Softball 04.16.2021 Chris Due (chris.due@lcu.edu)

No.17 Texas A&M-Kingsville Makes First-Ever Voyage to Lubbock For Friday DH

LCU Takes Seven-Game Win Streak in Pivotal Series

LUBBOCK, Texas (April 16, 2021) – Lubbock Christian University continues a 10-game homestand and Lone Star Conference play Friday with a doubleheader against No.17 Texas A&M-Kingsville. First pitch of the doubleheader is 2 p.m. at PlainsCapital Park.

LSC SOFTBALL
OPPONENT	LOCATION	CITY	TIME	WATCH	STATS	LCU STATS	OPP. STATS
TAMUK	PlainsCapital Park	Lubbock	2 p.m.	Watch	Stats	Season	Season
TAMUK	PlainsCapital Park	Lubbock	4 p.m.	Watch	Stats

WUNDERGROUND WEATHER: Generally cloudy. High around 65F. Winds N at 15 to 25 mph. Higher wind gusts possible.

WATCH ONLINE: LSC Digital Network (Online or via OTT apps including Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Android TV and Roku devices by searching "LSC Digital Network.")

TICKETS: Tickets Must Be Purchased Online in Advance (Click This Link), unless you are a ChapPass card-holder

LCU Social Media:

LCU and TAMUK Series Snapshot

LCU has a 4-1 lead in the all-time series.
LCU has won the prior four meetings.
The previous meeting resulted in a 14-6 LCU win on Feb. 9, 2018 in Mesquite, Texas behind a two-home run performance from Morgan Dufour.
Friday's meetings mark the first in Lubbock, as three of the five all-time meetings have been neutral site contests.

How is the Team Doing?

LCU is 25-10 this season and 13-7 in LSC play after sweeping a doubleheader Sunday against Midwestern State at home. LCU is in a three-way tie for fifth place in the LSC standings (13-7), alongside Angelo State and Texas A&M International.
The Lady Chaps are hitting .363 as a team (seventh nationally, leads the LSC), with 38 home runs (seventh nationally and second in the LSC) in 33 games. LCU averages 6.77 runs a contest, ranking third in the LSC.
In the circle, LCU has an ERA of 1.79 (19^th nationally). Opponents are hitting .215 against LCU this season and the team has 12 shutouts, which is tied for third in the nation and co-leads the LSC (with A&M-Commerce).
On the field, LCU ranks fourth in the LSC with a .966 fielding percentage.

Who is Doing What?

Pitcher Taylor Franco is 13-4 this season with a 0.85 ERA in 114.2 innings pitched (also has two saves). Franco went 45.2 innings to start the season without allowing an earned run. She has 15 complete games (second nationally) and 73 strikeouts (seventh in the LSC). Opponents are hitting .198 against Franco, who is 34-14 in her LCU career (sixth player in program history with 30 wins). She is one of 13 pitchers nationally to appear in 21 games this season. Her 13 wins ranks tied for ninth nationally. Franco opens the weekend with a 0.95 WHIP, leading the LSC.
Brooke Makemson is hitting a team-best .429 on the season. She co-leads LCU with seven home runs (tied for 10th in conference) and has 33 RBI on the season (sixth in the LSC), and was named NFCA National Player of the Week on Feb. 9 after hitting .692 (9-for-13) at the LCU Invitational.
Savannah Wysocki, hitting .427 at the plate, has a team-leading 53 hits (ranks third nationally). She also has a conference-best 24 stolen bases on the season as well (third nationally). Wysocki has three triples this season, placing her with 15 in her LCU career to match the program career mark with Brittany Kent (2011-2012).
Skylar Herrera ranks fifth nationally with five triples, and also has seven home runs (tied for the team lead) and is 11^th nationally in RBI (39).
Tyla Lee has 12 RBI over the past 10 games (six on the season prior to the stretch) off a 16-for-31 (.516) performance at the plate in the span. She is hitting .411 overall on the season, with a .486 on-base percentage (13^th in the LSC).

Lone Star Conference Breakdown

This season is LCU's second season in the LSC.
LCU is 18-10 all-time in LSC play.
LCU is 13-7 this season in conference play, with a 9-3 record in conference home play.
- LCU is hitting .358 in conference, with a 2.18 team ERA (hitting leads the conference and pitching ranks second in the LSC for conference games).
- Taylor Franco is 6-3 with a 1.35 ERA (opponents hitting .219) in LSC action.
- Maxine Valdez is 3-2 with a 2.39 ERA and opponents are hitting .147 against her in conference.
- Savannah Wysocki is 30-for-68 (.441) with nine extra-base hits in LSC play. She leads the LSC with 16 stolen bases in conference play.
- Athena Muniz leads LCU in conference play with a .452 average, and leads LCU with five home runs against conference competition.
- Tyla Lee is hitting .410 with four homers in conference contests.
- Skylar Herrera leads the team with 23 RBI in conference.

