#23 ST. EDWARD'S (21-8, 7-2) at LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (15-13, 3-4)
Friday, March 27th – Game 1: 3:00 p.m.    Game 2: 5:00 p.m.                                                   
Hays Field (Lubbock, Texas)
Radio: Online Only                                                        
All-Time Series: LCU leads 14-3

The Lubbock Christian University Chaparrals return home after a 10-game road trip Friday to open a Heartland Conference series with a 3 p.m. doubleheader against No.23 St. Edward's University.

The Chaparrals are seeking to extend a five-game win streak to a season-high six-game streak and enter the series with a record of 15-13 overall and 3-4 in conference. The Chaps went 5-5 on their 10-game trip, wrapping up the trip Tuesday with an 11-0 win at Wayland Baptist University. LCU has outscored their opposition 63-9 over the past five games, including 30-0 over the past two games. They are also batting .383 in the streak, with Gerardo Arzaga hitting .733 (11-for-15) and Ethan Kohnle, Jesse Pintado and Brett Wilhelm each with nine RBI in the streak. They also have a staff ERA of 1.80. Overall, LCU is hitting .318 as a team (leads the conference and is 38th in nation), with 20 home runs (leads the conference and ranks 38th in the national) coming from 10 different players. The Chaps lead the conference with 98 extra-base hits, leading the conference and ranking seventh in the nation with 69 doubles. Arzaga leads the team hitting .394 (sixth in the conference) and ranks third in the conference in slugging (.634).  Hunter McFall co-leads the conference with 43 hits and ranks second in RBI with 29 and total bases with 61.  Wilhelm co-leads the conference with 29 runs. Shane Crawford leads the team in homers with four (second in the conference) and also co-leads the conference with 10 doubles (38th nationally). Wade Stramp is one of four players in the conference with a .500 or better on base percentage and leads all NCAA Div.II players with 28 walks.

Brig Gerlich will get the start on the mound in the opener for LCU. Gerlich is 4-3 with a 3.86 ERA. He has three complete games in eight starts and opponents are hitting .259 against him. He leads the team with 38 K's. He is 1-0 all-time against SEU, going all seven innings last season with three runs allowed off eight hits in a 4-3 LCU win. Guillaume Blanchette will start the second game for LCU. He is 3-2 in eight starts and has a 3.92 ERA.

The Hilltoppers come to Lubbock 21-8 overall on the season and 7-2 in Heartland Conference play. Of their 29 games, they have only played eight on the road and are 5-3 in those contests. They are winners of three straight games and are 5-1 in their last six games. Their last four games have been one-run games (3-1) and they are 8-3 overall in one-run games. SEU is hitting .310 on the season, with Jonathan Arrowood leading the squad batting .392. Arrowood (leads team with 22 RBI) and Joseph Olson co-lead in hits with 40. Their staff ERA sits at 3.75 on the season, with a conference leading 200 strikeouts.

St. Edward's is slated to go with Collin Sherrod and Bryce Davis in Friday's doubleheader. Sherrod leads the conference in innings pitched (55) and is fifth in the nation in strikeouts (57). He is 4-1 with a 2.62 ERA and has five complete games in eight starts this season. Sherrod went without a decision in a 3-1 loss to LCU last season, going seven innings and striking out 11 batters.

LCU and SEU first met in 1986 and the Chaparrals have a 14-3 all-time advantage in the series. The Chaps are 6-1 all-time at home against the 'Toppers. LCU swept the season series in Austin last season and has won eight of the prior nine meetings.