LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (9-3, 9-3, LSC) vs.
NEW MEXICO HIGHLANDS (2-8, 0-0 RMAC)
Friday, Feb. 25 – 3 p.m.
Hays Field – Lubbock, Texas
 
LEADING OFF
The homestand continues for the Chaparral baseball team, as they host New Mexico Highlands for a quick two-game series. These two games this weekend are the only two non-conference games of the entire season for Lubbock Christian with all 48 others counting toward the Lone Star Conference standings. LCU has fared pretty well through the first three weekends of the season and is currently tied for second in the LSC standings with a 9-3 league/overall record. The Chaps have won two straight series, including taking three out of four games last weekend in a wild slugfest of a series against St. Mary's. LCU won the final two games of the series on walkoffs and are hoping to build on the momentum heading into NMHU.
 
THE CHAPARRAL NINE

• The Chaps hit .343 in the four games against the Rattlers, including 21 extra-base hits
• Lubbock Christian's .316 team batting average is the third-best in the Lone Star Conference
• April 9, 2019 was the last time LCU and NMHU met on the diamond
• New Mexico Highlands just played a series against Wayland Baptist, taking two out of the four games
• Chap catcher/first basemen Jarred Gibson has a hit in all 12 games this season and is batting .455
• LCU skipper Nathan Blackwood just moved past Larry Hays for the most wins in program history
• The Cowboys have not had a winning season since 2014, when they were 32-22
• Lubbock Christian will return to LSC play next weekend with a series at Angelo State

 
POWER SURGE
Heading into last weekend's series, Lubbock Christian had hit just six home runs in their first eight games of the season. In the four games against the Rattlers though, they left the yard 12 different times to go along with six doubles and two triples. The Chaps slugged .709 in the series, raising their season slugging percentage to .539. which is the second-best mark in the conference. Ten different players have homered for the Chaps so far. There is a three-way tie for the team lead, as Eduardo Acosta, Luis Navarro and Caden Hensley all have three each. LCU's 18 home runs on the year are the second-most in the conference and the ninth-most in all of D-II.
 
TABLE-SETTERS
The 103 runs scored by the Chaps so far this year rank as the 17^th most in the nation. Part of the offensive success of the Chaps has been their ability to put the leadoff batter on base in an inning, which they have done a whopping 46.2 percent of the time so far this season. Hensley has been the best table-setter on the team, despite starting every game in the nine-hole. He has reached base in seven of his eight leadoff opportunities. Gibson has reached in seven of 11 chances (.636) and Larry Leitha in seven out of 13 (.538). Navarro has had only three chances to leadoff, but has reached base in all of them.
 
WALK IT OUT
Heading into the weekend, Lubbock Christian ranks third in the Lone Star Conference in walks drawn with a total of 64 this year. They are behind only St. Edward's and West Texas A&M, and those two programs have faced two of the same three opponents – Eastern New Mexico and Cameron – this season. Navarro leads the team in walks with 13, and that mark is good enough to rank fifth nationally. Mendazona has also reached double-digits with 10, and another four Chaps have at least five already this year. Acosta leads the team in on-base percentage at a staggering .551 and has eight walks.
 
NATIONALLY KNOWN
For the first time this season, LCU has found itself ranked in one of the NCAA Division II national top-25 polls. The Chaps were receiving votes in last week's National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association poll, but after the series win against St. Mary's, they have moved up to No. 25. Lubbock Christian was last in the national rankings in the 2019 season, when they reached as high as No. 4. The Chaps drew 49 points in this week's NCBWA poll, joining fellow LSC teams West Texas A&M (No. 3) and Angelo State (No. 17) in the national rankings.
 
BEHIND THE DISH
Through 12 games this season, the stable of Lubbock Christian catchers have allowed just six stolen bases in 12 attempts against them. Their stolen base allowed percentage of .500 is the best in the Lone Star Conference. Gibson has seen the most time behind the plate so far this season with six starts at catcher, and he has caught two runners stealing. Jaxson Edwards has also caught two runners stealing in four starts at catcher. Navarro, who last year led the conference with 25 runners caught stealing, has started only twice at catcher this season, but has one runner caught already.
 
STREAKS AND MULTIS
Three Chaparral players have reached base in every single game so far this season. Gibson has done it all with the bat, as the only LCU player with hits in all 12 contests. He is also the team-leader in multi-hit games with seven. Acosta and Navarro have also reached base in all 12 games but have had at least one game without a hit. Navarro's reach base streak goes back even further and is at 50 games overall, as he reached base in the final 38 games of the 2021 season as well. The last game he did not reach base in was on Feb. 22, 2021, against St. Mary's. The Panama native also leads the team with five multi-RBI games.
 
FRIENDLY CONFINES
Lubbock Christian is in the midst of a six-game homestand and will and has 18 home games left overall.  Originally dedicated on April 29, 1978 as Chaparral Stadium, the complex was renamed Hays Field in 1999 to honor the L.D., Pearl, Larry, and Daren Hays families for their dedication and commitment to the ideals and values of Lubbock Christian University. The playing dimensions of Hays Field measure 340 feet down the lines, 380 feet to the power alleys, and 400 feet to straight away center. LCU was 10-11 on their own turf last year and the program is 1,122-340 in home games all-time.
 
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 3,248 games throughout all those years, posting an overall program record of 2,176 wins and 1,072 losses in that time. For the last 18 seasons, it has been head coach Nathan Blackwood leading the program, and he has a 697-313 record in that time.
 
SCOUTING THE COWBOYS

• Head coach Shannon Hunt is in his eighth season leading the NMHU baseball program
• Opponents are hitting .387 against the New Mexico Highlands pitching staff, which is the worst mark in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference
• Junior infielder Aidan McNichol has been the team's best hitter so far, with a .400 average and one home run in 30 at-bats
• Two NMHU relievers – Dominick Castillo and Hunter Vancurler – have already made five appearances out of the bullpen this season
• The Cowboys finished the 2021 season with a 13-25 record, missing the RMAC Tournament

 
THE SERIES WITH THE COWBOYS
Lubbock Christian and New Mexico Highlands have a storied history dating back to 1971, which was LCU's first season with a baseball team. The Chaps split a doubleheader with the Cowboys that day (6-2, 0-11), but have handled NMHU pretty well since. LCU leads the all-time series 61-17. The two teams last met in 2019 playing home-and-home midweek games. In the game at Hays Field, LCU played into the 10^th before an error scored Andres Negron to walk it off. The Chaps handled the Cowboys a few weeks later with a run-rule (16-6) win in Las Vegas, N.M.