ADAMS STATE (0-0) at LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (0-0)
Thursday, February 4 - 4:00 PM                                                      
Hays Field (Lubbock, Texas)
Radio: Online Only                                                                        
All-Time Series: LCU leads 8-4
Tweet #LCUvsASU 

PROJECTED STARTING PITCHERS
LCU – Russell Reber (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
ASU – TBA (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
 
The first pitch of the 2016 Lubbock Christian University baseball season is scheduled for 4 p.m. Thursday to open the Chaparrals first season with Heartland Conference and NCAA Division II postseason eligibility. Adams State is the opponent for a three-game series, which carries through Saturday.
 
NEW LOOK
The 2016 season has 22 new Chaparrals on the roster, with only four key returning positional starters. Of those 22 new additions, 16 are transfers and six are freshmen. Senior right-handed pitcher Albert Aveytia is the only transfer coming in from a NCAA Div. I program, coming from Prairie View A&M.
 
ONLY THE LONELY
LCU's rotation is not set in stone, but Guillaume Blanchette is the only Chaparral pitcher returning from last season's rotation. Blanchette, a Canadian southpaw, was second last season in wins (5), ERA (4.73) and strikeouts (52). He Led team with nine pick-offs.
 
WHO RETURNS
LCU had two All-Heartland Conference selections last season, with Hunter McFall and Jesse Pintado, and the two return for this season.  Additionally, they return Brett Wilhelm and Gerardo Arzaga. The foursome make up four of LCU's top five hit producers from last season. Of those four, the one with the least amount of hits, Arzaga with 40, was the team's home runs leader (5) last season. McFall is a NCBWA Preseason All-Region selection and was an All-Region (ABCA and NCBWA) and First Team All-Heartland Conference selection a season ago, He appeared in 46 of LCU's 48 games last season and produced a .358 batting average with a team lead­ing 69 hits, 13 doubles and 43 RBI.
 
LOOKING FOR GOLD
LCU's priority this season is to strengthen their defense. Last season, LCU committed 89 errors (1.9 per game) and went from 62 unearned runs allowed in 2014 to allowing 78 unearned runs last season (1.6 unearned runs allowed per game).  
 
GOING TO WAR
The Chaps do not have many returnees out of their bullpen, but one familiar name remains in Glen Warrick. The left-handed senior made 17 relief outings last season, going 3-0 with a 3.58 ERA and recording a save. He held opponents to a .264 average, and was second on the squad in games finished (8) and tied for second in relief outings (17).
 
CAN HISTORY REPEAT ITSELF
Sub-.500 seasons are rare and last season LCU experienced their first losing season (23-25) since 1981 and they hope to have history repeat itself.  The 1981 season was followed with a program record 64 wins in 1982 and they won their first national title in 1983.
 
OPENING THINGS UP
LCU is 9-3 all-time in openers under head coach Nathan Blackwood, who heads into his 13^th season with an all-time coaching record of 514-197 (all at LCU).
 
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT ADAMS STATE
-The Grizzlies are coming off a 20-31 season in 2015. They went 9-20 on the road and 16-20 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play.
-ASU finished last season in second place in the Plains Division of the RMAC and this season is picked fifth overall in the RMAC and second in the Plains Division in the RMAC Preseason Coaches Poll.
-Dylan Sherry is a RMAC Preseason All-Conference selection as a relief pitcher. Opponents hit .248 off of him last season and he led ASU in saves with three. He did not face LCU last season.
-Chris Morley returns for his senior season. He hit .348, leading the team with 65 hits.
-Dillon Bollig had a pair of multi-RBI games last season against LCU with two RBI in the opening and closing game of the series.
 
HISTORY WITH ADAMS STATE
LCU leads the all-time series with an 8-4 mark (7-3 at Hays Field) and the series dates back to 1974. This season marks the third consecutive season the two teams have opened the season against each other and all three occasions have come at Hays Field. LCU is 5-1 over the prior two season-opening series. They swept all three games last season. The teams combined to average 18.3 runs per game in the three games last season, but none of the three games were separated by more than three runs, as LCU claimed 18-15, 3-1 and 10-8 victories. Weather has played a factor in the prior two seasonal meetings. In 2014, the two teams agreed to a tripleheader and in 2015, the two teams played a game in thick foggy conditions.