Baseball | 02.11.2022

LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (2-2, 2-2 LSC) vs.
OKLAHOMA CHRISTIAN (3-1, 3-1 LSC)
Friday, Feb. 11 – 2 p.m.
Wendell Simmons Field – Oklahoma City
 
LEADING OFF
Baseball season is officially in full swing now, after Lubbock Christian University opened up its 2022 campaign last weekend. They split the season-opening series with Arkansas-Fort Smith this past Sunday and Monday, winning two games and losing two. They will now get their first chance at road baseball this weekend, as they hit the road to play four games against Oklahoma Christian. The series has already been adjusted slightly with time changes, and more importantly, a location change. The Chaps and Eagles have moved the series to Central Oklahoma's Wendell Simmons Field. The four-game series will begin on Friday at 2 p.m.
 
THE CHAPARRAL NINE

• The two winning Chaparral pitchers on opening weekend were Brendan Anderson and Shandon Herrera
• Lubbock Christian hit .342 with a team on-base percentage of .469 through the first four games
• This is LCU's first trip to Oklahoma City since 2019, when they took two of three games
• OC won its season-opening series, taking three of four games at St. Mary's
• Last year, Lubbock Christian hosted OC for three games and won two of the three games
• LCU had 15 extra-base hits and a .513 slugging percentage in a windy opening weekend
• The Eagles were picked to finish fifth in this year's LSC Preseason Poll, one spot ahead of the Chaps
• Lubbock Christian will be back at home next weekend, taking on St. Mary's in a four-game series

 
TO START WITH
Outside of the very first game of the season, when LCU struggled to get the offense going until the fourth inning, the Chaparral batters have done a great job of getting the team on the board early. LCU scored at least one run in the first inning of the final three games of the series against UAFS. The Chaps have hit .368 as a team in the first inning, which is their second-best individual inning behind only the fourth (.438). They have added in four walks and one hit-by pitch for a .500 on-base percentage in the opening frame. One of the two Chap home runs this season (George Mendazona, 2/7) came in the first inning.
 
WHY? BECAUSE HE GETS ON BASE
The mantra of Billy Beane, Paul DePodesta and the 2002 Oakland Athletics could also be applied to the Chaparrals through their first four games of the season. LCU leads the Lone Star Conference in on-base percentage currently with a team mark of .487. The Chaps drew 25 walks in the first four games and were hit by four pitches to go along with their 40 hits. Twelve of the walks came in one game, a feat that an LCU team had not accomplished since 2018. Jarred Gibson leads the way with a .688 on-base percentage, and Larry Leitha is also reaching at a .625 clip.
 
OH, WHAT A RELIEF IT IS
Three Lubbock Christian bullpen arms had strong starts to the season, including Brendan Anderson, Cannon Davis and Koi Carrillo. Carrillo worked in a losing Chap effort on Sunday, but pitched a career-high 2.2 innings, allowing just one run with a pair of strikeouts. Anderson got a win in relief in game two of the series, allowing just one hit and one walk in 3.2 innings of work with four strikeouts. Davis came in and closed out the gem thrown by Shandon Herrera on Monday, facing the minimum in his one inning of work.
 
EXTRA! EXTRA!
With 12 doubles, two triples and a pair of home runs, the Chaps seem to have carried over their power hitting from a season ago, when they ranked second in the conference in slugging percentage. The are ranked third in the league after the first four games of the season with a .513 mark. Gibson leads the team with a .917 slugging percentage after the first four games, where he hit two doubles and one triple. Leitha and Eduardo Acosta are not far behind, each clobbering three doubles in the UAFS series.  Another four Chap players recorded extra-base hits, including homers by Mendazona and Caden Hensley.
 
BEHIND THE DISH
In the top of the second inning of the very first game against Arkansas-Fort Smith, Kinner Brasher tried to steal second, and Chap catcher Luis Navarro gunned him down. The Lions didn't attempt another stolen base until the final game of the series, when Jaxson Edwards caught the runner, and the Chaps picked off a third and final runner in on Monday to allow no stolen bases through the first four games. LCU features a strong stable of catchers for the 2022 season, which includes both Navarro and Edwards along with Gibson. Last year, Navarro led the LSC by a wide margin with 25 runners caught, and LCU caught 29 as a team.
 
ROAD JOURNAL­
The series this weekend will be the first four of a total 24 on the road this season for the Chaps. Lubbock Christian was exactly .500 in true road games last year, and even still if you include neutral site contests (13-13). Mendazona was LCU's best on the road, batting .373 with an on-base percentage over the .500 mark. Chap pitcher Tyler Hardwick was also much better on the road, where he had a 2.76 ERA in 16.1 innings of work. LCU and OC will be playing this weekend at Wendell Simmons Field, which is actually even the home of the Eagles, but the home of Central Oklahoma. Oklahoma Christian was 13-0 last season on their home field.
 
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 3,240 games throughout all those years, posting an overall program record of 2,169 wins and 1,071 losses in that time. For the last 18 seasons, it has been head coach Nathan Blackwood leading the program, and he has a 690-312 record in that time. With just six more wins, he will surpass Larry Hays and become the all-time leader in that category.
 
SCOUTING THE EAGLES

• OC pitcher Isaiah Alvarenga was tabbed as the first LSC Pitcher of the Year earlier this week after pitching seven innings of shutout ball against the Rattlers
•  A pair of OC players – Kevin Collyar and Cole Lee – hit .462 across the first four games to lead the Eagles
• Oklahoma Christian pitchers put together a 2.90 ERA in the series against St. Mary's, which currently ranks third-best in the LSC
• OC has fielding percentage of .969 and is tied for the league lead with five double plays turned
• Head coach Lonny Cobble is in his 10^th season leading the program after many seasons as high school coach in Edmond

 
THE SERIES WITH THE EAGLES
Lubbock Christian and Oklahoma Christian have been facing off on the diamond since the first season of LCC baseball in 1971. The Eagles won that very first meeting 10-3, but the Chaps have had a hold on the series for a while, winning 63 and losing just 22 against OC. The last time Oklahoma Christian won a series against the Chaps was in 2018, and LCU took two out of the three games in the matchup last season.