No. 7 LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (26-9, 8-1)
vs. ST. EDWARD'S (16-20, 4-5)
April 11 – 4 P.M. (DH)
Hays Field (Lubbock, Texas)
 
LEADING OFF
The 2019 Chaparrals will jump back into conference play after a brief break with a midweek game against New Mexico Highlands on Tuesday, which they won in run-rule fashion 16-6.  Lubbock Christian will now play its second series of the season against St. Edward's, having faced the Hilltoppers in a four-game non-conference set in Austin earlier this year. LCU was victorious in that series, winning three of the four games on the road. Lubbock Christian has defended its home field well so far this season, only suffering two losses at Hays Field and winning its last six games there. The Chaps have lost just once in their last ten games overall, while the Hilltoppers are 4-6 in their last 10 contests.
 
THE CHAPARRAL NINE
• Lubbock Christian has the sixth best slugging percentage in all of Division II at .541
• LCU is ranked in all three D-II National Polls: Perfect Game - 7, CBN - 17, NCBWA - 23
• Outfielder Hill Alexander ranks 14th nationally and leads the conference with 101 total bases
• Chaps' 53 home runs are almost twice as many as the next closest Heartland team (TAMIU with 27)
• LCU has gone 59.0 straight innings without an error, dating back to the game against NMHU on 3/26
• Chap batters are hitting .337 with runners in scoring position
• LCU starting pitchers have an earned run average of 2.76
• Andrew Pratt's 12 home runs lead the Heartland and rank No. 13 nationally
 
AWARD CENTRAL
For the second straight week, LCU players swept the Heartland Conference baseball awards, with Chandler Casey earning Pitcher of the Week and Hill Alexander winning Hitter of the Week. For Casey, it is his third straight week to win the award and the fourth straight week it has gone to an LCU pitcher, with Nathan Dockery also claiming it. He pitched his fifth straight complete game in a 6-1 win over Oklahoma Christian, striking out a career-high 12 batters. The award was the first of the season for Alexander, who reached base at a .692 clip and slugged three homers in the series win at OC.
 
FROM THE HEART(LAND)
Lubbock Christian and the other seven teams around the league will continue Heartland Conference play this weekend, with the Chaps alone in first place, one game ahead of Rogers State. 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 100-42 in Heartland Conference games all-time, finishing in first place in both the 2014 and 2017 seasons.
 
WIN TOTAL
With one win this weekend, Lubbock Christian head baseball coach Nathan Blackwood will reach the milestone of 650 for his career. Blackwood, who graduated from LCU in 1995, took the helm of the program starting in 2004 and has led them to a 649-261 (.713) record and a NAIA National Championship in 2009. Now in his 16^th season leading the Chaps, Blackwood is second all-time in LCU history with his 649 wins, behind only College Baseball Hall of Famer Larry Hays. Blackwood is 46 wins behind Hays, who coached the Chaps from 1971-86 and amassed a 695-381 (.646) record. Blackwood also ranks 33^rd among active Division II coaches with his 749 wins.
 
KINGS OF THE K
Lubbock Christian's pitching staff leads the Heartland Conference in strikeouts this season with 244, while the next closest team – Arkansas Fort Smith – has just 222. Three LCU hurlers rank in the top five individually in Ks, led by Ryan Johnson with a Heartland-leading 80. Chandler Casey ranks third with 60 this season, and Callan Johnson is No. 5 with 48 on the year. Eleven times this season Chap pitchers have reached the double-digit strikeout mark in a single game.
 
CLEAN LIVING
Chap fielders have recorded 180 straight outs without making a fielding error, dating back to when LCU and NMHU faced off on 3/26 at Hays Field. Eddy Vasquez made the last error, allowing Gaylan Young to reach base in the top of the fourth inning of that contest, but no other Chap errors were committed in that game, or in any game since. The streak has raised team fielding percentage for Lubbock Christian to .972, which leads the Heartland Conference.
 
BEWARE THE CHAPS IN MARCH
The month of March was a good one for the Lubbock Christian baseball team, as LCU won every series it played in and posted an overall record of 15-4. Keaton Greenwalt lead the team in batting average during the month at .425, while Andrew Pratt collected a team-leading 61 total bases and slugged .910. As a team the Chaps hit .342 and averaged 8.6 runs per game while holding opponents to a .224 average over 150 innings.
 
FRIENDLY CONFINES
Of the 13 games left on the regular season schedule for LCU, 10 will be played at home, including this week's series against St. Edward's. 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 110-32 in their own ballpark since the start of the 2014 season.
 
MULTI-HOMER PERFORMANCES
Through the first 34 games of the season, five different Chaparral batters have already delivered with single game, multi-homer performances. First basemen James Hardberger was the first to 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 on 2/11. Andrew Pratt has three multi-homer games, hitting two on both 3/1 vs. St. Mary's and 3/8 vs. St. Edward's and smashing three homers against Newman on 3/29. Hill Alexander had the most recent multi-homer game on 4/5 against Oklahoma Christian, and the senior also homered twice against St. Edward's on 3/9.
 
STRENGTH IN STARTERS
A big key to the success of the LCU 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 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 2.76. The six starters have struck out 221 batters while walking just 79 over 215.1 innings pitched and thrown 14 complete games while limiting opponents to just a .201 batting average.
 
 
CAREER NUMBERS
In his fourth season as a regular contributor on the mound, LCU pitcher Ricky Contreras is slowly moving up the Chap record books in a number of categories. He ranks fourth all-time in innings pitched with 292.2 and his career ERA of 2.78 ranks fourth best among pitchers who have spent at least 90.0 innings on the mound. Contreras has struck out 247 batters, which is the fifth most in LCU history, 67 Ks behind the all-time leader (310). Finally, he is tied for the seventh most wins with 26. The Lubbock native is also the active Division II leader in complete games with 15 and his 247 Ks are the seventh most among actives as well.
 
CLEAR THE BASES
It took 31 games and more than 1,000 at-bats, but a Chaparral batter finally hit a home run while the bases were loaded in the 28-1 win over Newman on 3/29. Senior Chase Whetsel did the damage, coming to the plate in the bottom of the fifth inning after three straight singles by Ryan Rijo, Andres Negron and Will Clark. He took a 1-1 pitch and pull it over the right field wall, increasing the Chap lead to 18-0. The home run was Whetsel's sixth of the season, but only his second with any runners on base.
 
IN THE POLLS
Lubbock Christian was recognized in all three Division II baseball polls this week, as well as the regional poll. The Chaps' highest ranking came from Perfect Game, where sit in the No. 7 spot. LCU also made the top 25 in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Poll, where they are No. 23 and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Poll, where they were slotted at No. 17. In the NCBWA regional poll, LCU is ranked fourth.
 
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.
 
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. Lubbock Christian has played 3,110 games throughout all those years, posting an overall program record of 2,099 wins and 1,011 losses in that time.
 
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 241-116 (.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.