Mid- America Christian University announces Baseball Places Record Six on All-SAC Team, Two Earn Gold Gloves
Oklahoma City- The Sooner Athletic Conference announced its 2023 baseball All-Conference Team on Monday as a program-record six members of the MACU baseball squad were named to the esteemed list while two also earned Gold Glove honors.
Graduate student catcher Yan Ely Adames headlined the MACU recipients as a unanimous First Team selection while sophomore outfielder Noel McGarry-Doyle and junior starting pitcher Isaac Baez also garnered First Team accolades.
Selected to the Second Team were junior relief pitcher Kelton Lachelt, sophomore shortstop Carlos Medina and senior designated hitter and outfielder Andrew Enwiya.
Medina was one of two MACU players to earn Gold Glove honors as he was joined by fellow middle infielder senior second baseman Ryan Reed.
Adames, in his fifth season of action from Jarabacoa, Dominican Republic, continued to make history for the Evangels as he is the first player in program history to ever be named to the All-SAC First Team four times in his career.
At the conclusion of the SAC Tournament, Adames leads the team in home runs (12), the third-most by any player in the NAIA Era (2007-present), while leading the team in hits (54), second in RBIs (38) and posted the third-best qualifying slugging percentage (.584) to go with a .312 batting average.
In MACU's 13-7 win at Wayland Baptist on Apr. 7, Adames slugged both the tying and NAIA Era record-breaking home runs with a two-run shot in the third and a solo blast in the seventh, surpassing Jerry McNew for the program record.
Adames also came up clutch for MACU in its 4-3 win over Southwestern Christian at the MACU Baseball Field on Mar. 4 when he smashed the walk-off two-run homer over the right field wall to propel the Evangels to a 4-3 victory.
In his illustrious MACU career, Adames holds multiple career records, including: hits (257), doubles (51), home runs (34), RBIs (185), total bases (416), runs (117) and at-bats (747).
A newcomer to the program in 2022-23, McGarry-Doyle has been the most impactful bat in the MACU lineup. Along with posting the team's best batting average (.316), the Maple, Ontario, Canada native also leads the team in triples (3), RBIs (45), runs (56), walks (28), hit-by-pitch (17), total bases (101) on-base percentage (.516) and slugging percentage (.716), while tallying the second-most hits (53), home runs (11) and stolen bases (13).
Entering postseason play, McGarry-Doyle ranks in the single-season top 10 in multiple hitting categories, including batting average (10th), slugging percentage (5th), on-base percentage (4th), triples (3rd), home runs (8th), RBIs (10th), total bases (10th), runs (2nd), walks (6th) and hit-by-pitch (2nd).
Rounding out the First Team, Baez has been putting together a remarkable first season on the mound for MACU. Posting an 8-3 record, the Santa Maria, Calif. product needs just one more win to match Keisy Portorreal for the NAIA Era single season wins record while posting a 4.84 ERA over 15 starts and 80 innings of work.
His 86 strikeouts are the eighth-most by a MACU pitcher since joining the NAIA in 2008 and needs just one more start to tie Colby Crawford (2012) for the most starts in a single season.
Baez put together an incredible mid-season streak. Following a 9-5 win at Science & Arts on Mar. 11, the six-foot righty went on to toss 23 consecutive scoreless innings, the longest scoreless streak of any MACU pitcher in the NAIA Era. During that stretch, Baez tossed a pair of complete game shutouts, becoming just the sixth pitcher in the program to record two or more shutouts in a season.
Another crucial pitcher coming out of the pen, Lachelt also made waves in his second season with the Evangels. In a 10-4 victory at Southwestern Assemblies of God on Apr. 14, the Henderson, Nevada native tied both the NAIA Era single season (7) and career (11) saves records with Wyatt Glasgow.
This season, Lachelt has posted a 5-1 record with those seven saves in 18 appearances, allowing just a 3.49 ERA to go with 18 strikeouts and three walks over 28.1 innings of work.
Another newcomer to the program, Medina is making a major impact with both his bat and his glove. Joining his Southeastern CC (Iowa) teammate McGarry-Doyle, Medina enters postseason play with a .349 batting average, the third-best on the team while slugging a team-best 15 doubles to go with five homers for 29 RBIs and 24 runs.
However, one of the biggest impacts Medina made was with his glove, as he also earned a spot on the SAC Gold Glove team as he has committed just two errors in 171 chances and hadn't committed an error until the last series of the regular season. The Apple Valley, Calif. native has tallied 118 assists, the third-most for a MACU player in the NAIA Era and has also turned 15 double plays.
On-top of his clutch glove, Medina has come up with some huge hits for MACU this season, including hitting the go-ahead sac fly in the 2-1 season-opening win at the University of the Southwest on Jan. 28, hit a crucial RBI single in the bottom of the sixth in a 4-3 win over Southwestern (Kan.) on Feb. 26 and hit the walk-off single to center in the bottom of the ninth in a 5-4 victory over Oklahoma Panhandle State on Mar. 31.
Medina earned the SAC Player of the Week honor for Week 12 after leading the Evangels to a three-game sweep at No. 24 SAGU. In that three-game slate, Medina batted .636 (7-for-11) to go with four doubles and a homer for a pair of RBIs and two runs scored.
Rounding out the Second Team selections, Enwiya has been putting together another strong season at the dish, slashing a .312 batting average while ranking second on the team in home runs (11), RBIs (38), walks (27), hit-by-pitch (15), on-base percentage (.471) and slugging percentage (.632).
The Modesto, Calif. native was one of two MACU position players to garner SAC Player of the Week honors during week eight, as the 6-2 slugger slashed .444 with a 1.111 slugging percentage after going 4-for-9 with a pair of homers for six RBIs.
During that week, Enwiya led MACU to its first ever series win over NAIA powerhouse and SAC Tournament Champion Oklahoma City, as he hit the game-tying two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth before the Evangels took the lead later in the inning on an error to seal the 6-5 victory in the series finale on Mar. 19.
In just two seasons at MACU, Enwiya has been one of the best bats in program history as he currently ranks in the top five of multiple NAIA Era career record book spots, including: batting average (.371, 3rd), slugging percentage (.718, 2nd), on-base percentage (.496, 1st), home runs (24, 4th), RBIs (88, 4th), total bases (201, 4th), walks (54, 3rd) and hit-by-pitch (21, 4th).
Earning Gold Glove honors, Reed has been a strong part of an elite middle infield for the Evangels. After taking over the starting role a third into the season, Reed has posted a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage on 100 chances, tallying 54 putouts, 46 assists and has turned 10 double plays.
Aside from his fielding, Reed has also been a strong producer with the bat as well, hitting .370 with nine doubles, three homers, 15 RBIs and scored 26 runs to go with a .448 on-base percentage hitting out of the lead-off spot.
Mid-America Christian wrapped up Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament play with a 35-16 record and posted its first ever winning record against SAC opponents with a 15-9 league mark.
The Evangels will be awaiting to see where they will be playing in the postseason as the NAIA Tournament selections will be held on Thursday with the Opening Round taking place from May 15-18. If the Evangels aren't selected, they will be competing at the NCCAA World Series for the second straight year from May 19-23.
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