LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (20-8, 3-0)
vs. NEWMAN (12-13, 1-2)
March 29 – 3 P.M. (DH)
Hays Field (Lubbock, Texas)
LEADING OFF
Riding a six-game win streak dating back to March 15, the Lubbock Christian Chaparrals will be back at home this weekend to take on Newman in a three-game Heartland Conference series on Friday and Saturday. The Chaps are currently tied for the Heartland Conference lead after one weekend of play, as LCU and Rogers State were the only two teams with undefeated opening weekends of league play. Newman opened play in the Heartland with a 1-2 record against St. Mary's and has lost two games since then after dropping a midweek doubleheader to Emporia State. The Chaps will use starting pitchers
Ryan Johnson,
Ricky Contreras and
Callan Johnson as they go for their fifth straight series win.
THE CHAPARRAL NINE
• Chaps are 7-2 in games at Hays Field this season
• LCU pitcher
Chandler Casey named Heartland Pitcher of the Week on March 24
• Lubbock Christian leads the Heartland Conference in average (.310), doubles (54) and home runs (33)
• LCU's staff ERA of 3.32 and is the only team ERA sub-4.00
• Chap batters are hitting .321 with runners in scoring position
• LCU starting pitchers have an earned run average of 2.85
•
Andrew Pratt's seven home runs lead the Heartland and rank No. 23 nationally
• LCU is ranked in a pair of national polls: CBN-27, Perfect Game-11
STRENGTH IN STARTERS
A big key to the success of the Lubbock Christian University baseball team through the first half of the season has been its starting pitching.
Ryan Johnson,
Callan Johnson,
Ricky Contreras,
Nathan Dockery,
Chandler Casey,
Logan McCrummen and, most recently,
Shandon Herrera have all been tasked with beginning games on the mound this season, and overall, the group has posted an astonishing ERA of just 2.85. The six starters have struck out 176 batters while walking just 70 over 170.1 innings pitched and thrown 10 complete games while limiting opponents to just a .202 batting average.
FRIENDLY CONFINES
The Chaps will play home games 10-12 of the season when they take on Newman this weekend. Originally dedicated on April 29, 1978 as Chaparral Stadium, the complex was renamed Hays Field in 1999 to honor the L.D., Pearl, Larry, and
Daren Hays families for their dedication and commitment to the ideals and values of Lubbock Christian University. The playing dimensions of Hays Field measure 340 feet down the lines, 380 feet to the power alleys, and 400 feet to straight away center. LCU was 21-6 at home last season and is 107-32 in their own ballpark since the start of the 2014 season.
FROM THE HEART(LAND)
Lubbock Christian and the other seven teams around the league will continue Heartland Conference play this weekend, with the Chaps and Rogers State tied for first in the standings. St. Edward's was picked to win the conference in the 2019 preseason poll with 115 total points and seven first place votes. The Chaps were picked a close second with 111 points and seven first place votes as well. For LCU, this is the sixth season of Heartland Conference play. They were 17-11 in Heartland play last season and are 95-41 in Heartland Conference games all-time, finishing in first place in both the 2014 and 2017 seasons.
ONE-HIT WONDERS
Since March 15, three different Chaparral pitchers have started and completed games on the mound in which they allowed just one hit.
Nathan Dockery was the first to do it, allowing just one hit to the first batter of the game on 3/15 against Texas A&M-International in a 10-0 shutout.
Logan McCrummen followed with a one-hitter the next day against TAMIU, walking three in his seven innings of work. The most recent standout performance came from
Chandler Casey, who carried a no-hitter for 7.2 innings on 3/23 against UAFS, surrendering just the one hit over nine innings while striking out a career-high 11 batters.
A GOOD MOVE
So far this season, LCU pitchers have picked six baserunners off, five of which have come from the big left-hander
Ryan Johnson. The Manitoba native has already surpassed his three pick-offs from last season, giving him eight in just a two-year career. The five this season are the third most in the last 10 years, behind Lucas Whitmore, who picked off seven runners in 2011, and Guillaume Blanchette, who picked off nine runners in 2015.
