HEARTLAND CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
No.3-Seed LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (32-18)
vs. No.2-Seed ST. MARY'S (34-16)
Thursday, May 10, 2018 – 6:30 p.m.
The Depot (Cleburne, Texas)
Radio: KTTU Double-T 97.3 FM
All-Time Series: Series Tied 16-16
Tweet #LCUvsStMU | Tweet #HeartlandBASE
 
A full 28-game Heartland Conference schedule went down to the final game to decide the Heartland Conference regular season champion.  Lubbock Christian University and Arkansas - Ft. Smith each completed their regular season with a 17-11 conference mark and were tied for first place in the conference until St. Edward's and St. Mary's each won their final game to move one game ahead of LCU and UAFS and finish as the co-champions of the conference. Now the foursome of teams that bottlenecked the conference standings head to "The Depot" in Cleburne, Texas for the four-team double elimination Heartland Conference Tournament. The winner of the tournament will advance with an automatic berth to the NCAA Division II South Central Region Tournament. LCU's postseason journey begins Thursday with a 6:30 p.m. first pitch as the No.3-seed facing No.2-seed St. Mary's. LCU is 6-10 against this season's field.
 
HEARTLAND CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT SEEDS
1-St. Edward''s
2-St. Mary's
3-Lubbock Christian
4-Arkansas-Fort Smith
 
LOOKING BACK
LCU closed their regular season against Arkansas - Ft. Smith in a series that wrapped up Friday with a doubleheader streamed on ESPN3 as part of the NCAA Division II Showcase Series. Two walk-off wins closed out LCU's regular season schedule, and the 3-2 and 5-4 victories over No.16 UAFS at Hays Field completed a four-game conference sweep and clinched a berth to the Heartland Conference Tournament for the Chaps.
 
Of the last seven meetings at Hays Field between LCU and UAFS, five have been decided by one run and four have resulted in LCU walk-off wins. Overall, five of the last six meetings between the two programs have resulted in one-run differentials. Overall on the season, LCU closed out their regular season schedule with a 32-18 mark.
 
IN THE REGION
The NCAA released their third regional rankings of the season and LCU, who is playing in their third season postseason eligible, is seeking their third consecutive trip to a NCAA postseason. The top six teams in the final region poll will advance to the South Central Region Tournament as part of the NCAA Championships, with hosting privileges for the No.1 ranked team.
 
1. West Tex. A&M
2. Colorado Mesa
3. Tex. A&M-Kingsville           
4. Colo. School. Of Mines      
5. St. Edward's
6. Ark.-Fort Smith
7. Angelo St.  
8. St. Mary's (TX)      
 
SIXERS
The Heartland Conference announced their 2018 All-Conference and All-Defensive Team honors and six members of the Lubbock Christian University baseball team received recognition for the playing efforts during the 2018 season. Infielder Ryan Rogers, the lone Chaparral named to the All-Defensive Team, joined relief pitcher Chandler Casey and catcher Andrew Pratt on the First team, while pitchers Ricky Contreras, Ryan Johnson and outfielder Scotland Church were named to the Second Team.
 
Rogers, LCU's lone returning starting positional player, claims his second All-Conference selection, and each have been as a First Team selection. The Littlefield, Texas native leads the Heartland Conference in runs-batted-in with 49 and RBI per game (.98). He also ranks second home runs (10) and fourth in total bases (101). The Preseason All-Conference selection is hitting .330 this season and had a team leading 12-game hit streak and 24-game streak of reaching base safely. His 49 RBI is a single season career high and he has 106 in 136 career games with the Chaps. Defensively, Rogers has a .992 fielding percentage, with 27 assists and a low of three errors on the season.
 
Casey has served a myriad of roles with the Chaps pitching staff this season, leading the team with 16 appearances. Thirteen (13) of his appearances have been out of the bullpen and he has combined for a 4-1 record with three saves.  In a starting role (three starts), Casey is 1-0 with a 2.84 ERA and one complete game. The first-year Chap from Lubbock, Texas has 38 strikeouts and seven walks issued in 46.1 innings of work, with a 1.32 WHIP. He averages 1.4 walks per nine innings pitched (leads the conference). Casey, a Heartland Conference Pitcher of the Week recipient (Feb.20), claims his first Heartland All-Conference honor.
 
Pratt, a transfer from University of New Mexico, claims his first Heartland Conference honor. The 2016 Louisville Slugger NCAA Div. I Freshman All-American leads LCU this season hitting a conference leading .384 with 66 hits, 14 doubles (tied for third in the conference) and conference best 11 home runs. The Albuquerque, N.M. native also leads the conference with a .657 slugging mark and in total bases with 113. Pratt, a junior catcher, hit .402 with 22 RBI in 28 conference games this season.
 
Contreras becomes a three-time All-Heartland Conference selection. He is 7-4 with a 3.86 ERA and leads the team with six complete games. He has held opponents to a .244 average on the season. The junior from Lubbock, Texas native ranks 10th in the Heartland Conference in hits allowed per nine innings (8.1) and is tied for fifth in victories (7). The College Baseball News Preseason All-American is 24-8 with a 2.83 ERA and 223 strikeouts in 51 career games with the Chaps.
 
Johnson grabs All-Conference honors in his first active season with the Chaps.  The Winnipeg, Manitoba southpaw has bounced back from injury with a 6-4 record and a 2.75 ERA (fifth in conference) in 13 appearances. He has four complete games (ninth in conference) and has held opponents to a .199 batting average. Johnson is second in the conference (44th nationally) with a 1.08 WHIP and in hits allowed per nine innings (6.3, 24th nationally).
 
