No. 7 LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (28-9, 10-1)
vs. ST. EDWARD'S (16-22, 4-7)
April 12 – 2 P.M.
Hays Field (Lubbock, Texas)
 
LEADING OFF
After a doubleheader sweep on Thursday that secured their eighth series win of the season, Lubbock Christian University will look to close out the series with a win in the finale at 2 p.m. on Friday afternoon. The Chaps are alone out in front in the Heartland Conference standings, gaining a game to their lead on Thursday as Rogers State split a doubleheader with Arkansas-Fort Smith. The Hilltoppers, however have dropped down to seventh place out of contention, as just the top four teams make the conference tournament.
 
STARTING PITCHING MATCHUP
LCU – Chandler Casey gets the nod for Lubbock Christian, even though he has already pitched once in this series. The winner of three straight Heartland Conference Pitcher of the Week awards, Casey came in during the second game of Thursday's doubleheader to close it out. The Chaps were up just one run and needed a strong bullpen outing to secure the series win. Casey retired the side on just 10 pitches, with the last out coming as catcher Andrew Pratt caught a runner trying to steal second base. The save was the first of the year for Casey, who had three in 2018. He will be making his team-leading 14^th appearance on the season with the start against the Hilltoppers, but just his sixth start. Casey has been dominant on the mound lately, dropping his ERA all the way down to 2.09 in 56.0 innings pitched. He has struck out 61 batters and limited opponents to a .209 batting average against him.
 
SEU – Nathan Medrano is scheduled to start after playing third base in the nightcap on Thursday. Medrano has pitched 12 times this season for the Hilltoppers but with only five starts. He has a 5.35 earned run average in 35.1 innings on the mound, allowing opponents to hit .289 against him with 26 strikeouts. His last outing was on April 5 against Arkansas-Fort Smith, where he pitched 4.2 innings, giving up six runs on eight hits with four strikeouts in a loss.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
651 | With the two wins on Thursday, Lubbock Christian University head baseball coach Nathan Blackwood surpassed the milestone of 650 for his career. He now needs just 45 more to surpass Larry Hays as the winningest coach in LCU history
2.80 | After two strong outings by Ryan Johnson and Logan McCrummen, LCU's earned run average by starting pitchers now sits at 2.80 for the season, having allowed just 71 earned runs in 228.1 innings of work
11 | In the six games so far this season against St. Edward's, shortstop Andres Negron has been the best LCU hitter, collecting 11 hits in 22 at-bats
.909 | Lubbock Christian is the first team in the Heartland Conference to reach double digits in league wins, and their .909 winning percentage (10-1) leads the conference by two games
55 | LCU batters have now hit 55 home runs this season, leading the league by 25 over second place Texas A&M-International