Steven Spielberg couldn't have created a better story and anyone unfamiliar to the story of the inaugural Lubbock Christian University softball team would think the actual events that took place was a fairy tale with a Walt Disney twist.
Who would believe any story that had a plot involving a first-year softball coach taking over a first-year softball program and leading them to the NAIA National Championship title in their first season?
The story is actually true, as the Lady Chaparrals had a first season that saw storyline after storyline climaxing into a national title.
It all started out with Marissa Gonzalez pitching a no-hitter in the program's first game in school history. Gonzalez would end up as an All-Region VI player with two additional no-hitters thrown. The team's only senior went 38-9 from the circle with a 1.08 ERA and 341 strikeouts in 290 innings.
After opening the season 4-0, a reality check for the Lady Chaps was expected, as the defending national champion Oklahoma City University Stars cruised into town. The game marked the first Sooner Athletic Conference game for LCU and they went on to defeat the No.1 Stars 9-1 in the conference opener. The Lady Chaps wound up losing the second game, but rebounded with a winning streak that spanned 24 games. In the streak, the Lady Chaps had a streak of five consecutive shutouts and a sequence of nine shutouts over an 11-game span.
On March 19, 2008, the first national ratings were released by the NAIA and the Lady Chaps were rated third in the nation. Ironically, they were scheduled to play California Baptist that same day (Cal Baptist received the No. 1 ranking that day). The Lady Chaps won the game 5-3 and moved into the No. 1 ranking a week later.
When the NAIA Region VI Tournament rolled around, the Lady Chaps were the No. 3 seed in the tournament. They defeated College of the Southwest 12-1 and then shutout No. 6 St. Gregory's 2-0 in 10 innings with a solo home run by Kelly Griego to lead off the tenth inning. LCU closed the day with Griego getting the only RBI in a 1-0 victory over No. 3 Oklahoma City. The Lady Chaps faced OCU again the following day and lost 3-0 before rebounding for a 5-1 win the in the decisive championship game over OCU to win the tournament to earn an automatic bid to the National Tournament.
Lubbock Christian was placed in Pool D at the NAIA National Tournament and swept their pool play games with wins over Friends University, College of Idaho, Trevecca Nazarene and Olivet Nazarene. The highlight game of pool play was against No. 5 Trevecca Nazarene. The two teams combined for 22 runners stranded (16 by LCU) in the game. The game was finally decided in the tenth inning, as Brittiany Johnson threw a wild pitch while attempting to intentionally walk Raquel Hawkins for a third time. It led to a four-run 10
th inning for the Lady Chaps, who prevailed 7-3.
After sweeping Pool Play, the Lady Chaps opened the eight-team double elimination bracket with a contest against Dickinson State. After a 9-0 victory, followed by a 3-1 win over St. Gregory's, the Lady Chaps faced University of Mobile. LCU had momentum through the first half of the game, but then a three hour and 20-minute rain delay turned out to be the turning point of the game, as University of Mobile quickly scored a pair of runs and the Lady Chaps went hitless following the rain delay to fall 2-0.
Heading into the final day of the championships, the Lady Chaps knew they had to win three games to win the title. The day started off with a 4-0 win over No. 2 Point Loma to allow the Lady Chaps to advance to a championship round game against No. 4 University of Mobile. The Rams scored early, taking a 3-0 lead, forcing the Lady Chaps to make a pitching change, with Griego replacing Gonzalez in the circle. Griego was able to quiet the Mobile bats and Ginalee Davis was able to hit a pair of home runs, including a solo shot in the bottom of the sixth inning. Mobile attempted a rally in the seventh, loading the bases with one out. LCU got out of the jam with a ground ball to Davis at second base that led to a 4-3 double play to end the game and force a decisive championship game. In the final game, the Lady Chaps opened the scoring in the second inning with a Daniela Garcia pinch-hit single and bases loaded ground out by Raquel Hawkins. The Rams added a run in the sixth inning and had the tying run on third base with two outs when Anadys Suarez came up to face Gonzalez. She hit into a 4-3 ground-out to end the game with LCU claiming a 2-1 win.
Shanon Hays, the SAC and Region VI Coach of the Year, received a water cooler full of water in the midst of excitement, as the team celebrated their championship by drenching their head coach. The Lady Chaps became just the third team to win the NAIA softball championship by coming through the losers bracket. They finished the season with a 60-10 record.
