NCAA DIVISION II – SOUTH CENTRAL REGION TOURNAMENT
No.18 WEST TEXAS A&M (35-16, No.3-Seed) vs. No.11 LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (37-14, No.4-Seed)
Thursday, May 18, 2017 – 7:00 PM
Foster Field (San Angelo, Texas)
Radio: KJTV am950/100.7fm
All-Time Series: LCU leads 41-18
Lubbock Christian University is one of six teams participating in the double-elimination South Central Region Tournament of the NCAA Division II baseball postseason. Angelo State University is serving as the host school, with Foster Field in San Angelo, Texas making its NCAA postseason hosting debut. The Chaparrals received the No.4-Seed and will open the tournament facing No.3-Seed West Texas A&M Thursday at 7 p.m. The winning team will advance to a 7 p.m. Friday contest against the winner of the matchup featuring St. Edward's vs. Colorado Mesa. The losing team will move to a 3:30 p.m. game Friday against the winner of the matchup pitting Angelo State vs. Arkansas Fort Smith.
LCU is 2-0 against West Texas A&M (35-16) this season. West Texas A&M received an automatic qualifier by winning the Lone Star Conference Tournament. WT ended the regular season 1-5 in their last six games, but then went 3-0 in the tournament with wins over Texas A&M Kingsville and Angelo State. The Buffs comes in with an offense that rank fourth nationally in doubles per game (2.4) and a pitching staff that leads the nation in strikeouts per nine innings (11.1). Strikeout numbers are supported by Marshall Kasowski's nation leading 153 strikeouts (16 per nine innings).
Angelo State received the No.1 seed and will host the event. Colorado Mesa (No.2-Seed), St. Edward's (No.5-Seed) and Arkansas Fort Smith (No.6-Seed) complete the field of teams. There are three Heartland Conference teams, marking the most in conference history.
Lubbock Christian is in their second season with NCAA postseason eligibility and they are participating in their second NCAA postseason tournament. Last season, LCU went 2-2 at the South Central Region Tournament in Grand Junction, Colo.
SOUTH CENTRAL REGION TOURNAMENT SEEDS
1-Angelo State
2-Colorado Mesa
3-West Texas A&M
4-Lubbock Christian
5-St. Edward's
6-Arkansas Fort Smith
RANKINGS (as of 5/17/17)
LCU: No. 11 (Perfect Game), No.19 (Collegiate Baseball News), No.25 (NCBWA), No. 25 (d2baseballnews.com)
NCBWA HONORS
Four member of the Lubbock Christian University baseball team were recognized as All-South Central Region selections by the National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association (NCBWA) Wednesday, as
Ricky Contreras (pitcher) and
Brandon Rix (third base) received First Team honors and
Jaime Bustamante (shortstop) and
Ryan Rogers (designated hitter) claimed Second Team honors.
Contreras, a sophomore pitcher, is 9-2 on the season with a 2.83 ERA. He has made 15 starts (ranks fourth nationally), with six going the distance to rank 13th nationally in complete games. The Lubbock, Texas native co-leads the conference and ranks tied for 21st nationally in victories on the mound with nine. A Heartland Conference First Team selection and Heartland Conference Pitcher of the Year, Contreras is a first-time NCBWA All-Region recipient.
Rix, who was named CoSIDA Academic All-District and All-Heartland Conference First Team, claims his first NCBWA All-Region honor. The third baseman from Cañon City, Colo. is hitting .325 this season with 64 hits and 32 RBI. He ranks sixth in the conference in sacrifice bunts (6).
Bustamante, LCU's primary leadoff batter, is hitting .352 on the squad this season with 74 hits and 35 RBI. His 74 hits ranks second in the conference. The Presidio, Texas native also ranks second in the conference in triples (6, which ranks tied for 11th nationally), fourth in runs (51) and fifth in total bases with 109. This is Bustamante's first NCBWA All-Region accolade. He claimed Heartland Conference All-Conference and All-Defensive Team honors with a .937 fielding percentage.
Rogers claims his first NCBA All-Region award. The junior from Littlefield, Texas claimed All-Conference honors with a .360 hitting mark on the season. He leads the team with 17 doubles (third in the conference) and 45 RBI (fifth in conference).
