OKLAHOMA CITY – Coach
Keith Lytle's squad has a big conference series in store for them this upcoming weekend at Denney Crabaugh Field. The Stars will take a short one-game break from Sooner Athletic Conference play with a contest against Southern Nazarene University after their series with the Mid-America Christian University Evangels.
OCU has the opportunity for some home cooking this weekend after a successful trip to the Okla. panhandle last week. The Stars will play host to a Top-20 MACU team for a pivotal series that will impact the current four-way tie atop the SAC standings; along with OCU and MACU, Texas Wesleyan University and Wayland Baptist University are 6-3 in conference play for 2026. Oklahoma City is tied for the second-longest conference win streak in the SAC. The Evangels and Stars will begin their series on Friday, March 13 at 7 p.m. before playing a doubleheader on Saturday. SNU will host OCU at Feland field in Bethany, Okla. on Tuesday, March 17 at 2 p.m.
OCU Notebook
Previously: Oklahoma City was one run away from a sweep of Oklahoma Panhandle State University last week. The Stars scored double digit runs in two of the three games against OPSU and lost game two of the series 5-4 despite holding the Aggies to a lone hit. OCU has now won its first three series of conference play to open 2026. During the series last weekend, OCU outscored OPSU 37-17 and earned a seven-inning run-rule victory in the finale.
Hitting: As a collective, OCU is hitting .275 with 44 doubles and 24 home runs. After an explosive hitting performance last weekend including a 5-for-5 showing in game one,
Trent Baker is gaining on
Aiden Van Rensum for the team-high batting average. Van Rensum is currently hitting .371 while Baker is hitting .366. Joining Baker and Van Rensum with a batting average over .300 is
Aiden Alexander who is sitting at .328 on the year.
Wyatt Pace is tied with Baker for the team lead in doubles with eight. Six Stars have tallied at least 10 runs batted in with Van Rensum pacing the team (34). Disciplined at-bats are commonplace for
Cooper Holtorf who leads OCU with 14 walks.
Pitching: OCU lowered their team earned run average from last week down to 7.45. Not only does Baker hit, but he also pitches; the senior leads the starting rotation with a 3.95 ERA. Three Stars' starters have pitched complete games with
Cayden Maxwell tossing two. The team leader in wins is
Bauer Brittain with a 3-1 record on the mound. Brittain also leads the team with 32.1 innings pitched while three other OCU pitchers have amassed over 20 innings pitched.
Tanner Ellis had an impressive long relief appearance last week for the Stars going 4.1 innings while allowing one hit and striking out six Aggies.
On the Basepaths: Oklahoma City is 46 of 55 in stolen bases this season, led by Baker, who is perfect with 16 successful swipes. Holtorf is right behind Baker with 13 stolen bags on 15 attempts. Joining Holtorf and Baker with at least 10 stolen base attempts is Alexander who is 9-for-11 on the basepath.
About Mid-America Christian: The #16 Evangels are 15-7 overall and 6-3 in the SAC after losing two of three against Nelson University. The Evangels are led by Sammy Hallada, who leads the MACU with 82 at-bats and a batting average of .378 over while sporting an on-base plus slugging percentage of 1.013 which is third-highest for players with at least 50 plate appearances. The team has a .318 batting average while holding opposing hitters to a .226 batting average. The MACU arm to watch out for is Ibrahim Gonzalez who owns a perfect 4-0 record in four starts with two complete games. Gonzalez sports 1.11 walks and hits per inning pitched (WHIP) over his 27.0 innings pitched.
About Southern Nazarene University: The Crimson Storm are 4-17 this season with a 2-9 record at home. SNU is led by Kade Springer and his .403 batting average and 19 RBI. On the mound, Lane Benevidas paces the SNU rotation with a 2-1 record and a 1.90 WHIP.
