No.8 LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (28-10, 11-3) at OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE ST. (8-31, 1-13)
Thursday, April 13, 2017 – 11 a.m.
Aggie Field (Goodwell, Okla.)
Radio: KJTV am950/100.7fm
All-Time Series: LCU leads 48-4
Tweet #LCUvsOPSU | Tweet #HeartlandBase
 
No.8 Lubbock Christian University seeks to complete their first conference road series sweep of the season Saturday morning, as they complete their three game set at Oklahoma Panhandle State University. The game will mark the final regular season game as Heartland Conference foes for the two teams, as OPSU heads to NAIA membership next season. LCU enters the day with a one-game lead atop the Heartland Conference Standings. The Chaps are 11-3 in the conference, just ahead of Arkansas Fort Smith (10-4).
 
PROJECTED STARTING PITCHERS
 
LCU – Russell Reber (7-1, 4.39 ERA)
Russell is slated for his 11^th appearance and start of the season. He had wins in five straight starts, but the streak has been interrupted his past two outings. Reber suffered his first loss Friday in his last outing, as he allowed nine runs (seven earned) off 11 hits in 4.1 innings against St. Edward's. He claimed the win in three innings of shutout work on Apr. 9, 2016 against OPSU with two hits allowed.
 
OPSU – Josh Casillas (1-4, 8.44 ERA)
Josh is scheduled to make his 10^th appearance and sixth start on the hill for the Aggies. His last outing was at Oklahoma Christian last week, where he allowed five runs off five hits in 4.2 innings. Casillas did not face LCU last season.   
 
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.8 Lubbock Christian University needed just three hits to win their Heartland Conference series opener at Oklahoma Panhandle State, as Chaparrals starting pitcher Ricky Contreras pitched a complete game shutout in a 1-0 win before the Chaps exploded for 23 hits in the second game for a 16-2 victory to complete the doubleheader sweep Thursday at Aggies Field. The second game was highlighted by a cycle from LCU's Caleb Koedyker.
 
STREAKS
Tony Reyes, who had an 18-game hit streak earlier in the season, is currently leading the team with a six-game active hit streak. Ryan Rogers is right behind him with a five-game active streak. Brandon Rix had an active streak of reaching base safely at 29 games end Thursday, placing Tony Reyes as the active leader in the category with 17 consecutive games reaching base safely.
  
SERIES BY THE NUMBERS
1.250 | Caleb Koedyker has a 1.250 slugging mark in the series after a 4-for-8 performance Thursday, which included the eighth cycle in LCU history.
5 | LCU had five doubles in the second game of the series, with all five coming from five different individuals.
10 | LCU has 10 hits with runners in scoring position (in the series) and 31 at-bats with runners in scoring position in the series, as LCU is .323 in the category. OPSU is just .133 (2-for-15) in the same category in the series.
20 | OPSU's pitchers have combined for 20 strikeouts in the series.
 
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 48-4 overall and 17-2 away from Hays Field against the Aggies all-time. The last win for OPSU came on Feb. 27, 1999, as LCU has won 17 consecutive meetings heading into Saturday.