Category: MACU

Apprentice Edges Up in Latest Poll

The Apprentice School baseball team continues its tear through the season with an impressive 25-5 overall record (.833 winning percentage) and 4-0 in league play. This has not gone unnoticed by the USCAA pollsters who bumped the Builders up another notch to number two in the latest poll.

AS began the campaign as a preseason #5 and picked up two spots in the first regular season poll last week to third.

The red-hot Builders jump back into NSAC competition this Friday by traveling to Virginia State then hosting the Trojans on Friday April 5.

Mid-Atlantic Christian lost three spots this week and slips to number 11.

Apprentice, MACU Crack USCAA Top 10 in First Regular Season Poll

Both of the NSAC’s USCAA baseball members are ranked in the top 10 in the first poll of the regular season.

After garnering a fifth-place ranking in the preseason poll, Apprentice has earned even more respect by the pollsters and moved up two notches to third in the poll released March 21. The Builders have crafted an enviable 25-4 overall record and stand atop the NSAC at 4-0 in conference play.

Mid-Atlantic Christian has held serve at number 8 in the poll with a record of 12-17 overall and 2-5 in the NSAC.

RankTeam
1Salem University
2UC Clermont
3The Apprentice School
4Atlantis University
5Penn State Dubois
6Wright State Lake
7Miami Middletown
8Mid Atlantic Christian
9Penn State York
10Penn State Shenango
11Penn State Mont Alto
12Miami Hamilton
13Florida National University
14Penn State Schuylkill
15Penn State Fayette

Ten teams will compete in the USCAA Small College World Series May 13-17 in Dubois, Pennsylvania.

Apprentice Sweeps MACU To Remain Unbeaten in NSAC Play

HAMPTON, Va. – Apprentice took down Mid-Atlantic Christian twice Friday to improve to 4-0 in New South Athletic Conference play, winning 2-1 and 7-3 at War Memorial Stadium.

In the first game of the day, the Builders got going in the third inning as Nate Yeary singled to bring home Jett Winslow to take a 1-0 lead. After the Mustangs answered with a run in the fourth, neither team could get much going until Apprentice got the bats hot again in the seventh.

Three straight singles opened the inning for the Builders, setting up Nolan Edwards to hit a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Winslow to walk the game off and take the win.

Nick Redman (4-0) took the complete game win, fanning four across the seven innings.

In the nightcap, the Builders scored first again, striking in the first on an infield single by Hunter Johnson to take the early advantage. MACU responded with two in the third to take their first lead of the twinbill, but Apprentice retook the lead in the fourth on a Caleb Russell sacrifice fly and Mustang error to score both Johnson and Jeremy Harmon.

Apprentice piled it on in the sixth, scoring four runs off a pair of fielder’s choices and bases loaded walks. The Mustangs scratched a run across in the seventh to get to the final score.

Isaac McCallister (3-0) pitched the complete game, earning the win with five strikeouts.

Story courtesy Walker McCrary/Apprentice Athletics; image courtesy Kaitlyn Olson/Apprentice Athletics

Lighthouse Slips Past MACU for First NSAC win 8-7

PALM BEACH, Fla. – Lighthouse Christian, in its inaugural year of baseball, picked up its first win over a varsity opponent and its first New South Conference win in downing Mid-Atlantic Christian 8-7 Thursday afternoon.

The Makos’ Ethan Thomas got the win in relief.

MACU unleashed the runs in the first game of the doubleheader 17-4. Both games were part of the Palm Beach Challenge.

Mustangs Falter at Chowan

MURFREESBORO, N.C. – The Chowan Baseball team used three home runs and 13 hits to soar past Mid-Atlantic Christian 13-4 in a mid-week contest.

Chowan makes the return trip to take on the Mustangs on Wednesday, February 28 in Elizabeth City, N.C.  First pitch is slated for 5pm.

Photo by Mick Haupt on Unsplash

Builders, Mustangs in USCAA Top 10

The first poll of the baseball season shows the respect the New South has among USCAA coaches with Apprentice and Mid-Atlantic Christian both placing in the top 10.

The Builders start off with a solid 5th-place showing while MACU claims the eighth spot.

RankTeam
1Penn State DuBois
2Miami Hamilton
3UC Clermont
4Penn State Mont Alto
5The Apprentice School
6Atlantis University
7Bucks County Community College
8Mid Atlantic Christian
9Southern Maine Community College
10Salem University
11Florida National University
12Penn State Brandywine
13Wright State Lake
14Miami Middletown
15Central Maine Community College

Both USCAA schools with be tested throughout the season facing other ranked opponents, some in the USCAA while others are ranked in other polls.

Mustangs Take Doubleheader at Averett

DANVILLE, Va. — Mid-Atlantic Christian University took a pair of wins on Wednesday from Averett University, 4-3 and 6-4.

In Game 1, Colin Langley got the start and pitched 4 innings allowing only 4 hits and 2 earned runs and earning the Win for the mustangs on the mound. The Mustangs bullpen showed their strength during this game as well as Ethan Sheppard came in relief and threw 1.2 IP, Sean Henry came in and got the Mustangs out a jam late in the game throwing .2 IP shutout innings and ultimately Connor Wong came in to earn the first 1 run save of the season for the Mustangs. The Mustangs offense put up 4 runs in the top of the 3rd inning against a good D3 bullpen, sparked by a 3 run home run by Travis Snell and it was enough to win game 1 for the Mustangs.

Game 2 started off as a pitcher duel between the two teams but a few hits for the Mustangs (6-7 overall, 0-2 NSAC) in the top of the 3rd put the Mustangs on the board. and the Mustangs never gave the lead back. The Mustangs were led on the mound by a complete game 7 IP performance from Dakota Jacobsen only allowing 3 ER and competing in every at bat he was faced with.

