LEADING OFF
It was a back-and-forth affair on Thursday night the featured a combined 23 runs, but Lubbock Christian University ended on the wrong end of it and will need a win in Friday's game two to even the series against No. 6 West Texas A&M. The Chaps had plenty of chances to pull off the upset in the first game, especially on offense where they beat up the Buff pitching staff with nine hits and seven walks. They will try and build on that performance, despite the loss, and even the series with a win on Friday afternoon.
 
STARTING PITCHING MATCHUP
LCU – Shandon Herrera will go to the mound for the Chaps, making his seventh start of the year. The right-hander currently boasts a 6.25 ERA and a 3-1 record on the mound in 31.2 innings of work. He has allowed 33 hits and 14 walks in that time while striking out 22 batters. Opponents are hitting .284 against him. Command of the strike zone is key for the Odessa native. In half of his starts he has walked one batter or less, but in the other three times on the mound, he has walked three, five and five batters. Herrera averages over five innings of work per appearance and is slightly better against lefties (.250 BA) than against righties (.293 BA).
 
WT – Hailing all the way from the Great White North, Mathieu Gauthier will get the start in game two for the Buffs. A native of Montreal, Quebec, Gauthier comes into the matchup with a 3.15 ERA in a team-leading 45.2 innings of work. He has allowed 20 runs (16 earned) on 44 hits and 12 walks with a team-leading 55 strikeouts. Opponents are hitting .252 against him. In his last start, the righty went six complete innings against St. Mary's, allowing just two runs but on eight hits while striking out six batters.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
.400 | LCU put their leadoff batter on in four of the nine innings in game one, raising their leadoff on-base percentage for the season to .400
64 | Shandon Herrera is in his fourth year pitching for Lubbock Christian and has struck out 64 batters in his LCU career
.370 | Chap catcher Luis Navarro had a single, a home run and a walk on Thursday, raising his batting average to .370 and his on-base percentage to .462
19 | LCU turned one double play on Thursday night and now has 19 this season, which is tied for the second-most in the LSC
1 | Although the Buffs came in near the top in the LSC with over 60 stolen bases this year, they were held to just one in game one of the series