LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (2-1, 2-1) vs.
ST. MARY'S (3-0, 3-0)
Friday, February 7 – 5 p.m.
Hays Field – Lubbock, Texas
 
LEADING OFF
Lubbock Christian started off the 2020 season on the right note last weekend, earning a road series win over St. Edward's The Chaps will now return to the friendly confines of Hays Field, where they will play their home opening series starting at 5 p.m. Friday against St. Mary's. The series will continue with a single game at 1 p.m. Saturday, followed by the finale at 1 p.m. Sunday. This is the last scheduled three-game series of the season for LCU. St. Mary's also started off the season well, beating Cameron in three straight games at home. The Rattlers outscored the Aggies by a combined 29-4 over the weekend. Charlie Migl is again leading the Rattlers, in his 34th season as the St. Mary's baseball head coach.
 
THE CHAPARRAL NINE
• Lubbock Christian has started the season 2-1 for the second straight season
• The Chaps went 18-4 and did not lose a single series at Hays Field last season
• LCU's last series loss at home came Feb. 9-11 against Regis when the Rangers took three of four games
• Chaps and St. Mary's first played in 1978 and LCU leads the all-time series 23-17
• LCU pitcher Aaron Weseman was named the LSC Pitcher of the Week for games played 1/27-2/2
• Lubbock Christian did not steal a base during their opening weekend and attempted to only once
• St. Mary's was picked seventh in the LSC Preseason Poll, with LCU picked third
• Three Chap Pitchers threw at least 3.0 innings last weekend without allowing a run
 
FRIENDLY CONFINES
The Chaps will play the first three of 27 scheduled home games this weekend, which is up from just 22 home games a season ago. All of LCU's home games are played at Hays Field. 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. Lubbock Christian has never finished a season with a losing record at home and is 1,105-317 in their own ballpark all-time.
 
AWARD CENTRAL
Lubbock Christian pitcher Aaron Weseman was named the Lone Star Conference Pitcher of the Week for games played 1/27 to 2/2, the conference announced on Tuesday. Making his first appearance in a collegiate game since May 13, 2018, Weseman won the game that clinched the series against St. Edward's for the Chaps. The junior was dominant in the outing, carrying a no-hitter into the sixth inning before surrendering the lone Hilltopper hit against him. He only allowed one other baserunner in his 6.0 innings on the mound, striking out six while holding SEU to a .053 batting average and allowing no walks.
 
SOLO SHOTS
In the opening series against St. Edward's, LCU's offense was able to produce a pair of home runs, one from designated hitter/catcher John Figueroa and another from infielder George Mendazona. Both of the fence-clearing shots came without any runners on base. The trend could be carrying over from the 2019 season, when exactly half of the Chaps' 66 home runs were also solo shots, including 21 that came to leadoff an inning. LCU was one of just five Lone Star Conference teams with multiple home runs through their first three games.
 
SETTING THE TABLE
Through the first three games of the season, Lubbock Christian has posted a .481 on-base percentage when leading off an inning, reaching base in 13 of their 27 chances. LCU's actual leadoff batter for two of the first three games, Mendazona, reached base in three of his five chances to start an inning and is batting a team-leading .471 with the bases empty. Both Figueroa and right fielder Larry Leitha currently have on-base percentages of 1.000 when leading off any inning with both going 2-2.
 
CLEANING THE PLATE
Six Lubbock Christian players had multi-hit games in the opening series of the season, including three players with three-hit performances. All three of the offensive outbursts came in the February 1 game that saw the Chaps beat the Hilltoppers 7-4. Luis Navarro had probably the best day, with two of hits going for doubles while he reached base another two times via the walk. One of Mendazona's three hits cleared the fence for his first home run of the year, while AJ Perez – LCU's current batting average leader at .444 – went 3-5 with an RBI.  The three-hit day was the first for each player in their LCU careers.
 
STRANGE START
In LCU's 3-1 opening day win over St. Edward's, a number of unusual things happened to lead to the Chap victory. First off, they scored their three runs on just two hits, while the Hilltoppers collected five hits of their own. It was the first time LCU won a game in which they were out-hit since February 22, 2018, when they beat Metro State despite being out-hit 12-7. On the mound, starter Ty Stephenson and reliever Logan McCrummen combined to walk zero SEU batters. It was the first time multiple LCU pitchers combined for no walks since February 11, 2018, when Callan Johnson, Conley Green and Nick Hooper allowed zero free passes to Regis.
 
FRESH FACES
The Chaps feature new people in both of their assistant coaching roles, with Jermaine Van Buren taking over pitching coach duties in August and Hector Limon taking over hitting coach duties in November. A native of Mississippi, Van Buren bring extensive professional baseball experience to the position, having pitched at the MLB level for both the Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox as well as a number of other years in the minor league ranks. As a coach he helped build up the Amarillo Baseball Academy as the head pitching instructor and most recently was the pitching coach at New Mexico Military Institute for two seasons. Limon is a former Chap player himself, who was on the 1983 NAIA National Championship team as a freshman. After graduating from LCU, he spent more than 30 years coaching baseball at the high school level in the state of Texas, including most recently at Abernathy High School.

HOMEGROWN PRODUCTS
Of the 37 players on the 2020 Lubbock Christian roster, more than one fourth (10) played their high school baseball in Lubbock. Six played right across the street from Hays Field at Lubbock Christian High School, as well as one from Frenship, one from Cooper, one from Coronado and one from Lubbock High. There are another two from the immediate surrounding area, playing their prep ball in New Deal and Shallowater.