“MACU was eager to play this series and prove to themselves and others what we were made of and that we are able to compete with programs of all level of skill,” said Mustangs coach Lake Krehel. “The guys came out early and were eager to hit and get on the board and allow them the opportunity to get a W or 2 on the day. The offense never faltered from their game plan of swing early and be aggressive, don’t beat ourselves in the box. Pair that with good pitching in game 1 and 2 and we were able to come home with 2 wins against a good Averett University ball club. This team is learning who they are as a team and how they thrive off of one another, through the good and the bad this season they have had each others back and it continues to show as they are growing stronger together and feeding off of each others energy.”

Photo by Chris Chow on Unsplash

Builders Take Doubleheader from MACU in NSAC Opener

HAMPTON, Va. – The Apprentice School baseball team opened their 2024 season Wednesday with a doubleheader sweep of Mid-Atlantic Christian, winning 6-5 and 5-2 in the first two New South Athletic Conference games of the 2024 season.

GAME 1 – AS 6, MACU 5
After two scoreless innings to start the day, the Builders were first to the scoreboard as Hunter Johnson doubled down the right field line to push home Camden Weston for the game’s first run. The Mustangs came alive, though, in the fifth with a sacrifice fly to tie things up before taking advantage of three Apprentice errors in the sixth to push three more runs across for a 4-1 lead.

MACU scored its fifth run in the top of the seventh, but the Builders did not go quietly as they loaded up the bases with no one out for Weston to hammer a grand slam into the wind in left field to tie things up at 5-5. After Johnson found his way on base, Caleb Russell brought him home on a walk-off single to left to get the first win of the season.

Ryan Watson (1-0) got the win in relief of Logan Earley, who threw five innings of two-hit baseball, giving up just one run on the day.

GAME 2 – AS 5, MACU 2
MACU came out of the gates strong in the nightcap, plating both of their runs in the top of the first, but Apprentice had the last laugh of the day. Riggs Ellis got things started in the bottom of the first, plating Johnson on a RBI double in the left center gap to cut the lead in half. The bats went quiet until the fifth when the Builders poured it on. Johnson got the scoring started with a RBI single to tie things up. Ellis kept it going with a single through the left side to take the lead. Two batters later, Russell hit a sacrifice fly to stretch the lead out before Jeremy Harmon finished the scoring with a single right back up the middle.

Bryce Post (1-0) earned the win, throwing three innings of shutout baseball in relief, allowing just six hits.

Story courtesy gobuilders.com; Photo by Bill Stephan on Unsplash

MACU Season Ends with World Series Loss to Mont Alto

Penn State Mont Alto broke open a 3-2 lead with a seven-run sixth inning during the Small College World Series on Wednesday evening, defeating Mid-Atlantic Christian by a final of 10-2.

After walking the bases loaded with one out in the top of the first inning, Mont Alto starting pitcher Elijah Snyder was able to get out of the jam with a strike out and fly out to end the threat. Mont Alto would win the inning when Brady Bigler followed up a Jared Pine leadoff double with one of his own.

Following back-to-back strike outs to start the top of the second inning, MACU strung together two singles and Raine Franklin scored both runners on a double to left field. The Mustangs led 2-1 after one and a half. Mont Alto tied the game in the bottom of the fourth inning as Jarrett Goodyear got the inning started with a home run to right center field. Mont Alto would retake the lead in the home half of the fifth inning as Kyle McKeon started the inning off with a triple and Jared Pine scored him with a triple of his own down the right field line. Mont Alto led 3-2 after five innings of play.

Goodyear started off the sixth inning with a single to right, Blake Orndorff moved pinch runner Brady Cullen over to third on a double to set up a threat in the bottom of the sixth inning. Tyler Moreland walked to load the bases with one out. Braden Zeger got the scoring started in the inning with a RBI single. Pine would clear the bases on a miscue by the left fielder two batters later with two outs. Caiden Smith recorded a RBI single and Goodyear had a 2 RBI double as Mont Alto scored seven in the sixth inning on five hits and one error.

Luke Davis closed the door on the comeback attempt as Mont Alto kept their season alive with a 10-2 victory.

MACU ends its best baseball season to date with a 23-26 record and earned its first ever World Series win.

Story courtesy psumontaltoathletics.com. Image courtesy gomacumustangs.com

Tigers Down Mustangs in USCAA First Round

Tenth-seeded Salem had a huge 4th inning and handed 7th seed Mid-Atlantic Christian its first loss Monday night 15-3 in opening round play of the USCAA Small College World Series.

The Mustangs made the first mark on the scoreboard in the third, but Salem uncorked its offensive showcase in the 4th with a whopping 10 runs. The highlight of the inning was the 2-run homer from Jacob Hurley, and they also got RBI doubles from Jose Lojo and Tyler Shin. Luis Angarita also contributed an RBI single in the same inning.

After a Mustang rally in the 5th, Salem sealed the deal with another 5 runs in the 6th. Tyler Shinn doubled again with RBI to lead off the scoring, then Jacob Hurley chipped in a RBI single. After 6 innings, Salem controlled the game at 15-3, and that would be enough for them to advance in the tournament. On the pitcher’s mound, Frankie Gulko got his 7th win of the season with 6 innings of work, and he struck out 5 Mustang batters in the process.

This win advances Salem to the second round of the USCAA Small College World Series. In that round, they will take on the #2 Centurions of Bucks County Community College on Tuesday, May 16th at 11:15 AM in Dubois, Pennsylvania.

MACU falls to the losers bracket in the double-elimination tourney and will face 6th seed Atlantis Tuesday at 4:45 PM.

Story and image courtesy salemtigers.com/Erin Zappia