No 6-seed LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (21-22) at
No. 2-seed ANGELO STATE (36-7)
Thursday, May 20 – 6 p.m.
Foster Field – San Angelo, Texas
 
LEADING OFF
It was a wild first round of the Lone Star Conference Tournament, with the lower-seeded team winning three out of the four matchups. That includes No. 6-seeded Lubbock Christian University, who beat No. 3-seeded Texas A&M-Kingsville on the road. The Chaparrals now advance to the second round, which features a double-elimination tournament between the remaining four teams. Because the No. 1 seed, West Texas A&M, lost their first-round matchup, the tournament will be held at No. 2-seeded Angelo State, who is also LCU's first-round opponent. The Chaps and Rams played four times during the regular season with each team winning two games apiece.
 
THE CHAPARRAL NINE

• Angelo State, St. Mary's and St. Edward's are the three teams still in the tournament along with LCU
• Six members of the Lubbock Christian starting lineup have their average up above the .300 mark
• The Chaps have hit 60 home runs this season, which is the second-most in the conference
• Lubbock Christian has won five out of its last six series, with the only loss coming against UT Tyler
• The winner of the LSC tournament will automatically qualify for the NCAA South Central Regional
• Righties are batting just .255 against the LCU pitching staff
• Chap center fielder Larry Leitha is second in the LSC with 13 home runs in only 106 at-bats
• The last time LCU won a conference tournament was in 2013 when they claimed the SAC title

 
ROUND ONE RECAP
Lubbock Christian came about as close as they possibly could to being eliminated from the tournament in the first-round series against Texas A&M-Kingsville. The Chaps dropped the first game 9-5, and were down 8-5 in the ninth inning of the second game. But Luis Navarro worked a two-out walk to join Grant Griffin on base, and Larry Leitha hammered the first pitch over the wall to tie the game, which LCU won 13-8 in extras. Using the remainder of their bullpen and a total team effort, the Chaps went on to win the if-necessary game 9-5 to claim the series and advance to this weekend's double-elimination tournament.
 
 
AWARD CENTRAL
The Lone Star Conference postseason awards were announced on Wednesday, with six Chaparral players honored. Luis Navarro and Larry Leitha were named to the All-Conference First Team, while George Mendazona earned a spot on the All-Conference Second Team. Navarro is batting .392 this year and was a force behind the plate, catching 23 runners stealing. Leitha has only played in 28 games for the Chaps, but it batting .340 and has 13 home runs, while Mendazona is the team leader in walks and has a .345 batting average. Colin Gordon and Eduardo Acosta were Honorable Mention All-Conference Performers, and Nolan Machibroda was the All-Defensive Team first basemen.  
 
GOING, GOING, GONE
Despite the humid air in Kingsville, Texas last weekend, Lubbock Christian clobbered eight home runs against the Javelinas, seven of which came in the final two wins. Leitha had three of the bombs, increasing his team-leading total to 13. Shortstop Colin Gordon also hit a pair, leaving the yard for the first time since the March 14 game against Texas A&M-International, when he hit two in one game. Luis Navarro, Eduardo Acosta and Mason Donohoe each hit one apiece during the series. The Chaps rank second in the conference and No. 25 in all of NCAA Division II with 60 home runs this season.
 
TWIN KILLING
The Chaparrals rank No. 6 nationally and lead their conference this season in double plays turned. LCU has turned 37 in total this year, just four back of the national leader, Delta State. Gordon at shortstop and Caden Hensley at second base have made up the LCU middle infield most of this season, with George Mendazona manning third base. The Chap pitching staff has helped out by getting more outs on the ground (352) than they have on the ground (319). Reliever Cade Acrey has induced the most double plays from the mound this year with five.  
 
I WALK THE LINE
Lubbock Christian also ranks in the top 10 nationally in walks drawn this season at No. 7. LCU's 222 base on balls is their fourth-most in a single season in the last 10 years, although it does rank third in the LSC behind Angelo State and St. Mary's. The team leader in walks in George Mendazona, who has drawn 34 and has a .462 on-base percentage. He is followed closely by Navarro with 32 walks and a .505 OBP. Gordon (22), Hensley (22) and Machibroda (25) are all also above the 20-walk mark.
 
FROM WAY DOWNTOWN
Possibly lost in the excitement of Saturday's come-from-behind, extra-inning win was the fact that Lubbock Christian had a season-high three outfield assists in the game. They got one from each spot in the outfield, and two of the outs that were recorded were at the plate, saving two very important runs. The three assists by outfielders were the most in a single game this season, which has featured 12 outfield assists by Chaparral players overall. Grant Griffin has the most with five, followed very closely by Leitha's four.
 
STREAKS AND MULTIS
He may not have his impressive hitting streak anymore, but Navarro still leads the team with a 34-game reached base streak, dating all the way back to the March 5 game against Angelo State. Leitha is the only other Chap hitter with a streak longer than 10 games, having reached base in 16 straight. Gordon has the longest active hit streak at just five games. Acosta is the team's leader in multi-hit games with 20, while Leitha has overtaken the top spot in multi-RBI games with 11.
 
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
The Chaparrals have played 22 games away from the friendly confines of Hays Field this year, going 10-9 in true road games and 11-11 when you add in the three neutral site contests they played at Houston's Minute Maid Park. Mendazona is the team leader in hitting on the road with a .390 average in 59 at-bats, but Navarro is first with 20 road RBI. Tyler Hardwick has been excellent on the mound in road games, posting a 2.76 ERA in 16.1 innings, while his season ERA hovers above 6.00.
 
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 3,219 games throughout all those years, posting an overall program record of 2,166 wins and 1,067 losses in that time. Head coach Nathan Blackwood has been leading the program for almost 1,000 (994) those games, going 686-308.
 
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.). Pratt's team and Greenwalt's team faced off in six games last week with the Blue Rocks taking five of the six.