BETHANY, Okla. (February 18, 2022) – Lubbock Christian University opened their stay at the Regional Festival with a 7-3 extra-inning road win at Southern Nazarene (eight innings) and a 3-2 walkoff win over Southern Arkansas Friday at Cypert Athletic Complex.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Score:  Game 1: LCU 7, Southern Nazarene 3 (8 inn.) | Game 2: LCU 3, Southern Arkansas 2
Records: LCU (9-2), SNU (2-9), SAU (4-7)
Location: Bethany, Okla. (Cypert Athletic Complex)
Time of Game: Game 1: 1:49, Game 2: 1:50
Weather: 45F – Clear/Calm

Game 1 at Southern Nazarene

LCU Highlights:

• Skylar Herrera – 3-for-4, HR, 2 doubles, 2 RBI
• Angela Donaldson – 1-for-4, 2 RBI
• Caroline Chilton – 1-for-4, solo home run

Turning Point:
With two outs in the top of the sixth inning, LCU's Caroline Chilton hit a solo home run to tie the game at 3-3.

How it Happened:
Southern Nazarene, playing their home opener, jumped on the scoreboard first with a two run double down the line by Hannah Fellers. The Crimson Storm extended the lead in the fourth inning, as Fellers struck again with a leadoff solo home run to put the Storm up 3-0.
 
LCU mounted their comeback in the top of the fifth inning, as Skylar Herrera homered with two outs to score a pair and end Chelsea Vandiver's shutout bid. LCU used another two-out home run in the sixth inning. Caroline Chilton hit a solo shot to left field to tie the contest 3-3.
 
In the extra frame, using the international tie-breaker rules (runner placed at second base), LCU's Angela Donaldson doubled to the right-centerfield gap to score a pair of runs and LCU led (5-3) for the first time in the game.  With two outs and two on base, Tiarra Delrosario pinch hit and drove in two more runs with a single to put LCU up 7-3.     

Inside the Numbers:

• Taylor Franco gained her 40^th career win, improving to 5-0 on the season. She went 8.0 innings and struck out eight batters while allowing one earned run off five hits. The home run allowed in the fourth inning ended a string of 25.2 consecutive innings pitched without allowing an earned run.  
• LCU was 5-for-14 in two-out at-bats, while SNU was 1-for-10 in the scenario. Skylar Herrera was 2-for-2 in to-out at-bats leading to two two-out-RBI. The team had five.
• The Lady Chaps were 1-for-7 getting the lead-off batter aboard.
• Skylar Herrera connected on her team-leading fourth home run of the season, which was her 16^th of her LCU career. Caroline Chilton hit her first home run as a Lady Chap, which marked the sixth different Lady Chap to hit a home run this season.
• Savannah Wysocki had her nine-game streak of reaching base safely end, as she had reached base safely in every game of the season prior.
• The win was LCU's first win of the season in extra innings and they are 1-1 in extra inning results this season (LCU was 4-0 last season in extra innings).
• LCU improved to 14-1 all-time against the Crimson Storm and it was their first meeting in Bethany since Mar. 29, 2008 (LCU is 3-0 all-time in Bethany against SNU).

 
Game 2 vs. Southern Arkansas

LCU Highlights:

• Maxine Valdez – 7.0 ip, 10 strikeouts, five hits allowed
• Tyla Lee – 3-for-4, 2 doubles, RBI
• Angela Donaldson – 1-for-2, RBI

Turning Point:
In both the fifth and the seventh innings, as the score was tied 2-2, SAU had a runner in scoring position with one out, but in both instances, LCU pitcher Maxine Valdez was able to get a strikeout followed by a groundout to keep the Muleriders from taking the lead.

How it Happened:
LCU carried their momentum from the opening game's ending into the second game, scoring early. Tyla Lee followed singles from Tiarra Delrosario and Brooke Makemson with a RBI-single through the right side for a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Savannah Wysocki made it 2-0 in the second inning with a double down the line to score Kamryn Gibb.
 
The Muleriders tied the game at 2-2 in the top of the third inning. Alyssa Miller tripled and scored on a home run from Jade Miller.
 
The game remained 2-2 until the bottom of the seventh inning. Lee hit a double to reach scoring position, and she scored the game-winning run off a two-out hit by Angela Donaldson, who was able to get the ball past a sprawled out Alyssa Miller to plate the winning run.

Inside the Numbers:

• Valdez (4-1) struck out 10 batters, which is the most by a Lady Chaps member since the 2020 season-opening 12 strikeout performance by Taylor Franco against Mississippi College.
• The two teams were a combined 1-of-15 in two-out at-bats (LCU was 1-for-8), with the lone two-out hit coming from Angela Donaldson on the game winning base hit in the seventh inning.
• LCU improved to 4-0 this season when scoring in the first inning.
• The Lady Chaps have won nine consecutive games for the first time since early February 2020.
• The win improved LCU to 2-0 all-time against UAS.

 
WHAT'S NEXT:
LCU heads to Edmond, Okla. Saturday for a pair of games at Central Oklahoma. They face Southern Missouri (3 p.m.) and Arkansas Tech (5:15 p.m.) as part of the Regional Festival.