Home Sweet Home

LCU is 272-34 (88.9%) all-time in home games at PlainsCapital Park.
Last season, LCU was 13-1 at home.
They are 16-4 at home this season.
LCU is hitting .393 at home with 28 home runs and 7.4 runs per game. Brooke Makemson is hitting .567 with six home runs and 26 RBI at home.
Athena Muniz is hitting .491 with 12 extra-base hits (six home runs) and 20 RBI at home.
Taylor Franco is 8-1 at home with a 0.76 ERA, and opponents are hitting .181 against her (42 hits allowed in 64.1 innings pitched). Maxine Valdez is 2-1 with a 1.29 ERA with 31 strikeouts in 21.2 innings (opponents hitting .141 against her). She pitched a 5.0-inning no-hitter in her last start at home (Mar. 21 vs. UT Permian Basin).

Streaking Along

Savannah Wysocki is LCU's active hit-streak leader, as she enters Friday's games with a 12-game active hit streak.
Brooke Makemson had a 22-game hit streak earlier in the season, which is the longest by a Lady Chaps member this season and is the longest in program history.
Makemson also has the team's season-high mark of consecutive games reaching base safely at 25 games.
Athena Muniz has reached base safely in her last 17 games (team's active leader).

Season Expectations

The Lady Chaps are preseason picked to finish sixth in the Lone Star Conference.
LCU is in their seventh season playing a NCAA Division II schedule (2013 was their last season in NAIA) and this is their second season as members of the Lone Star Conference.
There are 16 softball programs in the LSC this season.

Coach Talk

LCU head coach Daren Hays is in his 11^th season at the helm of the Lady Chaps.
Hays is LCU's winningest softball head coach, entering Sunday with a softball record of 443-138.
Along with surpassing 400 coaching wins in softball, Hays had surpassed 300 wins as a collegiate baseball head coach. He spent eight seasons as the LCU baseball head coach and compiled a 356-163 record.

National Notes

LCU opened the season ranked No.19 in the NFCA Top 25 Preseason Poll.
The Lady Chaps bounced around between No.24 and No.25 before dropping out in early March. They have been receiving votes.
The Lady Chaps went 8-0 last season against nationally ranked programs, but are 2-6 against nationally ranked programs this season. They did record a win (Mar. 26) at No.2 Texas A&M-Commerce to mark their first win in program history on the road at a top-five nationally ranked program.

Looking at TAMUK

The Javelinas are 22-9 on the season (went 17-9 last season) and are 14-6 in conference after being splitting a Sunday doubleheader at home against Texas A&M-Commerce, which placed them with a 2-4 record over their last six games played.
TAMUK is 11-3 on the road this season.
Texas A&M-Kingsville was preseason picked fifth in the LSC Preseason Poll. TAMUK was the national runner-up in 2019, the last full season played, falling a win shy of claiming a national title (fell to Augustana).
TAMUK ranks fourth nationally in hits with 307, which is second in the LSC behind LCU (340). Jory Cervantes ranks ninth nationally with 45 hits.
Kayla Gonzales ranks third nationally with 45 RBI on the season. The freshman team leader in batting (.426) has a pair of 5-RBI performances on the season.

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Players Mentioned

#44 Morgan Dufour: INF; 5' 9"; Senior

#72 Taylor Franco: RHP; 5' 7"; Junior

#25 Skylar Herrera: INF; 5' 11"; Sophomore

#44 Tyla Lee: 3B/OF; 5' 3"; Senior

#21 Brooke Makemson: INF; 5' 6"; Senior

#4 Athena Muniz: RHP/OF; 5' 4"; Senior

#5 Maxine Valdez: RHP; 5' 4"; Sophomore

#22 Savannah Wysocki: OF; 5' 5"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#44 Morgan Dufour
: 5' 9"; Senior
: INF

#72 Taylor Franco
: 5' 7"; Junior
: RHP

#25 Skylar Herrera
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: INF

#44 Tyla Lee
: 5' 3"; Senior
: 3B/OF

#21 Brooke Makemson
: 5' 6"; Senior
: INF

#4 Athena Muniz
: 5' 4"; Senior
: RHP/OF

#5 Maxine Valdez
: 5' 4"; Sophomore
: RHP

#22 Savannah Wysocki
: 5' 5"; Junior
: OF

Lubbock Christian University Athletics

Schedule

Events

Results

No.17 Texas A&M-Kingsville Makes First-Ever Voyage to Lubbock For Friday DH

LCU Takes Seven-Game Win Streak in Pivotal Series

Players Mentioned

#44 Morgan Dufour

#72 Taylor Franco

#25 Skylar Herrera

#44 Tyla Lee

#21 Brooke Makemson

#4 Athena Muniz

#5 Maxine Valdez

#22 Savannah Wysocki

Players Mentioned

#44 Morgan Dufour

#72 Taylor Franco

#25 Skylar Herrera

#44 Tyla Lee

#21 Brooke Makemson

#4 Athena Muniz

#5 Maxine Valdez

#22 Savannah Wysocki