FRIENDLY CONFINES
Lubbock Christian will play the ninth home game of the season when they take on New Mexico Highlands on Tuesday. Originally dedicated on April 29, 1978 as Chaparral Stadium, the complex was renamed Hays Field in 1999 to honor the L.D., Pearl, Larry, and
Daren Hays families for their dedication and commitment to the ideals and values of Lubbock Christian University. The playing dimensions of Hays Field measure 340 feet down the lines, 380 feet to the power alleys, and 400 feet to straight away center. LCU was 21-6 at home last season and is 106-32 in their own ballpark since the start of the 2014 season.
SOLO SHOTS
With 31 home runs as a team already this season, Lubbock Christian leads the Heartland Conference ranks No. 16 nationally. More than half (18) of those home runs, however, have been without runners on base, and 10 of them have come when the batter was leading off an inning. Last season, when LCU also led the conference with 63 home runs, only 22 of them (35%) were of the one-run variety.
Braden Hayward,
Chase Whetsel and
James Hardberger all have four solo home runs each this season.
MULTI-HOMER PERFORMANCES
Through the first 24 games of the season, four different Chaparral batters have already delivered with single game multi-homer performances. First basemen
James Hardberger was the first two do it with a pair of four-baggers on 2/3 vs. Missouri Southern St. Two different players had multi-homer games at the same time on 2/11, as both
Keaton Greenwalt and
Chase Whetsel homered twice against Cameron.
Andrew Pratt is the only Chap with multiple multiple-homer games this season, hitting two on both 3/1 vs. St. Mary's and 3/8 vs. St. Edward's.
IN THE POLLS
LCU received recognition from all three major Division II baseball publications this week, including a ranking as high as No. 11 from Perfect Game. The ranking was the highest the Chaps earned this week, but they were also slotted at No. 27 in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper poll. In the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association poll, LCU was unable to crack the top 25, but is receiving votes. The Chaps were ranked No. 5 in the NCBWA's South Central Regional poll.
2000 AND COUNTING
Since the inception of LCU's baseball program in 1971, the Chaparrals have been one of the best baseball teams at whatever level they were playing at. Lubbock Christian has played 3,096 games throughout all those years, posting an overall program record of 2,093 wins and 1,010 losses in that time.
HOMEGROWN PRODUCTS
Of the 33 players on the Lubbock Christian University baseball team this season, exactly one third (11) played high school baseball in Lubbock. Another three players on the 2019 of LCU's baseball team are from the surrounding area of Lubbock, including Idalou, New Deal and Shallowater.
COACHING CONSISTENCY
Lubbock Christian is bringing back the same three main coaches that have been with the team each of the last six seasons. Pitching coach
Justin Sundlie, who played catcher at LCU in 2005 and 2006, is the newbie of the group, entering his seventh season with the Chaps, while head coach
Nathan Blackwood and hitting coach
Bob Fannin have been leading the program for the last 15 seasons. Together, the group has led LCU to a pair of first place finishes in the Heartland Conference, two NCAA South Central Regional appearances and a 235-115 (.667) won-loss record.
MAJOR-LEAGUE CONNECTION
With the 2019 Major League Baseball season under way, a pair of former Chaparral baseball players have been busy. Buck Britton (IF, 2007-08) and Wigberto Nevarez (C, 2013-14) are both now in the coaching ranks in professional baseball. Britton was promoted and named the Double-A manager for the Bowie Baysox of the Baltimore Orioles organization. Nevarez has just ended his playing career and will serve as a coach with the Single-A Rome Braves of the Atlanta Braves organization.
FIVE FACTS ABOUT NEWMAN
- Jet pitchers have hit 45 batters this season, leading the Heartland Conference and ranking No. 45 nationally in that category
- Newman reliever Ryan Boaz has an ERA of just 1.14 in 31.2 innings pitched, which is the 13th best nationally among qualified pitchers
- NU has the second-worst on-base percentage in the Heartland at .367
- Opposing runners are successful 78.3 percent of the time when stealing against Newman
- Pitcher Derek Schumann's opponent's batting average of .159 leads the conference
