LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (10-6)
vs. ST. EDWARD'S (10-7)
March 8 - 2 p.m.
Lucian Hamilton Field (Austin, Texas)
 
LEADING OFF
Lubbock Christian will wrap up its final series that is a part of the beginning of the year trek on the road, taking on St. Edward's in a four-game nonconference series. The Chaps have lost their last two games, dropping the series finale last weekend against St. Mary's and falling to West Texas A&M on Tuesday in a midweek battle in Canyon. LCU is 10-6 on the year with one more nonconference series against Texas A&M-International next week before starting Heartland play on March 22 against Arkansas Fort Smith. St. Edward's has played all but three of their games so far this season on their home field, but has struggled to start the year. The Hilltoppers also lost in a midweek game, falling 15-14 to Texas A&M-Kingsville. 
 
THE CHAPARRAL NINE
• Chaps went 2-8 against the Hilltoppers during the 2018 season
• LCU plays 17 of its first 22 games away from home this season, with 12 games on the road so far
• Chap starting pitchers have limited opponents to just a .207 batting average so far this year
• LCU's staff ERA of 3.51 leads the Heartland Conference
• Chap batters are hitting .315 with runners in scoring position
• Two Chap pitchers rank in top 15 nationally in Ks with Ryan Johnson at 8 and Callan Johnson at 12
• LCU's 21 home runs are the most in the Heartland Conference and rank No. 8 nationally
• Catcher Andrew Pratt already has 17 walks this season, just one less than in all of the 2018 season
 
AT THE PLATE
Lubbock Christian's 104 runs scored this season rank as the third most in the Heartland Conference, but their offense has been getting the job done. The Chaps .306 batting average is the third best in the conference, but really do their work in the power department. LCU's 284 total bases are 39 more than the next closest Heartland team (St. Mary's), and they lead the league in home runs (21) and slugging percentage (.504) as well. The Chaps are also second in doubles (33) and triples (8).
 
THE STARTERS AND THE STAFF
LCU's pitching staff currently has an overall earned run average of just 3.51, which is the best in the Heartland Conference. The Chaparral staff is led by the starting pitchers, which has included Ryan Johnson, Callan Johnson, Ricky Contreras, Logan McCrummen and Nathan Dockery this season. Those starters have posted an even lower ERA at 3.00 while striking out 105 batters and holding opponents to just a .207 average.
 
PICKING SPOTS
After starting the season just 1-4 on stolen base attempts, Lubbock Christian has since stolen eight straight without being caught. Five of those stolen bases have been by center fielder Keaton Greenwalt, who leads the team with a perfect 6-6 record on the bases. LCU will have its work cut out for them against the Hilltoppers, who have allowed just 17 stolen base attempts and caught 6 runners so far this season.
 
SOLO SHOTS
With 21 home runs as a team already this season, Lubbock Christian leads the Heartland Conference near the top of the national rankings. More than half (12) of those home runs, however, have been without runners on base, and nine 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. The Chaps' have also hit seven two-run homers and two three-run homers this year.  No LCU batter has hit a grand slam to this point in the year.
 
SWING AWAY
When Nathan Blackwood is signaling from the third base coaching box, he is most likely not telling his hitter to lay down a sacrifice bunt. LCU ranked dead last in the conference in bunts last season with just 17. The next lowest total came from Newman, but even the Jets had 27. This year, the Chaps have laid down exactly four sacrifice bunts, again ranking last in the conference. They did not have a single sacrifice bunt in their most recent series against St. Mary's and second basemen Eddy Vasquez is the only LCU hitter with multiple sac bunts on the year.
 
MULTI-HOMER PERFORMANCES
Through just 15 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 had the most recent multi-homer day at the plate, hitting two in one game on 3/1 against St. Mary's.
 
MOTHER NATURE
LCU played 12 games in the month of February but was scheduled for 15. Earlier in the month, the team was forced to postpone a home game with New Mexico Highlands due to weather in Lubbock. The game will now be played on March 26 at Hays Field. The Chaps also had two games canceled two weeks ago in Denver, where snowfall limited the opportunities for games. This Tuesday matchup with WT was moved to an earlier start time of 3 p.m. in order to take advantage of the warmer part of the day with highs in the upper 30s in Canyon.
 
ROAD WARRIORS
The Chaps will play 17 of their first 22 games this season away from the friendly confines of Hays Field and City Bank Clubhouse, where they are 7-4 so far this season.  They have played just one home series (vs. Cameron Feb. 8-10) and) and will not play on their own turf again until March 14. The Chaps were scheduled to play one more home game in February against New Mexico Highlands but postponed it until March because of weather. LCU was 13-14 in games away from Lubbock last season and is 72-60 in road or neutral site games in the last five seasons.
 
SWINGING IN THE SECOND
Offensively, the Chaps' best inning has been the second so far this season. LCU hitters have recorded 33 hits with a .446 team batting average in that inning. Third basemen Braden Hayward and Eddy Vasquez have both recorded a team-high five hits in that inning, and Chase Whetsel and Hill Alexander have both hit two home runs in the second. Of the 103 runs LCU has scored overall, 19 have come in the second inning. 
 
LOOKING AT THE LAST SERIES
Lubbock Christian went down to San Antonio for a non-conference series against a Heartland Conference opponent in St. Mary's. It is one of three non-conference series that LCU will play this year, taking on St. Edward's this weekend and TAMIU March 14-16. The Chaps won the series against the Rattlers two games to one, sweeping a doubleheader on Friday as Andrew Pratt homered three times in the two games. Pratt slugged 1.273 for the series.
 
IN THE POLLS
LCU stayed in the top 10 in one Division II National Baseball Poll this week, holding steady in the Perfect Game Poll. Only two in-region teams are ranked above the Chaps in Texas A&M-Kingsville (9) and Colorado Mesa (1). LCU is not ranked or receiving votes in the national poll for the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association but was slotted at No. 8 in the association's South Central Regional Poll.
 
MAJOR-LEAGUE CONNECTION
With MLB spring training under way and opening day right around the corner, 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.
 
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 3,087 games throughout all those years, posting an overall program record of 2,083 wins and 1,008 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 225-113 (.667) won-loss record.
 
OPPONENT SCOUT
St. Edward's is just above .500 through the first 17 games of the season, even though the Hilltoppers have played all but three of their games at their home field. Struggling offensively, SEU has a batting average of just .277, which is the second worst in the conference, and 108 strikeouts. The only hitting category the Hilltoppers lead the conference in is triples, with 13. They have also struggled in the field, tying for the lead with 33 errors so far this season.