Joplin, Mo. – Mid-America Christian’s offense exploded for 38 runs and 40 hits as the Evangels claimed the 2026 Sooner Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament Championship presented by Netting Pros/STADIONIC at Joe Becker Ballpark in Joplin, Mo.
 
Mid-America Christian won the opening game of the day 16-6 in eight innings to force a winner-take-all match-up and then won the championship by a count of 22-4. This is the second time in the past three years that the Evangels have claimed the tournament crown.
 
No. 2 Mid-America Christian 16, No. 1 Texas Wesleyan 6 (8 innings)
 
The Rams broke out to an early lead as Jorge Herrera lifted a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Brendon Vela to give Texas Wesleyan a 1-0 lead after the opening frame. Idelfonso Garcia added to the scoring in the second as he hit a sacrifice bunt that plated Jonathan Pena to extend the score to 2-0, but the Evangels would answer in the bottom of the second inning as Frankie Giacalone ripped a home run to right center to cut the deficit to 2-1. 
 
The Rams added to their advantage in the top of the fourth inning with three runs, as Marcos Carrion highlighted the frame with a two-run blast to put the score at 5-1. Mid-America Christian took their first lead of the afternoon by scoring five runs in the home half of the fourth as Tuane Cope hit an RBI single, while Jahzeel Groetelaers drew a bases-loaded walk to make the score 5-3. Elijah Lee drew the game even at 5-5 with a two-run single, and then MACU grabbed the lead as Groetelaers scored on a groundout to push the score to 6-5.
 
The Evangels added to the advantage with runs in the fifth and sixth frames, and then MACU erupted for five runs in the sixth as Hill hit a three-run blast over the left center field wall to put the Evangels on top 13-5. The Rams cut into the lead in the eighth with a run off a Jose Rangel sacrifice fly to make the score 13-6. The Evangels scored three runs in the eighth frame as Giacalone hit a two-run homer and Jesse Ortega had an RBI single to propel MACU to the winner-take-all contest.
 
Krepcik paced the Evangels’ offense with three hits and three runs scored, while Giacalone added two hits and three runs batted in, with Gabriel Dixon earning the victory on the mound with 4.1 innings of relief. Herrera joined four other Rams with two hits while driving in two runs to lead the Texas Wesleyan efforts.


No. 2 Mid-America Christian 22, No. 1 Texas Wesleyan 4 (7 innings)
 
Mid-America opened the scoring in the winner-take-all affair in the second inning as Cope drove in a run with a single and Groetelaers blasted a two-run homer over the left field wall to stake the Evangels to a 3-0 advantage. MACU extended its lead in the third frame as Krepcik had a two-run single, while Cope added an RBI single and Groeleaers chipped in with an RBI double to extend the Evangels lead to 7-0. 
 
The lead grew for Mid-America Christian in the fourth as they plated five runs on five hits, which was highlighted by a Krepcik two-run single up the middle that made the score 12-0, and then they added four more runs in the fifth as Cope hit a two-run double and Conner Thompson hit a two-run homer to make the score 16-0. 
 
The Rams cut into the lead in the home half of the fifth as Conner DeLeon launched a three-run blast over the left field wall, which was his first of the year, to make the score 16-3. MACU tacked on three more runs in the top of the sixth as Krepcik drove in his fifth run of the afternoon with a single, and Giacalone hit his second round-tripper of the day to score two runs as the score was pushed to 19-3. Idelfonso Garcia added a run for the Rams with a solo shot to left field to cut the deficit to 19-4. The Evangels added three more runs in the sixth to seal the victory.
 
Krepcik paced the MACU attack with four hits, five runs batted in, and five runs scored, while Groetelaers added three hits and four runs batted in, with Jace Reid earning the win in relief for the Evangels, who wrapped up the season with a 38-13 record. Garcia led the way for the Rams with three hits while DeLeon had three runs batted in for Texas Wesleyan, who finished the season with a record of 42-9.
 
The two teams have qualified for the NAIA National Baseball Tournament as the selection show will take place on Wednesday, May 6.