Raquel Hawkins received the tournament's "Most Valuable Player" honor after batting .500 with 14 hits and 13 runs-batted-in. She also claimed the Easton Second Team All-American honor, which included NCAA athletes. The Monahans native was the Region VI and Sooner Athletic Conference Player of the Year after batting .462 with 15 home runs and 87 runs-batted-in. The three-time SAC Player of the Week recipient led the NAIA in runs-batted-in (87), while ranking second in hits (96) and tied for second in home runs (15).
How The Team Was Built
- Amanda Parsons became the first person to sign a letter of intent to play softball at LCU, signing on November 1, 2006.
- Seven days later, Raquel Hawkins, out of Western Texas College and Honda Rodriguez from Howard College both signed to transfer in. Kind of a packaged deal since the two were friends.
- Head Coach took a trip to a UNLV Fall Tournament to see Cypress College play. The bond with LCU and Cypress College… Hays' father, Larry, is friends with Scott Pickler, the Cypress baseball Coach. Scott's brother, Brad, is the head coach of the Cypress Softball program. While Shanon was watching Cypress, he came across Ginalee Davis playing shortstop for Palomar and Griego pitching for Southern Nevada.
- Later that fall, Shanon attended a tournament hosted by Arizona Western College. AWC's baseball coach was John Stratton, who is Lisa Stratton's dad. As Larry was talking with John about baseball recruits, the conversation led to Shanon coaching softball and Lisa looking for a place to transfer. So as Shanon went to see her play at the tournament, he also had the opportunity to once again see Davis and Griego play, as their teams were also competing in the tournament.
- In December, a pair from Pampa signed to come to LCU, as Nicole Clark and Stephanie McVay both inked letters of intent.
- In the Spring of 2007, Coronado product Daniela Garcia signed to transfer from Navarro College.
- Jessica Latson signs letter of intent from Jim Ned High School
- In June (2007), seven players with ties to the west coast committed to play with the Lady Chaps. Griego, Davis and Stratton agreed, along with four players from Cypress College. The four from Cypress were Alyssa Gutierrez, Brooke Pefley, Sabrina Hernandez and Jade Espinoza.
- Gutierrez suffers season-ending knee injury in offseason training.
- On 8/24, Marissa Gonzalez, signed with the Lady Chaps. She lost an NCAA appeal while at Southern Utah and her "five-year clock" had expired. Her only eligibility options to play were to play at either an NCAA Div. II or lower program, or to sign with an NAIA program. She had played junior college softball at Cypress, so her Cypress connection led her to LCU.
- Pefley, like Gutierrez, also suffered a season-ending injury. The injury opened the door for Gabby Woody to join the Lady Chaps. She was wrapping up her academics in the fall at Cypress and had not committed anywhere until inking with the Lady Chaps in January.
2008 LCU Softball Timeline
2/13 – Opening Day – LCU sweeps College of the Southwest with a 15-0 and 15-3 win. In the very first game, Marissa Gonzalez becomes the first ever player to pitch a no-hitter in a program's inaugural game in NAIA history.
2/19 – First Road Win – LCU sweeps a doubleheader in Hobbs, NM against College of the Southwest with a 13-1 and 8-4 victory.
2/22 – First Conference Game - LCU plays their first Sooner Athletic Conference game in program history, and it was against defending national champion and No. 1 ranked Oklahoma City University, who was opening up their season. The Lady Chaps defeated the Stars 9-1 in a contest prematurely ending due to the mercy rule. OCU officials claim it was the first time OCU had been run-ruled in a conference game in program history. The Stars rebounded to defeat the Lady Chaps 8-5 in the second game to mark the Lady Chaps first loss.
2/29 – The Winning Streak – LCU defeats Friends University 1-0, which begins an eventual 24 game win streak that ended on 3/27 at Oklahoma Christian.
3/5 – NCAA Competition – The Lady Chaps swept Univ. of Texas – Permian Basin (UTPB) 8-0 and 13-0 for their first ever win over an NCAA sanctioned program. Marissa Gonzalez pitched a no-hitter in the opener for her second of the season. The Lady Chaps ended up 4-0 against NCAA programs during the season after sweeping West Texas A&M and outscored NCAA teams a combined 43-1.
3/14 – Goose Eggs – LCU went on a span of five consecutive games shutting out the competition, and from 3/5 – 3/15, the Lady Chaps shutout opponents in nine of 11 games. They outscored opponents 82-3 in the span.
