No.13 LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (26-14, 11-7)
at ROGERS STATE (22-18, 8-10)
Friday, Apr. 20, 2018 – 1 p.m. / 3:30 p.m. (DH)
Diamond Sports Complex (Claremore, Okla.)
Radio: KJTV 100.7 The Score
All-Time Series: LCU leads 25-11
Tweet #LCUvsRSU | Tweet #HeartlandBASE
 
No.13 Lubbock Christian opened the season winning their first five road games, but recently LCU has been been unable to find success on the road. The Chaparrals have dropped their last six road games and seven of their last eight road tilts.  Friday, they look to bounce back after suffering a pair of ten-run deficits in a doubleheader seep to Roger State Thursday.   The Chaps (11-7 in conference) enter Friday's play 2.0 games behind Arkansas - Fort Smith in the standings. LCU also sits 1.0 games ahead of St. Mary's and St. Edward's, who are each 10-8 in conference play. Rogers State enters the the day in a three-way tie for fifth place, with an 8-10 conference mark. Friday's games are the third and fourth games of an eight-game road trip, which continues next week in Austin, Texas.
 
RANKINGS 
LCU: No.13 (Perfect Game)
RSU: N/A
 
SCHEDULED STARTING PITCHER
 
GAME 1
LCU – Ryan Johnson (5-3, 2.79 ERA)
Johnson is scheduled for his 11^th appearance and 10^th start of the season in Friday's opener. The left-handed pitcher from Winnipeg, Manitoba is coming off a 10-k performance in his last outing, as he claimed the win in a complete game (7.0 innings) effort allowing four runs (two earned) off six hits. Johnson leads the Heartland Conference with a 0.9 WHIP and opponents are hitting .199 against him.
 
RSU – Tim Luce (3-6, 2.78 ERA)
Luce will make his 11^th start of the season and is seeking a win after six prior starts leading to an 0-5 mark. It comes with reason, as RSU has averaged 1.0 runs per game over the prior six appearances. The senior lefty from Oolagah, Okla. allowed four runs off 10 hits in 7.0 innings of a loss to Arkansas – Fort Smith. He suffered the loss last season (May. 5, 2017) at LCU, allowing five runs off 10 hits in 5.1 innings.
 
GAME 2
LCU – Daniel Crooks (3-3, 4.53 ERA)
Crooks is tentatively set for his 10^th appearance and ninth start of the season. He is coming off a loss Apr. 7 in San Antonio, allowing six runs (four earned) off seven hits in 3.1 innings against St. Mary's. The right-hander from Midland, Texas is 2-1 on the road this season with a 5.85 ERA, and is 1-0 all-time against RSU after claiming a win on May.5 last season allowing two runs off four hits in 6.0 innings.
 
RSU – Spencer Bivens (6-3, 1.83 ERA)
The right-handed pitcher from State College, Pa. is slated for his 11^th appearance. He has held opponents to a .222 average this season. Bivens is 1-2 over his prior four appearances, and his last outing (Apr. 15) he allowed six runs off six hits in 7.0 innings. He allowed seven runs off 11 hits in 2.1 innings of a loss last season against LCU (May. 5, 2017).
 
LOOKING BACK
LCU was held to three runs on 11 hits, while Rogers State University combined for 16 hits with runners in scoring position to sweep LCU 12-2 and 11-1 in a Heartland Conference doubleheader Thursday at Diamond Sports Complex.
 
From getting a pair of complete game pitching performances from a pair of starting pitchers combining for two prior starts, solid plate performances to some key calls in their favor, everything went right for RSU Thursday. The Hillcats produced 20 hits with runners on base (hit .500 in the category), 16 with runners in scoring position (hit .500 in the category) and had 11 at-bats (four hits) with the bases loaded. LCU had six at-bats with runners in scoring position for the day (two hits) and never had the bases loaded.
 
ROAD TRIPPING
LCU is 9-8 on the road this season and seeking to end a six-game road losing streak. The Chaps head into Friday with a team batting average of .295 on the road and an ERA of 4.98. Over the prior six road games, LCU is hitting .184 and have been out-hit 66-29, as opponents are hitting .184. Opponents also have 11 sacrifice bunts and four sacrifice flies over the prior six road games. Andrew Pratt leads LCU away from Hays Field, hitting .421 on the road. The Chaps have a 22-7 advantage in home runs on the road, with Pratt and Ryan Rogers each with five homers on the road. Opponents are hitting .299 against the Chaps away from Hays Field. LCU's pitchers have 107 strikeouts and 72 walks on the road.
 
STREAKS
Andres Negron leads LCU, with an active seven-game hit streak. He also has the active lead with seven straight games reaching base safely. Ryan Rogers holds the seasons highs, with a 12-game hit streak and a streak of 23 games reaching base safely. Negron is 9-for-15 (.600) over the past seven games at the plate.
 
HAVING HEART
The Chaps are 11-7 in conference play and hitting .332 in conference games this season. Andrew Pratt (.441), Scotland Church (.415), and Andres Negron (.414) are each hitting over .400 in conference play. The Chaps have six players with at least 14 RBI in conference play, with 18 by Andrew Pratt topping the list. LCU's pitching has a 4.66 ERA in conference play, with opponents hitting .272 against them.  Opponents have a 7.76 ERA against LCU in conference.
 
INSIDE THE SERIES VS. RSU
.422 | RSU has out-hit LCU 27-11 and is hitting .422 as a team in the series.
1 | LCU went 1-for-3 in each game Thursday with runners in scoring position.
2 | LCU fell in consecutive games Thursday to RSU for the first time since April 17, 2014.
3 | Andres Negron and Dillon Drury are each 3-for-6 to lead LCU in hits in the series.
4 | RSU had four extra-base hits in the doubleheader Thursday and have not allowed an extra-base hit in the series.
5 | Blake Chiaramonte (5-for-7) and Bradley Degnan (5-for-9) each co-led RSU with five hits Thursday.
6 | Brendan Griffith posted six RBI Thursday off a 4-for-7 performance at the plate.
11 | RSU was 11-for-22 (.500) in two-out bats (LCU was 3-for-16,.188), which helped counter a 23.1% (3-for-13) mark on getting the leadoff batter aboard (Callan Johnson was 6-for-6 keeping the leadoff batter off base).
11-0 | The Hillcats have 11 at-bats with the bases loaded in the series (four hits), while LCU has yet to have an at-bat in the series with the bases loaded.
13 | RSU posted 13 two-out RBI Thursday, outscoring LCU 13-2 in the category.   
20-4 | The Hillcats have a 20-4 hit advantage in hits in the series with runners on base.
 
HISTORY WITH RSU
LCU leads the all-time series with a 25-11 mark. The Chaps have won 13 of the last 18 prior regular season meetings. In the conference series (Heartland and Sooner Athletic Conference), the home team has only won the series four times (out of 11 series). LCU swept RSU at home (three games) last season. The Chaps are 14-6 against RSU away from home and won two of three games in Claremore in 2016.