3-seed LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (35-15)
vs. 6-seed ROGERS STATE (34-16)
May 15 – 7 p.m.
Foster Field (San Angelo, Texas)
 
THE CHAPARRAL NINE
• LCU's No. 3 seeding is their highest ever at an NCAA Regional
• Lubbock Christian has the 11th best slugging percentage in all of Division II at .521
• Division II baseball is going to the split regional format for the first time ever this year
• Outfielder Hill Alexander ranks 16th nationally and leads the conference with 137 total bases
• Chaps are 3-4 all time in NCAA Tournament games all-time
• Chaps were a combined 4-2 against Angelo State and Rogers State during the regular season
• Ryan Johnson's 13 victories are the most in all of Division II
• LCU starting pitchers have an earned run average of 2.69
• Ricky Contreras is now third all-time in LCU history in both strikeouts (268) and innings pitched (311.2)
 
LCU IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
Lubbock Christian first became eligible for postseason play as an NCAA Division II school in 2016 and immediately reached the postseason that first year. Including this year, the Chaps have now reached the NCAA Tournament in three of their four eligible years, and they are 3-4 in tournament games. LCU won a pair of games in their first ever regional experience at Colorado Mesa before losing two games, and one their first tournament game in 2017 before two straight losses ended their season. Each of the two previous LCU teams in the tournament saw their season end at the hands of this year's host, Angelo State. Only two players on the 2019 squad have previous regional experience in Ricky Contreras (2.79 ERA in 19.1 innings pitched) and Keaton Greenwalt (two games played).
 
REGIONAL RECOGNITION
Three players were recognized on Wednesday when the Division II Conference Commissioner's Association All-South Central Region Team. Heartland Conference Player of the Year Hill Alexander was named to the All-Region First Team as an outfielder, and he was joined there by Heartland Conference Pitcher of the Year Ryan Johnson. LCU third basemen Braden Hayward was recognized as well on the All-Region Second Team. Only one other Heartland Conference player was recognized regionally in Arkansas-Fort Smith pitcher Javon Rigsby. The regional Pitcher of the Year was West Texas A&M's Joe Corbett and the Player of the Year was Josh Elvir of Angelo State.
 
HEARTLAND WINNERS
The Chaps were well-represented in the All-Heartland Conference honorees, which were announced on Wednesday. Outfielder Hill Alexander was named the league's Player of the Year, while Ryan Johnson won Pitcher of the Year. The two were joined on the All-Conference First Team by six other Chaps, including Chandler Casey (relief pitcher), Andrew Pratt (catcher), Braden Hayward (third base), and Keaton Greenwalt (outfield). LCU also placed two on the All-Conference Second Team in Andres Negron (shortstop) and Will Clark (designated hitter). There were also four Chaps named to the Heartland All-Defensive Team, including Negron, Greenwalt, Casey and second basemen Eddy Vasquez.
 
STRENGTH IN STARTERS
A big key to the success of the LCU baseball team throughout 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 2.69. The six starters have struck out 320 batters while walking just 122 over 314.2 innings pitched and thrown 18 complete games while limiting opponents to just a .215 batting average.
 
POWER SURGE
So far in the 2019 season, five different Chaparral batters have already delivered with single game, multi-homer performances. Outfielder/Designated hitter Will Clark was the most recent to do it, homering twice against TAMIU on 4/19. 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 multi-homer games on 4/5 against Oklahoma Christian and against St. Edward's on 3/9.
 
CAREER NUMBERS
LCU senior pitcher Ricky Contreras has been a mainstay in the rotation for the last four seasons and is now climbing up the program record books in a number of categories. The Lubbock native is third all-time in innings pitched with 311.2. He is 76.1 innings behind Noel Delgado, who holds the top spot since the program's beginnings in the 1970s. Contreras is also now tied for third all time in strikeouts with 268, with Gordon Heiselbetz. The number is 51 behind the leader Shane Riddle. Finally, he is tied for fourth all-time with 28 wins and will move into a tie for third (with John Harris) if he wins one more game.
 
STATION-TO-STATION
Of the 260 ranked teams in Division II baseball, Lubbock Christian is 235^th in stolen base with just 27 on the season. The number also ranked dead last of the eight teams in the Heartland Conference. LCU stole more often last season with 38 during 2018 and swiped even fewer bags in 2015 with just 25. Keaton Greenwalt has almost half of the steals for his team with 12 on 13 attempts. Hill Alexander (6), Chase Whetsel (4) and Will Clark (3) are the only other Chaps with multiple steals on the year.
 
RECORD-BREAKING
Senior pitcher Ryan Johnson made Lubbock Christian history on May 3 when he earned his 13th consecutive win on the mound, throwing seven innings of one-run ball with four strikeouts against St. Mary's . The win broke former Chap Steven Hunter's record of 12 straight wins, which he set in 1982. Hunter finished that season an incredible 16-2 overall, which ties him with Bob Hinson (1983) for the most wins in a single season by an LCU pitcher.
 
CLEAN LIVING
LCU led the Heartland Conference and ranks No. 33 in all of Division II with a team fielding percentage of .969. The Chaps have committed just 54 errors this season and earlier this season had a streak of 198 outs recorded without an error that stretched over nine games. The team's fielding is greatly improved from last season, when the Chaps committed 71 errors in just 54 games. If this year's team were to continue on at its current pace of committing errors, it would not be until the 73rd game of the season that they committed their 71st error. Two LCU players, Keaton Greenwalt and Ryan Rijo, have not committed any errors yet this year.
 
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 LCU's 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. It is still the only grand slam this season for the Chaps.
 
IN THE POLLS
Lubbock Christian was recognized in all three of the three most recent Division II polls. The Chaps' highest ranking came from Perfect Game, where sit in the No. 4 spot. LCU also made the top 25 in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Poll, where they are No. 23. They moved back into the top 25 of the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association poll after previously being un-ranked last week. Their ranking in that poll is their highest of the season at No. 19.
 
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 3,124 games throughout all those years, posting an overall program record of 2,107 wins and 1,017 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 249-122 (.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.