases – 4 (2^nd)
  • Season
    • Assists – 163 (1^st)
    • Double Plays – 24 (5^th)
    • Stolen Bases – 20 (8^th)
    • Stolen Base Attempts – 23 (10^th)
  • Career
    • Double Plays – 35 (4^th)
    • Assists – 213 (5^th)
  • Elijah Lee wrapped up a solid two-year career at MACU by breaking the program's single season assists record, shattering the previous mark held by Carlos Medina (144, 2025) while also ending the campaign by breaking into the top five for most double plays turned.
  • In a win over Hesston back on Mar. 17, he became only the fourth Evangel in the NAIA Era to steal at least four bases in a game.
  • Overall, Lee ends his career finishing in the program's top five for double plays turned and assists.
• Cole Krepcik
  • Game
    • Runs – 5 (2^nd)
    • Hits – 5 (3^rd)
  • Season
    • Double Plays – 28 (4^th)
    • At-Bats – 198 (6^th)
    • Triples – 3 (8^th)
    • Hits – 71 (9^th)
    • Assists – 119 (9^th)
  • Cole Krepcik put together a great season in his first campaign with the Evangels, breaking into the single game record book by scoring five runs in a game while also tallying five hits in a game, which included being the first to record five hits in a postseason game in the World Series against No. 10 Doane.
  • On-top of breaking into MACU's record book for hits and triples, he also did some strong work with his glove by turning the fourth-most double plays in a season as well as tallying the ninth-most assists.
• Jahzeel Groetelaers
  • Season
    • Runners Caught Stealing – 23 (1^st)
    • Caught Stealing Percentage - .426 (1^st)
    • Putouts – 359 (2^nd)
  • Career
    • Caught Stealing Percentage - .426 (1^st)
    • Runners Caught Stealing – 23 (3^rd)
  • Jahzeel Groetelaers defense behind the plate was downright unprecedented in his SAC Gold Glove campaign as not only did he shatter the runners caught stealing record that was previously held by Kieran Bradford (20, 2009), but he also did at by far and away the best clip, throwing out runners 42.6 percent of the time, making him the only catcher to do it at better than a 40 percent clip.
  • Groetelaers also moved into second on MACU's putouts list, finishing only behind his teammate Frankie Giacalone.
• Adam Hanan
  • Game
    • Home Runs – 3 (1^st)
    • RBIs – 9 (1^st)
  • Season
    • Hit-By-Pitch – 13 (10^th)
  • On top of a solid first season for Adam Hanan in the designated hitter position, he put together one of the most remarkable games in program history when he mashed three homers and nine RBIs in a win over Oklahoma Panhandle State on Apr. 10.
  • Hanan was also one of three Evangels to record 10 or more home runs for MACU on the season while he also finished in a tie for second in RBIs with 48 on the year.
• Dyson Kinnaman
  • Career
    • Stolen Bases – 25 (10^th)
    • Stolen Base Attempts – 32 (9^th)
  • Dyson Kinnaman served a strong role over the last two years as a courtesy runner, amassing the 10^th-most stolen bases in the NAIA Era with 25 in that time frame.
• Tuane Cope
  • Season (Min. 100 AB)
    • On-Base Percentage - .496 (9^th)
  • Splitting time with Julio Felix in right, Tuane Cope took advantage of his opportunities as he recorded the ninth-best on-base percentage for a MACU batter in the NAIA Era that notched at least 100 at-bats.
• Julio Felix
  • Season
    • Hit-By-Pitch – 13 (10^th)
  • One of MACU's right fielders, Julio Felix notched the 10^th-most hit-by-pitches with 13 drawn on the season.

IN THE RECORD BOOKS (INDIVIDUAL – PITCHER – NAIA ERA – 2008-PRESENT)

• Ibrahim Gonzalez
  • Game
    • Innings Pitched – 9 (1^st)
  • Season (Min. 20 IP)
    • Wins – 12 (1^st)
    • Complete Games – 6 (3^rd)
    • Innings Pitched – 92 (3^rd)
    • ERA – 2.15 (4^th)
    • Strikeouts – 99 (5^th)
    • Games Started – 14 (9^th)
  • Career
    • Wins – 12 (6^th)
    • Complete Games – 6 (7^th)
  • In an incredible first season with the Evangels, the SAC Pitcher of the Year became the program's first to eclipse 10 wins in a season, finishing the season with 12 while posting the third-most innings pitched and the fourth-best ERA for any MACU pitcher in that time frame.
  • Gonzalez narrowly missed becoming the fifth MACU pitcher to reach 100 wins on the season, ending the year with 99.
• Fabian Hernandez
  • Game
    • Innings Pitched – 9 (1^st)
    • Fewest Hits Allowed – 2 (5^th)
  • Season (Min. 20 IP)
    • Games Started – 15 (3^rd)
    • Strikeouts – 108 (4^th)
    • Innings Pitched – 86.1 (6^th)
    • Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio – 4.15 (7^th)
    • WHIP – 1.12 (9^th)
  • Career (Min. 2 Yrs & 40 IP)
    • Strikeouts – 192 (2^nd)
    • Wins – 13 (4^th)
    • Shutouts – 4 (4^th)
    • Innings Pitched – 165.2 (5^th)
    • Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio – 3.42 (5^th)
    • ERA – 3.97 (6^th)
    • Games Started – 28 (6^th)
    • WHIP – 1.27 (7^th)
    • Opponent Batting Average - .247 (8^th)
    • Complete Games – 9 (9^th)
  • Fabian Hernandez wrapped up a sensational two-year Evangels career with a nother strong season, starting the third-most games in a year while being one of only four MACU pitchers to record more than 100 strikeouts in a season.
  • Hernandez closed out his career ranked second on MACU's strikeout list while tallying the fourth-most wins while tossing the fifth-most innings and posting the sixth-best ERA.
• Gabriel Dixon
  • Season (Min. 20 IP)
    • ERA – 2.84 (8^th)
  • Career (2 Yrs & 40 IP)
    • Saves – 5 (5^th)
    • ERA – 4.39 (9^th)
    • WHIP – 1.48 (9^th)
  • Gabriel Dixon put together an outstanding final season out of the pen for the Evangels as his 2.84 ERA was the eighth-best recorded by a MACU pitcher that threw at least 20 innings in a season.
  • Overall, he wrapped up a career that amassed the fifth-most saves while posting the ninth-best ERA and WHIP.
• Andrws Acosta
  • Season (Min. 20 IP)
    • Games Pitched – 20 (8^th)
    • Opponent Batting Average - .216 (9^th)
  • Career
    • Games Pitched – 44 (5^th)
    • Saves – 5 (5^th)
  • Andrws Acosta closed out a stellar career as a relief pitcher and a spot starter for the Evangels. Over the course of his two years with MACU, he made the fifth-most appearances and equaled Dixon for career saves.
  • Acosta led the Evangels in pitching appearances this season, seeing action in 20 games.
• Liam Taft
  • Season
    • Saves – 13 (1^st)
    • Games Pitched – 20 (8^th)
  • Career
    • Saves – 13 (2^nd)
  • Liam Taft's first season with the Evangels was a remarkable one as he smashed the team's single season saves record with 13, one of the highest marks in the NAIA and equaled the most pitching appearances for MACU on the year with 20.
  • Taft narrowly missed breaking Kelton Lachelt's career saves record, sitting just one shy of matching the program mark.
• Byron Madero
  • Season
    • Wins – 7 (9^th)
  • Doing most of his work in relief, Byron Madero notched the second-most wins for the Evangels with seven on the season, tying the ninth-most in a year amongst all MACU pitchers in the NAIA Era.