AUSTIN, Texas (January 31, 2020) – Lubbock Christian collected just two hits as a team on Friday but won their season-opener against St. Edward's 3-1 anyways, walking seven times, including four times in the top of the ninth inning when they scored all of their runs.
 
For the Chaps, it was their 50^th season-opener ever dating back to the first season of LCU baseball as a four-year institution in 1971. They are now 33-17 all-time in the first game of the season, including 14-3 in season-openers under head coach Nathan Blackwood.
 
LCU had several other opportunities to score outside of the ninth inning, including in the top half of the first inning. Larry Leitha led off the inning and was promptly hit by a pitch, advancing to second a batter later when Luis Navarro was also plunked. The Chaps were unable to bring either run across.
 
St. Edward's was able to scratch across a run in the bottom of the first off Lubbock Christian starting pitcher Ty Stephenson. Stephenson, a transfer from New Mexico Junior College, gave up a leadoff double but bounced back for two outs. SEU's Blake Holub then came to the plate and slapped a double just inside first base to score the only Hilltopper run.
 
Stephenson settled down after the opening frame and ended up pitching five and two thirds innings with just another two hits allowed and no walks. He was relieved in the bottom of the sixth inning by Logan McCrummen, who allowed just one hit in three and a third innings and also did not walk anyone. The last time LCU went a whole game without walking any batters was March 30 last season, when Chandler Casey did not issue any in a complete-game shutout of Newman. Lubbock Christian's last zero-walk game that featured multiple pitchers was on February 11, 2018, when Callan Johnson, Conley Green and Nick Hooper combined to shut out Regis.
 
LCU looked to have tied the game up in the top of the fourth inning, with Gavy Perez-Torres and AJ Perez leading the effort. The former walked with one out, and Perez reached on a error that put the two in scoring position again. Perez-Torres came home when the next batter, Peyton Maddoxc flied out to right field, sliding in ahead of the tag, but he was called out at third on appeal for leaving the base early.
 
Perez-Torres and Perez ended up leading the comeback effort in the ninth inning as well, as Perez-Torres worked another one-out walk and Perez followed with a single. Kameron Kilchrist struck out as a pinch hitter to bring the Hilltoppers within one out of the win. Tate Ellison then pinch hit and worked a walk before Leitha was hit by another pitch to drive in the game-tying run.
 
The merry-go-round continued as George Mendazona walked to push another run across, forcing an SEU pitching change. Luis Navarro also walked to drive in the third run before the Hilltoppers finally got out of the inning.
 
McCrummen put two runners on with one out via a single and a hit-by-pitch, but induced a groundout and foul-out to secure the win.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
2/5 | Lubbock Christian was out hit 5-2 in the win. It is the first time they have been outhit and still won since February 22, 2018, when they beat Metro State despite being out-hit 12-7
17 | With one game under his belt, head coach Nathan Blackwood has now coached at LCU for 17 seasons, pushing him past Larry Hays (16 seasons) for the most leading the Chap baseball program
 
NEXT UP
Lubbock Christian will be back on the diamond at Lucian-Hamilton Field looking for a series win against the Hilltoppers at 1 p.m. on Saturday.