Church transferred to LCU prior to this season from Oregon State to enjoy his senior season. He is hitting .314 with 49 hits and 35 RBI. The Lubbock, Texas native hit .356 in 27 conference games. He ranks tied for third in the conference with 14 doubles this season.
 
CLOSING THE BOOK ON CONFERENCE
The Chaparrals hit .313 in conference games and had a 5.03 staff ERA. Andrew Pratt led LCU in conference games hitting .402 (39 hits), while teammates Andres Negron (.359), Scotland Church (.356) and Ryan Rogers (.347) all hit over .340 in conference.  Six Chaps had at least 19 RBI in conference, with Pratt (22) edging out Church (21). LCU's pitching staff combined for 11 complete games and held opponents to a .268 mark at the plate.
 
BUCKLE UP
Thursday's game will mark LCU's first neutral site game of the season and they seek to improve on a 1-4 all-time record at the Heartland Conference Tournament.  Opening up with St. Mary's will mark the third consecutive season in which they have opened against StMU (1-1 in prior meetings at the conference tournament). LCU woes at the tournament include a .188 average all-time with five extra bases (Chaps have never hit a home run at the tournament).  Ryan Rogers is LCU's only everyday returning positional player with history playing at the tournament and he is .222 (2-for-9) all-time. LCU's pitching staff has a 3.91 all-time mark at the tournament. Daniel Crooks (1-0, 0.00) has LCU's only win of record.  Ricky Contreras leads LCU all-time at the tournament in starts (two) and is 0-1 all-time with a 6.23 ERA in the tournament.
 
STREAKS
Scotland Church, Andrew Pratt and James Hardberger co-lead LCU into the tournament with a four-game hit streak. The longest hit streak of the season was a 12-game streak by Ryan Rogers. Logan Nethercot is the active leader in consecutive games reaching base safely with 10. Rogers has the season's longest streak of reaching base safely at 24.
 
CHAPS BY THE NUMBERS
.485 | LCU ranks 40th nationally with a slugging mark of .485 on the season, which leads the conference. Andrew Pratt leads the team with a mark of .657 (leads conference).
 
1.08 | Ryan Johnson ranks 44th nationally in WHIP with a mark of 1.08, which ranks second in the conference.
 
1.4 | Chandler Casey ranks in the top-20 nationally, allowing a low of 1.28 walks per nine innings. He has allowed seven in 46.1 innings this season.
 
5 | The Heartland Conference has five teams in the top-45 nationally in pitching ERA. Despite ranking fifth in the conference, LCU's ERA of 4.22 is 43rd nationally.
 
6.3 | Ryan Johnson ranks second in the conference and ranks 24th nationally in hits allowed per nine innings (6.5). Callan Johnson is third in the conference and ranks 49th in hits allowed per nine innings (6.9). As a team, LCU ranks 28th nationally (8.7).
 
11 | Eleven (11) different Chaps have at least one sacrifice fly this season. They have produced 19 as a squad, led by Braden Hayward (5).
 
18 | Andrew Pratt leads the Chaps with 18 multi-hit games this season.
 
48 | Ryan Rogers leads the conference and ranks 87th nationally with 49 RBI. He has produced 14 multi-RBI games this season.
 
57 | The Chaps have crushed 57 home runs this season, which ranks 37th nationally (1.1 per game ranks 37th). Andrew Pratt leads the conference with 11 homers. LCU had five homers in the UAFS and all were solo shots (10 of their last 15 home runs have been solo homers).
 
NUMBERS INSIDE THE SERIES VS. StMU
.345 | The Rattlers hit .345 in their four-game series and had a staff ERA of 1.69, as they held held LCU's average to .162 in the series and scored at a mark to place LCU's ERA to 6.75 in the series.
.400 | Andrew Pratt led LCU hitting .400 in the series and was 4-for-10 with two doubles.
.571 | StMU has been able to get the leadoff batter aboard at a rate of 57.1% (16-for-28) against the Chaps this season.  LCU is 5-for-32 (.156) in the same category against StMU.
.706 | StMU's Donnie Perez has a .706 on-base percentage in the series, benefiting off six hits and six walks.
7 | LCU has runs-batted-in by seven different individuals in the series, but no Chap has more than one RBI in the series.
9 | LCU has allowed nine unearned runs in the series (30 runs allowed, 21 earned).
10-1 | StMU has a 10-1 advantage in the series in at-bats with the bases loaded. They have three bases-loaded hits, including an Angel Vega grand slam.
10.54 | The Chaps starting pitching has a 10.54 ERA in the series against StMU.
11-0 | StMU has an 11-0 advantage in sacrifices in the series, with seven sacrifice bunts and four sacrifice fly RBI.
88-23 | LCU has had 88 at-bats in the series against left-handed pitching and 23 against righties.
 
HISTORY WITH StMU
LCU and St. Mary's have met 32 prior times dating back to 1978 and the all-time series is tied 16-16. LCU went 7-0 against StMU last season, with the final meeting occurring at the Heartland Conference Tournament in Cleburne, Texas, but is 0-4 against StMU this season after the Rattlers swept the HC series in San Antonio, Texas this season. Prior to 2014, the two teams had not met since Feb. 5, 2000. LCU is 7-12 all-time against StMU away from Hays Field and 1-1 all-time at the HC Tournament.