Video Highlights

GOODWELL, Okla. — For the first time since April 23, 2021, the Oklahoma Panhandle State baseball team (12-28, 4-19 SAC) defeated a ranked team with its 4-3 victory over No. 18 Mid-America Christian (30-10, 17-6) in the series opener Thursday afternoon.
 
The upset win required a masterful performance from starting pitcher Miguel Montano (3-3), a go-ahead pinch-hit single in the sixth from Julian Payan, and clutch defensive plays to escape jams. Those defensive plays included three Evangels getting picked off in the opener – none bigger than a perfectly timed and executed pickoff play at second base in the top of the seventh inning with MACU threatening.
 
Though the Aggies are out of contention for the SAC Tournament and fell in the nightcap, 15-2, a lineup filled with seniors on Senior Weekend put it all together in the opener to notch a signature victory, the program's first versus a ranked opponent since 2021's 14-13 win against No. 24 Our Lady of the Lake.
 
Game 1: Montano dealt a hitless, scoreless first frame, and the Aggies got on the board quickly with Juan Perez' sacrifice fly shortly following Israel Gandara's leadoff double.
 
A two-run Evangel single put the visitors in front, 2-1, in the top of the second. Both pitchers settled in with strong outings as the game headed to the bottom of the fifth still at 2-1, MACU.
 
Small ball and an Evangel error lifted the Aggies to a 3-2 lead in that fifth inning, as Lucas De Jong's leadoff single paid dividends, and Gandara and Genesis Nunez did their jobs to advance the runners. Nunez collected an RBI groundout, while Kobe Morgan scored on a wild pitch.
 
No. 18 Mid-America Christian also executed well in the top of the sixth, plating the tying run on an RBI single. OPSU fought right back, however, when Jackson Somerville and Alejandro Hernandez walked, David Garcia executed a sacrifice bunt, and Payan worked the count full in his pinch-hitting appearance before ripping a single past the shortstop for the game-winning hit.
 
Things got dicey in the seventh with the Aggies looking to close out the upset win, but with MACU runners on first and second and nobody out, OPSU ran a pickoff play that included Nunez wheeling by the runner at second as OPSU's second baseman, Hernandez, flashed to the bag to receive Montano's successful pickoff throw. The threat was not nearly over with the Evangels proceeding to load the bases, but a groundball to Hernandez made for the game's final out as the Aggies and their faithful celebrated, victorious.
 
Montano picked off two runners in the contest, while Garcia back-picked a runner at second as well. Garcia also threw a runner out stealing earlier in the day. Montano's final line read 7.0 innings of three-run ball with three strikeouts.


 
Game 2: The nightcap went the Evangels' way from the start as they jumped out to a 10-0 advantage after three innings. OPSU got on the board in the sixth inning on Devin Lopez' and Somerville's singles, which made it 10-2 at the time.
 
Nunez led the Aggies in the nightcap with two hits and a run scored.
 
What's up next: OPSU plays its home finale Friday, with the Senior Day ceremony slated to start at approximately 11:30 a.m. prior to the 12 noon first pitch.