LAREDO, Texas (April 25, 2015) – A Kelsey Hoppel shutout and a two-out two-run RBI single by Sydney Beuthien in the seventh capped a 3-0 Lubbock Christian win over Texas A&M International on Saturday afternoon at Dustdevil Field to give the Lady Chaps a share of the Heartland Conference regular season title, the program's seventh straight conference honor.
 
The Lady Chaps share the title with St. Mary's, who also completed the league slate with a 19-4 mark. LCU has clinched at least a piece of the league's title since joining the Heartland in 2014 and earned five titles previously within the Sooner Athletic Conference.
 
The game began with three up, three down for both ball clubs in the first before a Liz Torres single to shortstop in the following inning marked the first hit of the game. A Molly Davison single to left field put Torres in scoring position, but a groundout to the pitcher concluded the frame.
 
Faith Koria singled to third base in the third and stole second, looking to put the Lady Chaps (36-12, 19-4 Heartland) on the board. Beuthien doubled to left center to place Koria on third before Sammie Murrietta knocked a single towards second base to score Koria for a 1-0 LCU advantage.
 
TAMIU (24-23, 16-8 Heartland) made some noise in the fourth, beginning with a Brittany Mussett single to third. Hoppel struck out Mariena Gallardo for out number two, but pinch runner Krystal Perez stole second and made her way to third on an LCU error. Next batter Sarah Johnson sent a shot to right field that was snatched by a leaping Ashton Bell to end any Dustdevil scoring opportunity.
 
Each squad placed a runner on first in the sixth frame but no scores were added. In the seventh with Courtney McGee on second by way of her double to left center, Koria singled to shortstop with two outs tallied to place pinch runner Abi Poe on third. With Beuthien up to bat, Koria again successfully stole second base and Beuthien then sent her hit to center field to score Koria and Poe for a 3-0 lead. A Lady Chap line out ended the inning, putting LCU half an inning away from the victory.
 
The Dustdevils began the bottom of the seventh with a fly out and ground out before Krissy Sardelich produced a single to left field to keep TAMIU alive. Pinch hitter Jessica Rivera made contact and sent the ball into the infield, but it was scooped up and caught Sardelich out at second, allowing LCU to celebrate and close the season on a win.
 
Hoppel (13-3) earned the win on three hits, six strikeouts and two walks.
 
In addition to winning a share of the season title, if eligible for postseason play, the Lady Chaps would have been the number one seed heading into the Heartland Conference tournament due to their 2-1 record over St. Mary's this season. LCU will be able to compete for postseason championships beginning in the fall of 2015, provided they become full NCAA Division II members in the upcoming months.