No 6-seed LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (19-21) at
No. 3-seed TEXAS A&M-KINGSVILLE (20-10)
Friday, May 14 – 6 p.m.
Nolan Ryan Field – Kingsville, Texas
 
LEADING OFF
It's win or go home time for the Lubbock Christian University baseball team, as they enter the Lone Star Conference Postseason Tournament as the No. 6 seed. The format for the tournament is a little different this year, with the league championship taking place over two weeks. The top eight teams by conference winning percentage advanced to the tournament, and this weekend the top four seeds will host the bottom four seeds for a best-of-three series. The four winning teams will then advance to the highest remaining seed next weekend for a double elimination tournament. The Chaparrals will have to win the LSC Tournament in order to advance to the NCAA South Central Regional.
 
THE CHAPARRAL NINE

• Lubbock Christian dropped two out of three games to Texas A&M-Kingsville in the regular season series
• TAMUK has the third-best staff ERA in the conference at 5.16 and an opponent's batting average of .248
• The Chaps have hit 60 home runs this season, which is the second-most in the conference
• LCU closed out the regular season by winning four of their last five series
• The Javelinas played just 30 games in the regular season, with three weekend cancellations
• Chap catcher Luis Navarro finished the season third in the league in both BA (.405) and OBP (.515)
• Righties are batting just .257 against the LCU pitching staff
• LCU has played in Kingsville just once before, suffering a four-game sweep during the 2020 season

 
HOW WE GOT HERE
The 2021 Lubbock Christian baseball season may not of started the way they wanted, but they ended the season strong and will head into the postseason on a bit of a hot streak. The Chaps opened the season at the Houston Winter Invitational, winning one out of three games at Minute Maid Park before moving into Lone Star Conference play. The first series was a win over UAFS, but LCU stumbled after that, dropping into a five-game losing streak. They began to right the ship in the final month of the regular season, winning four out of their last five series and 11 out of their last 16 games overall.
 
AWARD CENTERAL
Junior Chap first basemen Nolan Machibroda was named the LSC Hitter of the week on May 12 after an impressive two games against Oklahoma Christian. The Saskatchewan native He did not play in the first game of the series, but hit .625 in LCU's two wins, collecting 12 total bases. He was especially great in game two, when he drove in seven runs and hit two home runs – one of which was a grand slam. Machibroda is the fifth LCU player honored with an LSC weekly award this year.
- Ty Stephenson, Pitcher, Feb. 9
- Luis Navarro, Hitter, April 13
- Armando Valle, Pitcher, April 20
- Cade Acrey, Pitcher, May 4
- Nolan Machibroda, Hitter, May 12
 
ROUND-TRIPPERS
Last weekend, Lubbock Christian out-homered the top home run hitting team in the Lone Star Conference, sending 11 balls over the wall to just seven for Oklahoma Christian. The Chaps currently rank No. 2 in the league and No. 31 nationally with 52 home runs through their 40-game regular season schedule. Larry Leitha leads the team with 10 home runs, despite having only played in 25 games. He hit three in LCU's game two win over OC. Luis Navarro is second with eight, and Eduardo Acosta, George Mendazona, Mason Donohoe and Nolan Machibroda all have five apiece. Five other Chaps have hit at least two.
 
DOUBLE TROUBLE
The Chaparrals rank No. 5 in all of NCAA Division II and second in the Lone Star Conference in double plays turned this season with 34, averaging .85 per game. The Chap middle infield features Colin Gordon at shortstop and Caden Hensley at second base, while George Mendazona has handled the majority of time at third base. The pitching staff has done an excellent job inducing the double plays, recording 332 outs on the ground compared to just 286 in the air. Right-hander Cade Acrey has induced the most ground balls from the mound with five.
 
STREAKS AND MULTIS
Although Lubbock Christian won the final two games of their regular season-ending series against Oklahoma Christian, Chap catcher Luis Navarro saw his 30-game hitting streak come to an end in the finale. Although he was held hitless, Navarro was hit by a pitch in the win and has reached base in 31 straight games. The longest hitting streaks on the team right now belong to Acosta and Mendazona at 11 games each. Acosta has also reached base in 15 straight games and leads the team with 19 multi-hit games, while Leitha and Navarro are tied for the team lead with nine multi-RBI games apiece.
 
AWAY FROM HOME
The Chaparrals played 19 games away from the friendly confines of Hays Field this year, going 8-8 in true road games and 9-10 in all games away from home. Mendazona has the highest road batting average on the team at .457, and Edgar Hernandez is batting .412 in 34 road at-bats. Owen Woodard has been the best road pitcher, with a 2.08 ERA in 13.0 innings away from home.
 
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 3,216 games throughout all those years, posting an overall program record of 2,164 wins and 1,066 losses in that time. Head coach Nathan Blackwood has been leading the program for almost 1,000 (991) those games, going 684-307.
 
MAJOR LEAGUE CONNECTION
With minor league baseball beginning around the country in the past couple of weeks, four former Chaps are now in action in professional baseball. Hill Alexander is playing for the Charleston Riverdogs (Rays org.) Chandler Casey is pitching for the Asheville Tourists (Astros org.), Keaton Greenwalt is playing for the Jersey Shore BluecClaws (Phillies org.), and Andrew Pratt is playing for the Wilmington Blue Rocks (Nationals org.). The BlueClaws and the Blue Rocks are actually facing off all this week, pitting the two former LCU players against one another.
 
SCOUTING THE JAVELINAS

• Texas A&M-Kingsville finished the regular season ninth in the league with a .280 team batting average. They have 74 extra-base hits and a .415 slugging percentage
• TAMUK missed the Houston Winter Invitational, and two series, one against UT Permian Basin and another against West Texas A&M. They also had the series finale against St. Edward's canceled
• Logan Garza will start game one of the series for the Javelinas, bringing a 4.58 ERA in 55 innings of work. Garza started game two of the series between the two teams earlier this year, allowing two runs on three hits and striking out 15 in 6.1 innings
• The last series the Javelinas lost was April 1-3, when they dropped two of three games to UT Tyler
• Center fielder Seth Spinn powers the TAMUK offense, batting .351 with a .570 slugging percentage (14 extra-base hits)

 
THE SERIES WITH THE JAVELINAS
Lubbock Christian had only met twice in program history until last year, and they have played nine times overall. In the seven meetings the last two years, nearly every game has been tightly contested. Three have gone into extra innings and four of them have been decided by one run.