No.8 LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (26-10, 9-3) at OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE ST. (8-29, 1-11)
Thursday, April 13, 2017 – 1 p.m. / 3 p.m. (DH)
Aggie Field (Goodwell, Okla.)
Radio: Online Only
All-Time Series: LCU leads 46-4
Tweet #LCUvsOPSU | Tweet #HeartlandBASE
 
No.8 Lubbock Christian University enters the top-10 in two national polls and leads the Heartland Conference with a 9-3 conference record, as they make their final regular season voyage to Goodwell, Okla. to face Oklahoma Panhandle State University for a three-game Heartland Conference series. Earlier this week, OPSU received official approval to become members of the NAIA and will play a NAIA schedule beginning next season. LCU heads into the game 10-2 in their last 12 games and ahead of Rogers State (10-5) in the conference standings.
 
PROJECTED STARTING PITCHERS
 
Game 1
 
LCU – Ricky Contreras (6-0, 2.70 ERA)
Ricky is scheduled for his 11th start of the season and heads into the start with wins in his last six starts. He has gone the distance in three of his last five starts. Thursday against No.24 St. Edward's, he went six innings and allowed seven runs (three earned) off 12 hits. Ricky faced OPSU as a freshman last season (Apr. 8) and allowed one run off four hits in five innings of a 14-1 LCU win.
 
OPSU – Sam Beattie (1-8, 6.22 ERA)
Beattie is set for his 11^th start of the season. The Australian went five innings in his last start (at Oklahoma Christian) and allowed seven runs (six earned) off 12 hits in suffering the loss. He went the distance last season against LCU, suffering the loss, allowing five runs off nine hits in six innings.   
 
Game 2
 
LCU – Daniel Crooks (4-1, 3.91 ERA)
Daniel is on deck for his 11th appearance and 10th start of the season. Crooks has 58 strikeouts (leads team) in 50.2 innings on the hill this season. He claimed the win Thursday against St. Edward's allowing three runs off five hits in 5.2 innings.
 
OPSU – Adrian Lopez (0-6, 7.24 ERA)
Lopez will make his 11^th appearance and 10^th start of the season, seeking his first win of the season. He suffered the loss in his last start, as he allowed four earned runs (five total) off five hits in 5.1 innings at Oklahoma Christian. He has not prior appearances against LCU.
 
RANKINGS (as of 4/11/17)
LCU: No.8 (NCBWA), No. 10 (Perfect Game), No. 17 (d2baseballnews.com), No.18 (Collegiate Baseball News)
OPSU: N/A
 
LOOKING BACK
No.24 St. Edward's University took out their frustration of losing their Heartland Conference series against No.13 Lubbock Christian University, as they followed Thursday's doubleheader sweep with six home runs Friday to defeat LCU 23-9 to avoid the series sweep at Hays Field. The loss ended LCU's eight-game home win streak.
 
STREAKS
Caleb Koedyker heads into the Chaps series at OPSU on a nine-game hit streak. If he extends it to 10 games, he will become the fourth different Chap to have at least a 10-game hit streak this season. Brandon Rix has an active streak of reaching base safely at 29 games and Tony Reyes has reached safely in the last 15 games.
 
SAC-IT TO ME
LCU leads the Heartland Conference and ranks 17th nationally in sacrifice flies with 20 on the season. Ten different Chaps have at least one sac-fly on the season, with Jaime Bustamante leading the team with four (tied for 42nd nationally).
 
TRIPLES
The Chaps had four triples in their series against St. Edward's and lead the nation with 21 triples on the season. Nine different Chaps have produced a triple this season, and Caleb Koedyker and Jaime Bustamante co-lead the team with four each (each rank tied for 22nd nationally).
 
ROAD TRENDS
LCU is 10-6 in road play and has won three of their last four games on the road. The Chaps are hitting .271 as a team in true road games, with Tony Reyes hitting a rate of .359 on the road. Reyes has 23 hits and nine RBI in road contests this season. He is the only Chap hitting over .300 on the road. The staff has a 3.88 ERA on the road with 97 strikeouts and 43 walks in 134.2 innings. Russell Reber is 3-0 on the road with a team leading ERA of 2.50. Ricky Contreras is also 4-0 on the road when receiving a decision.
 
CONFERENCE TRENDS
The Chaps are hitting .343 in Heartland Conference play, where they are 9-3 on the season and 4-2 away from home. Ryan Rogers is hitting .409 in conference play, going 18-for-44 at the plate with five doubles and 14 RBI. Brandon Urquizo leads LCU in conference action with 16 RBI. LCU has been limited to five home runs in conference play (opponents have a 12-5 advantage in home runs in conference competition), but they have 29 doubles and eight triples produced (42-33 advantage for LCU in extra base hits). The pitching staff has a 5.59 ERA, with Daniel Crooks leading the squad with a 3.31 ERA in conference. Ricky Contreras is 4-0 in conference starts.
 
CHAPS BY THE NUMBERS
 
7 | With seven victories (7-0), Russell Reber ranks tied for 13th nationally and is two wins behind the national leader.
 
30 | LCU co-leads the Heartland Conference and ranks tied for 31st nationally with 30 double plays turned this season.
 
41 | Jaime Bustamante leads the Heartland Conference in runs (41) and runs per game (1.1).
 
57 | Tony Reyes leads the Heartland Conference and ranks 31st nationally in hits with 57.
 
400 | LCU is four hits away fro 400 as a team. Their current mark of 396 hits leads the conference and ranks 28th nationally.
 
FIVE THINGS ABOUT OPSU
- OPSU, coming off a 5-44 record last season (1-26 in conference), is 8-29 this season and 1-11 in conference play. They are 5-12 at home this season.
- The Aggies are preseason picked ninth in the Heartland Conference. With their 1-11 current conference mark, they are sitting in ninth place in the standings.
- This is OPSU's final season competing in the Heartland Conference and in NCAA Div. II. Next year, they are members of the NAIA.
- OPSU co-leads the conference and ranks tied for 10th nationally in sacrifice bunts with 10 on the season.
- Starting pitcher Sam Beattie ranks tied for 14th nationally and co-leads the conference in starts on the mound with 10.
 
HISTORY WITH OPSU
The Chaps swept the three-game series last season at Hays Field and the series in 2015, their last trip to Goodwell, Okla. The two teams have met in a series since 2014 (all swept by LCU). The 2014 series marked their first meetings since Feb. 20, 2001. The Chaps are 46-4 overall and 15-2 away from Hays Field against the Aggies all-time. The last win for OPSU came on Feb. 27, 1999, as LCU has won 15 consecutive meetings heading into Thursday.