MACU Lands Seven On All-SAC Teams, Holt Wins Gold Glove

The Mid-America Christian University Lady Evangels received seven All-Sooner Athletic Conference selections on Monday, including two first-team picks for the first time since joining the NAIA in 2008. Also, junior Tiffany Holt received an SAC Gold Glove award.

The first-team performers for the Lady Evangels were senior infielder Kenna McCoy and junior pitcher Macie Crites.

McCoy finished third on the team in hitting this season with a .352 batting average. She was also second in hits (44) and tied for first with two triples. The Muskogee, Okla. native is currently second in career hits (150) and third in batting average (.347) since MACU became an NAIA school.

Crites, a native of Caney, Okla., made a huge impression in her first season with the program, leading the pitching staff in wins (10), earned-run-average (3.29) and opposing batting average (.220).

Second-team selections for the Lady Evangels were sophomore catcher Katie Gracey (Tuttle, Okla.), freshman outfielder Mykah Smith (Ardmore, Okla.), senior outfielder Jackie Hilterbran (Oklahoma City, Okla.), senior designated player Natalie Bissell (Surrey, B.C., Canada) and senior pitcher Kelcie Wolf (Blanchard, Okla.

Gracey batted .308 in her 26 appearances behind the plate with a .462 slugging percentage and a .444 on-base percentage.

Smith wasted no time making an impact as a freshman, smacking a team-high nine home runs along with a team-leading 31 RBI and a single-season record .741 slugging percentage. She was also second on the team with a .365 batting average.

Hilterbran led the Lady Evangels in batting average (.382), hits (50) and doubles (11). She is currently the school's all-time leader in hits (206) and batting average (.354) since joining the NAIA. She has also put together three of the top four single-season batting averages at MACU.

Bissell hit .297 while hitting five home runs and ranking third in slugging percentage (.505). Her .434 career on-base-percentage is the highest for the Lady Evangels as an NAIA school.

Wolf has won nine games this season with a 4.00 ERA and a team-high 68 strikeouts. Since joining the NAIA, Wolf is the school's leader in innings pitched (406) and strikeouts (290) while ranking second in wins (27).

Holt received a Gold Glove after recording an .887 fielding percentage primarily at shortstop this season.

The Lady Evangels (24-19) have registered consecutive winning seasons for the first time since joining the NAIA under fourth-year head coach Robert Wakefield.

MACU is gearing up to compete in the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) Central Regional tournament later this week on the campus of Oklahoma Christian University in OKC.