OKLAHOMA CITY - The Oklahoma City Stars baseball team saw its journey for third straight SAC Tournament Championship title come to an on Tuesday afternoon in a 12-6 loss to Mid-America Christian who won their first ever conference championship.  
 

Mid-America Christian Evangels – 12

Oklahoma City Stars  — 6

Game Summary

Mid-America Christian placed runs up on the board in six of the eight innings the Evangels came to bat including two in the first on a Noel McGarry-doyle two-run triple before Jacob Police drove in the lone run in the second with a single to right, taking advantage of two Oklahoma City errors in the inning. 

Oklahoma City was scoreless through six innings with only two hits coming from Aiden Alexander and Hunter Lenochan. Trailing 5-0 Oklahoma City notched its first run of the game in the top of the seventh with a sac fly to deep center that scored Aiden Van Rensum. 

Close to gaining a hint of momentum, MACU snagged it right back with a five-run inning highlighted by a grand slam from DeAndre Gaines. Down 10-1, the Stars maintained showing their fight as Van Rensum ignited a five-run inning for OCU with a three-run shot to dead center field. 

Tristan Williams and Aiden Alexander kept the 5-run inning alive with a pair of singles before Lenochan drove in his second run of the game. Following Lenochan, Noah Kang came up for the first time and brought in Alexander before being thrown out attempting to stretch a single into a double which ended the inning.

MACU tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the eighth to which the Stars had no answer for going down in order in the top of the ninth securing the Evangels first-ever SAC Title. 

Game Notes

-Despite having just two hits through six innings, Oklahoma City had its chance right off the bat after Hunter Lenochan hit safely with a single to left, Trent Kiraly made it to first on an error and Chad Pike reached base on a hit by pitch. The Stars standed the bases loaded in the top of the first and went on an 0-for-7 stint before Pike reached again on his second hit by pitch. 

-Four Stars tabbed multiple hits with Aiden Van Rensum leading the way with three runs batted in on his ninth home run of the year which was the Stars only extra-base hit.

-Hunter Lenochan came away with two hits and two RBI hitting safely for the third consecutive game and totaling 61 base knocks on the year placing Lenochan second on the team. 

-Tristan Williams finished the day 2-for-4 tabbing back-to-back games with a hit and a run scored. 

-Aiden Alexander rounds out the two-hit Stars with hits coming in the fifth and eighth inning extending his hitting streak to six games while scoring for the fourth time in five games. 

-Connor Ferguson worked a solid 4.1 innings pitched allowing five runs, three being earned with two walks and one strikeout. 

-The OCU bullpen had a bumpy day in the championship contest combining for 3.2 innings pitched, seven runs, two walks, and four strikeouts. Austin Worley was the only Stars to come in relief who did not allow a run in 0.2 innings pitched with a walk and a strikeout. 

-Oklahoma City lost its second straight game to MACU after the Evangels took the regular season series back in March.

-OCU has won just one of the last five meetings against MACU while still maintaining a 42-9 edge in the all-time series dating back to 2008.

Next Up

Oklahoma City will begin its march in the NAIA National Championship Opening Round. The baseball selection show will be on Thursday, May 9 at 4 PM where the bracket will be released to the public. The selection show will be shown inside the Leichter Room in the Freede Center at Oklahoma City University.