3/18 – Strike'em Out – Marissa Gonzalez had quite an outing against Hastings College, holding them to one hit while striking out 17 in a 9-1 victory.
3/19 – No-No No.3 – Marissa Gonzalez pitched a no hitter in a 10-0 victory over Dordt College at the Tuscon Invitational Tournament.
3/19 – Runnin' Wild – The Lady Chaps had their most offensive game with a 24-0 win over Cardinal-Stritch in just five innings. LCU had a season-high 25 hits and 5 home runs in the win.
3/19 – Ranked – The first in-season NAIA national ratings were released with the Lady Chaps appearing No. 3. They ironically played newly No. 1 ranked California Baptist University that evening in the Tucson Invitational Tournament and won 5-3.
3/26 – We're No. 1 – With the win over Cal Baptist, LCU received the No. 1 ranking in the NAIA national ratings. The ranking would only last a week, as the Lady Chaps fell to Oklahoma Christian 2-1 the following day in their first game played as a No. 1.
5/2 – The SAC Tournament – LCU defeated Oklahoma Christian 3-1 and St. Gregory's 2-0 in the opening day of the SAC tournament, but fell 5-2 to Oklahoma City and 3-1 to St. Gregory's the following day for a tournament exit. It would be the last time the Lady Chaps would lose consecutive games, as they closed the season winning 13 of their final 15 games.
5/11 – Regionals – The Lady Chaps had a memorable day to open the Region VI Tournament in Farmers Branch. They defeated College of the Southwest 12-1 and then shutout No. 6 St. Gregory's 2-0 in 10 innings with a solo home run by Kelly Griego to lead off the tenth inning. LCU closed the day with Griego getting the only RBI in a 1-0 victory over No. 3 Oklahoma City. The Lady Chaps faced OCU again the following day and lost 3-0 before rebounding for a 5-1 win the in the decisive championship game over OCU to win the tournament.
5/16 – National Tournament – Lubbock Christian was placed in Pool D at the NAIA National Tournament and swept their pool play games with wins over Friends University, College of Idaho, Trevecca Nazarene and Olivet Nazarene. The highlight game of pool play was against No. 5 Trevecca Nazarene. The two teams combined for 22 runners (16 by LCU) stranded in a game that lasted 10 innings. The game was finally decided in the tenth inning, as Brittiany Johnson threw a wild pitch while attempting to intentionally walk Raquel Hawkins for a third time. It led to a four-run tenth for the Lady Chaps, who prevailed 7-3.
5/19 – Bracket Play – After sweeping Pool Play, the Lady Chaps opened the eight-team double elimination bracket with a contest against Dickinson State. After a 9-0 victory, followed by a 3-1 win over St. Gregory's, the Lady Chaps faced University of Mobile. LCU had momentum through the first half of the game, but then a 3 hour and 20-minute rain delay turned out to be the turning point of the game, as University of Mobile quickly scored a pair of runs and the Lady Chaps went hitless following the rain delay to fall 2-0.
5/21 – The Final Day – Heading into the day, the Lady Chaps knew they had to win three games to win the title. The day started off with a 4-0 win over No. 2 Point Loma to allow the Lady Chaps to advance to a championship round game against No. 4 University of Mobile. The Rams scored early, taking a 3-0 lead, forcing the Lady Chaps to make a pitching change with Kelly Griego taking the mound to give Gonzalez a rest. Griego was able to quiet the Mobile bats and Ginalee Davis was able to hit a pair of home runs, including a solo shot in the bottom of the sixth inning. Mobile attempted a rally in the seventh, loading the bases with one out. LCU got out of the jam with a ground ball to Davis at second base that led to a 4-3 double play to end the game and force a decisive championship game. In the final game, the Lady Chaps opened the scoring in the second inning with a Daniela Garcia pinch-hit single and bases loaded ground out by Raquel Hawkins. The Rams added a run in the sixth and had the tying run on third base with two outs when Anadys Suarez came up to face Gonzalez. She hit into a 4-3 ground-out to end the game with LCU claiming a 2-1 win.
Tidbits:
20-8 Record Against Top 25 Teams
10-4 Record Against Top 10 Teams
2-1 Record Against No.1 Ranked Teams
27-3 in Shutouts
37-0 in games decided by 5 or more runs
20-6 in SAC Play
40-4 in Non-Conference Play
28-4 in Neutral Site play
Never lost by more than three runs and games lost by three-run deficits came on three occasions and all against Oklahoma City
