HOUSTON, Texas (January 29, 2021) – The Lubbock Christian University baseball team took an early lead thanks to a pair of home runs, but saw it slip away in a 7-5 loss to Central Missouri on Opening Day at the Houston Winter Invitational.
 
The Chaps (0-1) only tallied two hits in the game compared to seven for the Mules (1-0), although both LCU hits left the yard and found the famed Crawford Boxes at Minute Maid Park.
 
Junior Nolan Machibroda opened the scoring both for the Chaps and in the game. LCU put two baserunners on with one out, as Colin Gordon was hit by a pitch and Luis Navarro walked, bringing Machibroda to the plate. With two strikes, the Saskatchewan native blasted the opposite way and cleared the left field wall.
 
Central Missouri got two of the runs back with a home run of their own in the bottom of the first off Lubbock Christian starting pitcher Peyton Hutson.
 
Hutson, making his first appearance in a Chap uniform, was solid through the first three innings, striking out three. His offense helped him out again in the bottom of the second, as Parker Rumsey was hit by a pitch, followed by walks from Grant Griffin and Eduardo Acosta. Rumsey was pushed home thanks to another walk by Navarro. It looked like LCU would be adding even more runs when Machibroda smashed a ball to the right side of the field, but the UCM second basemen made a diving catch to end the inning.
 
Lubbock Christian's final run of the game came in the top of the third, this time off the bat of Cayde Ward, who turned on a ball and deposited it three rows deep over the left field wall. Hutson allowed a double in the bottom half of the inning but stranded the runner there to preserve the 5-2 lead.
 
The fourth inning was where the Mules did their damage, taking the lead with five runs on four hits and a Chap error. Three straight singles started the inning, scoring the first run, and the second came home on the fielding error. A sacrifice bunt scored the third run and tied the game, before Josh Schumacher hit a two-run home run to right field to give UCM the lead.
 
Hutson faced one more batter in the fourth before being replaced by Cannon Davis, who induced a pop out to end the inning.
 
Davis pitched extremely well throughout the rest of the game, allowing just one hit through four and a third innings of work while striking out five batters.
 
The Mule bullpen matched Davis though, using three pitchers across the final five innings of shutout ball. Cole Young, Harrison Babbitt and Tyler Kuhlmann combined to strike out 11 batters (six from Young alone) without allowing a Chap hit. The only LCU baserunner while they were trailing was Ward, who walked twice in the final five innings.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
.100 | Lubbock Christian left seven runners on base and was 1-10 hitting with runner on base, with the only hit being Machibroda's home run
5 | Friday's loss was only LCU's fifth in a season-opener in head coach Nathan Blackwood's 18 seasons at the helm. He is now 13-5 in season-openers.
.750 | Cayde Ward and Luis Navarro were the only two Chaps to reach base multiple times in the game. Ward had the homer and walked twice. Navarro did not have a hit, but walked three times.