LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (7-11, 6-9 LSC) vs.
ST. EDWARD'S (5-11, 5-11 LSC)
Friday, March 26 – 2 p.m.
Lucian Hamilton Field – Austin, Texas
 
LEADING OFF
After a closely played home series against Texas A&M-Kingsville that ended with LCU on the wrong end, Lubbock Christian University will head back out on the road for three games against St. Edward's. The Chaparrals won game one against the Javelinas and lost a tight, 11-inning meeting in game two before running out of pitching late in game three. A bounce-back opportunity awaits them against the Hilltoppers, who sit one spot below the Chaps in 10th in the Lone Star Conference. St. Edward's is coming off a series in which they lost two games to one as well, falling against St. Mary's. They also lost a midweek game on Tuesday against Angelo State.
 
THE CHAPARRAL NINE

• Lubbock Christian will be heading to Austin for the second-straight season after winning the 2020 series
• St. Edward's has the fourth-worst slugging percentage in the LSC at .371
• Chap pitchers allowed 16 earned runs in 29.0 innings of work for a 4.97 ERA against TAMUK
• LCU leadoff batters are reaching base at a .382 clip, led by George Mendazona's .643 OBP
• Head Coach Nathan Blackwood needs 24 wins to become the winningest coach in LCU history
• Lubbock Christian has 12 road games left on the schedule, and they are 4-5 there this season
• Right-handed batters are hitting just .252 against LCU's pitching staff
• LCU is hitting .269 as a team, led by Luis Navarro's .369 batting average

 
TOUCH'EM ALL
Lubbock Christian currently ranks second in the conference and No. 21 nationally with 22 home runs through the first 12 games of the year. The number stands in stark contrast to the 2020 team, which hit just 10 home runs in 24 games. Sophomore Eduardo Acosta leads the team and ranks third in the LSC with five this year, including a grand slam on March 7. Behind him, Luis Navarro, Colin Gordon and Grant Griffin are all tied with three apiece. Mendazona, Nolan Machibroda and Cayde Ward have each homered twice, while Mason Donohoe and Larry Leitha each have one. The Chaps also rank No. 11 nationally in triples with eight, but the national and conference leader West Texas A&M is far away with 19 this year.

CAUGHT RED-HANDED
The Chaparrals have been the best team in the Lone Star Conference this season at catching runners stealing with a total of 17 on the year. The next-closest team is Arkansas-Fort Smith with 11, and no other LSC team has reached double-digits. Some of the work has been done by LCU pitchers, but the majority of it has been done by catcher Luis Navarro, who has the LSC's individual lead in runners caught stealing with 13. Twice this season, Navarro has caught three runners in a single game, which has tied the school record. He caught eight runners last year, giving him 21 in his Chaparral career.
 
DOUBLE TROUBLE
Lubbock Christian ranks No. 12 nationally and second in the LSC this season in double plays turned with 12. St. Mary's is the only team above them in the league with 19 turned this year. LCU's pitching staff has gotten exactly as many outs on the ground this season as they have through the air, with 139 each (and 159 strikeouts). Cade Acrey has induced the most double plays with three, and Shandon Herrera has had two turned behind him. Five other pitchers have induced at least one ground ball double play. The Chaps' fielding percentage is .957, which ranks in the top half of the conference.
 
OH, WHAT A RELIEF IT IS
The Chaparral bullpen has been solid so far this season, posting a 4.50 ERA in 68.0 innings of work. The 34 earned runs have come on 67 hits and 45 walks to go along with 63 strikeouts. Opponents are hitting .266 against the LCU bullpen. Acrey has been the most frequently used reliever with eight appearances, posting a 3.80 ERA and a .226 opponent's batting average in 15.0 innings of work. Cannon Davis has also been on the mound for 15 innings of relief, allowing 10 earned runs in that time with 13 strikeouts. Freshman Owen Woodward has also been great out of the pen, allowing no earned runs on 10 hits with 13 strikeouts in 14.1 innings.
 
IN A ROW
Only two LCU players have hitting streaks longer than two games in Caden Hensley and Larry Leitha. Hensley had hits in all three games against Texas A&M-Kingsville, hitting .471 with eight total bases against the Javelinas. Leitha has a team-leading four-game hit streak, but he has not seen action since March 12. However, three Chaps have reached base in at least five straight games, including Machibroda, Hensley and Mendazona. Machibroda leads the team with an eight-game streak, collecting six hits and eight walks in that time. Hensley is second on the team with a seven-game streak and Mendazona has reached in five straight games.
 
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
The Chaparrals have played nine road games already this season but have only four left on the schedule after this weekend. They have gone 4-5 in away games this year, with  both of their series wins coming away from Hays Field (at UAFS, at TAMIU). Although he is hitting .304 overall, Mendazona has been the best LCU player on the road, hitting .455 with a double and both of his home runs, while adding in five walks for a .536 on-base percentage. Navarro, Gordon, Griffin and Acosta are all hitting above .300 on the road as well. LCU's pitching staff has been slightly worse in road games, posting a 5.85 ERA away from home compared to 4.82 at the friendly confines.
 
NO ONE-HIT WONDERS
Lubbock Christian has already had 50 different multi-hit performances from 13 different players this season, after posting only 30 in 24 games a year ago. Acosta leads the way nine multi-hit games so far this year, while Navarro has eight and Gordon has six. Navarro is also the only LCU player with a four-hit game so far this season.
 
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 3,198 games throughout all those years, posting an overall program record of 2,151 wins and 1,056 losses in that time. Head coach Nathan Blackwood has been leading the program for 966 of those games, going 672-297. He needs 24 wins to surpass Larry Hays and become the all-time winningest coach in program history.
 
SCOUTING THE HILLTOPPERS

• St. Edward's ranks No. 8 in the LSC with a .261 batting average, and a whopping 71.2 percent of their hits this year have been singles
• SEU starting pitcher Blake Holub ranks third in the LSC with an ERA of 2.45. He is 2-2 on the mound with 24 hits and 13 walks allowed and 38 strikeouts in 29.1 innings of work. Holub also hits for the Hilltoppers with a .233 batting average in 30 at-bats
• Sophomore outfielder Chase Cos is the team's leading hitter with a .345 batting average, four doubles and three home runs and six walks drawn
• St. Edward's has just one series win so far this year, sweeping Easter New Mexico in the season-opener. They have had a series with Cameron postponed and one with UT Permian Basin canceled
• The Hilltopper pitching staff has been solid this year with a 4.98 ERA (6^th in LSC) and .242 opponent's batting average

 
THE SERIES WITH THE HILLTOPPERS
Lubbock Christian and St. Edward's have faced off 51 times overall with the Chaps leading the all-time series 31-19. In the last 11 meetings, which goes back to the start of the 2019 season, LCU has won eight of 11 meetings, including a two games to one series win at the start of the 2020 season.