GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas (February 5, 2016) – No.6 Lubbock Christian University produced a trio of home runs and completed the DII AirHogs Classic unbeaten, as they defeated tournament host Southern Arkansas 7-6 Sunday evening at AirHogs Stadium.
 
Jaime Bustamante, Brandon Rix and Brent Stewart each hit the long ball Sunday for their first homers of the season. Bustamante's home run to left field came in the sixth inning and broke a 5-5 tie, giving LCU a 7-5 lead.
 
There were a total of five home runs hit Sunday, with SAU hitting a pair, starting with a solo shot from Mark Fontenot to give the Muleriders a 2-0 lead. Josh Narvaiz tripled and Rix homered in the top of the third inning to help the Chaps garner a three-run inning for their first lead of the game (3-2). Trevor Rucker homered to lead off the bottom of the third inning to tie the game at 3-3.
 
Doubles by Caleb Koedyker and Narvaiz each doubled to score a run in the fourth inning and Stewart's solo home run came in the fifth inning to tie the game at 5-5, which led into Bustamante's sixth inning at-bat.
 
The Muleriders scored an unearned run in the eighth inning to cut LCU's lead to a one-run game, setting up a nail-biting finish in the ninth inning. Josey Langston led off the bottom of the ninth inning with a single and SAU moved him to second base on a sacrifice bunt. LCU replaced starter Russell Reber with Reagan Lucia, who came in and retired the next two batters to claim his first collegiate save.   
 
Reber (1-0) went 8.1 innings and allowed six runs (five earned) off 12 hits and struck out four batters. He did not offer any walks. Jacob Stroder went 3.2 innings in the start for SAU, but suffering the loss was Eric Schildt (0-1), who allowed three runs in two innings.
 
Rix finished 3-for-5 at the plate for LCU. Narvaiz (2-for-3), Koedyker (2-for-5), Logan Nethercot (2-for-5) and Bustamante (2-for-3) each had multi-hit games. Bustamante led all players with three RBI. Blake Hall led SAU with two RBI off a 2-for-4 plate appearance.
 
LCU improved to 4-0 on the season while handing the Muleriders their first loss on the year (3-1). The Chaps return home for their home opener Thursday at 5 p.m. hosting Adams State.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
.500 – Brandon Rix hit .500 in the series, with nine hits in 18 at-bats.
3-for-17 – The two teams combined to go 3-for-17 at the plate with runners in scoring position. LCU won despite going 1-for-8 in the category.
4 – Reagan Lucia has appeared in all four games this season and has not allowed a run this season in the 4.2 innings of work, which includes his first collegiate save.
6 – LCU was 6-for-15 with two outs Sunday, with Rix going 2-for-3 in two-out at-bats.