No. 4 LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (35-12, 15-4)
vs. ST. MARY'S (29-20, 9-11)
May 34 – 1 P.M.
Hays Field (Lubbock, Texas)
 
LEADING OFF
For the final time this season, Lubbock Christian will suit up and play baseball in front of the home crowd, taking on the Rattlers of St. Mary's at 1 p.m. The Chaps have already won the series, sweeping Saturday's doubleheader with 3-1 and 7-1 wins. The pair of victories also allowed LCU to clinch the 2019 Heartland Conference Regular Season Title outright, doing so for the third time in program history. The Chaps will now travel to Cleburne next weekend for the Heartland Conference Tournament as the No. 1 seed.
 
SENIOR DAY
There are 15 seniors on this year's Lubbock Christian baseball team who will all be playing the last series of their careers at Hays Field this weekend. This year's graduating class includes Eddy Vasquez, Chase Whetsel, Braden Hayward, Nathan Dockery, Will Clark, Callan Johnson, Andres Negron, Hill Alexander, Ricky Contreras, Ryan Johnson, Andrew Pratt, Drew Austin, Reagan Lucia, James Hardberger and Chandler Casey. The group will be honored on the field 20 minutes prior to Saturday's 1 p.m. season finale.
 
STARTING PITCHING MATCHUP
LCU – Reigning Heartland Conference and South Central Region Pitcher of the Week Chandler Casey gets the nod for the Chaps, making his team-leading 17^th appearance of the season. The senior has been both a starter and a reliever this year, posting a 2.42 ERA in 74.1 innings on the mound. His 81 strikeouts currently rank as the third most in the conference. In his last outing, Casey threw a complete-game shutout against West Texas A&M, striking out 11 batters in the process.
 
StMU – Jacob Koehler will be on the bump for the Rattlers, making his 15^th appearance this season, which is the most on the team. Koehler has been on the mound for 52.2 innings on the year, posting a 5.30 earned run average in that time. Opponents are hitting .259 against the right-hander, but he is second on the team with 48 strikeouts.
 
LUCKY NO. 13
Senior starting pitcher Ryan Johnson made LCU program history on Friday, winning his 13^th consecutive game on the mound. The 13 straight wins are a program record that stood for more than 30 years after being set by Steve Hunt in 1982.
 
FRIENDLY CONFINES
This is the last game for LCU to play at Hays Field this season. 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. LCU is 18-3 at home this season and is 118-33 in their own ballpark since the start of the 2014 season.
 
IN THE POLLS
Lubbock Christian was recognized in all three of the most recent Division II polls, as well as the NCAA regional rankings. 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. 19 and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Poll, where they were slotted at No. 23. In the South Central Regional rankings, which will determine whether or not LCU reaches the NCAA Postseason Tournament, the Chaps were slotted at No. 3 for the second straight week.  
 
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 3,121 games throughout all those years, posting an overall program record of 2,107 wins and 1,014 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 Blackwoodand 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 249-119 (.667) won-loss record.