The honor marks gives LCU 11 recipients of All-Region honors by the NCBWA (all-time) and the matches the most LCU has received in a single-season since four received the honor in 2014.
ALL-HEARTLAND CONFERENCE HONORS
Coach -
Nathan Blackwood
P -
Ricky Contreras (First Team, Pitcher of the Year)
P -
Daniel Crooks (First Team) / 1B -
Tony Reyes (First Team) / 3B -
Brandon Rix (First Team) / SS -
Jaime Bustamante (First Team) / OF -
Caleb Koedyker (First Team) /DH -
Ryan Rogers (First Team) / P -
Russell Reber (Second Team)
Heartland Conference All-Defensive Team
Josh Narvaiz (second base),
Chase Simmons (catcher),
Russell Reber (pitcher),
Tony Reyes (first base) and
Jaime Bustamante (shortstop)
CLOSING THE BOOK ON CONFERENCE
The Chaparrals hit .345 in conference games and had a 3.77 staff ERA.
Ryan Rogers hit .391 in conference games, while teammates
Caleb Koedyker (.375) and
Brent Stewart (.354) and hit over .350 in conference. Nine Chaps had at least 14 RBI in conference, with Koedyker and Rogers co-leading the club with 22 RBI. Rotation pitchers
Daniel Crooks (5-0),
Russell Reber (4-1) and
Ricky Contreras (7-1) combined to go 16-2 in conference games. Contreras had five of his six complete games in conference play.
NEUTRALIZING
LCU has seven neutral site games under their belt this season. The Chaps are 5-2 in neutral site games, opening the season 4-0 at the 2017 AirHogs Classic in Grand Prairie, Texas.
Jaime Bustamante leads LCU with a .414 average in neutral site contests with four extra-base hits (three doubles) and six RBI.
STREAKS
LCU's hitting woes at the Heartland Conference Tournament impacted the Chaps active hit streaks, as every Chap (everyday players) had at least one hitless appearance.
Josh Narvaiz leads LCU into the tournament with a two-game hit. The longest hit streak of the season was an 18-game streak by
Tony Reyes.
Jaime Bustamante is the active leader in consecutive games reaching base safely with a streak of 10 consecutive games.
Brandon Rix has the season's longest streak of reaching base safely at 29.
JUST A NEW CHAPTER
Postseason ventures are not uncommon for LCU, who is making their second NCAA postseason appearance in their second season of postseason eligibility. The Chaps made 12 national championship postseason appearances in the NAIA (excludes regional appearances, which the NAIA did not constitute as national championship appearances), resulting in 10 NAIA World Series berths and two national titles (1983, 2008). LCU has made national championship postseason appearances in every season they have been eligible since 2008 (seven straight seasons).
ALL-TIME
Here is a look at LCU's All-Time record against the field:
Angelo State - ASU leads series 13-8 | LCU is 0-1 vs. ASU in NCAA postseason
Arkansas Fort Smith - LCU leads 6-5
Colorado Mesa - LCU leads 1-0 | LCU is 1-0 vs. CMU in NCAA postseason
St. Edward's - LCU leads 18-10 | LCU is 0-1 vs. SEU in NCAA postseason
West Texas A&M - LCU leads 41-18 | LCU is 1-0 vs. WT in NCAA Postseason
Foster Field - LCU is 3-8
CHAPS BY THE NUMBERS
.971 | The Chaps fielding percentage of .971 leads the conference and ranks 15th nationally.
8 | LCU ranks tied for fifth nationally in shutouts with eight on the season. LCU is 8-1 in shutout results.
9 | LCU is the only team in the nation with three pitchers with at least nine wins.
Ricky Contreras,
Daniel Crooks and
Russell Reber each rank tied for 21st nationally with nine wins.
25 | LCU co-leads the Heartland Conference (with Arkansas Fort Smith) and ranks tied for third nationally in triples with 25.
75 | Tony Reyes leads the Heartland Conference and ranks 48th nationally in hits with 75.
Jaime Bustamante is right behind him with 74 hits.
108 | The Chaps lead the conference and rank 26th nationally in doubles with 108 on the season.
Ryan Rogers (17) leads the team.
555 | With 555 hits this season, LCU leads the conference and ranks 28th nationally in the category.
