EDMOND, Oklahoma (April 6, 2019) – Although it required a change in venue and the start time pushed back 30 minutes, Lubbock Christian and Oklahoma Christian were able to play their series finale on Saturday, with the Chaps walking away with a 6-1 win.
 
For LCU (25-9, 7-1) it was their eighth series win in 2019 and kept them alone in first place in the Heartland Conference, just one game ahead of Rogers State, who swept St. Mary's this weekend and is in sole possession of second place at 6-2.
 
The Chaps scored twice in the game's opening inning, and the runs set the tone for the day. After Braden Hayward and Hill Alexander reached on back-to-back one-out singles, Andrew Pratt came up to bat. The LCU catcher hit a ground ball to the Eagle third basemen who was unable to make a play and allowed Hayward to come in and score an unearned run. Will Clark then reached on an error as well, allowing Alexander to come in and give the Chaps 2-0 lead.
 
OC's first-inning errors were two of five they committed in the series finale, and five of the six runs Lubbock Christian scored in the win were unearned.
 
The two runs would have been enough to win the game on their own, as Chandler Casey had yet another dominant outing on the mound for the Chaps. The Eagles got a run in the first inning without even recording a hit, but it would be the only time they scored on the day. After the second batter of the game reached via a hit-by-pitch, Casey retired 17 straight batters before finally giving up a single in the bottom of the sixth.
 
By that point, LCU built their lead to 6-1 thanks to two more unearned runs and one that was earned on a home run to left field. Greenwalt and Hayward were the only two players with multiple hits in the game, and the home run was the fifth of the year for Greenwalt.
 
The Chaps tacked on a final run in the top of the sixth after a double from Ryan Rijo led off the inning. A.J. Perez pinch ran for Rijo and scored when the next batter, Eddy Vasquez, bunted for a single and the Eagles committed a throwing error.
 
Casey closed out the game strong, giving up just two more hits while striking out a total of 12 batters on the day. The Lubbock native has made five straight starts now, winning four times, averaging more than eight strikeouts per outing and lowering his ERA to just 2.13.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
.212 | LCU stranded 12 runners on base in the finale and only had seven hits with runners in scoring position all series, hitting .212 in those situations
39.0 | Saturday starter Chandler Casey has now pitched five straight complete games, covering 39.0 innings on the mound
0 | The Chaps did not commit an error all weekend and now gone six straight games with a team fielding percentage of 1.000. Their overall fielding percentage of .971 now leads the Heartland Conference
 
NEXT UP
LCU will face a quick turnaround, going back on the road Tuesday for a midweek matchup against New Mexico Highlands at 1 p.m. CT in Las Vegas, New Mexico.