1-seed LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (35-13, 16-5)
vs. 4-seed ST. EDWARD'S (25-25, 11-10)
May 9 – 1 P.M.
The Depot at Cleburne Station (Cleburne, Texas)
 
LEADING OFF
It's postseason time for the Lubbock Christian University baseball team, as they will travel to Cleburne, Texas to take part in the 2019 Heartland Conference Baseball Tournament. The Chaps are the 1 seed at the tournament, finishing the regular season in first place in the league standings for the third time in program history (2014, 2017). LCU will open up the tournament with St. Edward's, taking on the Hilltoppers for the eighth time this season. SEU has won the most Heartland Conference Tournament title's, taking the crown each of the last six seasons. LCU has never secured the tournament championship, and is 3-6 all time in Heartland Conference Tournament games.
 
THE CHAPARRAL NINE
• Lubbock Christian has the 10th best slugging percentage in all of Division II at .526
• LCU is ranked in two of the three D-II National Polls: Perfect Game - 4, CBN - 19
• Outfielder Hill Alexander ranks 13th nationally and leads the conference with 134 total bases
• This weekend's games will be the last Heartland Conference games in the league's history
• Ryan Johnson's 13 victories are the most in all of Division II
• Chaps were slotted at No. 3 in the season's most recent South Central Regional Poll on May 1
• LCU starting pitchers have an earned run average of 2.84
• Braden Hayward's 55 runs batted in are the 29th most nationally and lead the conference
 
POSTSEASON PLAY
Lubbock Christian turns to a new chapter of the season this weekend, traveling to Cleburne for the Heartland Conference Postseason Tournament. Although this is the second time they have entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed, LCU has never secured a tournament championship. Furthermore, they are 3-6 in Heartland Conference Tournament games all-time, with all three wins coming against St. Mary's, who did not make this year's tournament. Their first round opponent this year, St. Edward's, has had tremendous success in the conference tournament, winning it each of the last six years.
 
AND THE WINNER IS…
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.
 
RECORD-BREAKING
Senior pitcher Ryan Johnson made Lubbock Christian history last Friday when he earned his 13^th consecutive win on the mound, throwing seven innings of one-run ball with four strikeouts. 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.
 
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 2.67. The six starters have struck out 301 batters while walking just 116 over 299.2 innings pitched and thrown 17 complete games while limiting opponents to just a .216 batting average.
 
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 fourth all-time in innings pitched with 303.2. He is 2.2 innings behind Giordon Heiselbetz, who is in third place, and 76.1 innings behind Noel Delgado, who holds the top spot. Contreras is also fourth all time in strikeouts with 259, seven behind Heiselbetz in third and 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.
 
KINGS OF THE K
The Lubbock Christian pitching staff has been the best in the Heartland Conference this season at missing bats. The Chaps have recorded 365 Ks this year, and also lead in strikeouts looking, with exactly 100. The league's top two strikeout men, Ryan Johnson (104) and Chandler Casey (88) are both Chaps, and Casey is tied for the conference lead in Ks looking with 29. LCU has already surpassed their 2018 season total in strikeouts (341) and are close to passing their 2017 total of 370.
 
CLOSER BY COMMITTEE
Four different Chaparral pitchers have recorded saves so far this season, including Shandon Herrera, Cody Lancaster, Chandler Casey and, most recently, Callan Johnson. The saves for Herrera, Lancaster and Johnson were the first of their careers, and Johnsons and Herrera's were of the multi-inning variety. Overall this season the Chaps have used 11 different pitchers out of the bullpen, posting a 5.99 earned run average in 88.2 innings pitched.
 
CLEAN LIVING
LCU currently leads the conference and ranks No. 27 in all of Division II with a team fielding percentage of .970. The Chaps have committed just 50 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.
 
POWER SURGE
At the conclusion of the 2019 regular 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.
 
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 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 3,122 games throughout all those years, posting an overall program record of 2,107 wins and 1,015 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 249-120 (.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.