Baseball | 03.19.2022

LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (20-5, 18-5, LSC) at
TEXAS A&M KINGSVILLE (16-9, 14-9 LSC)
Saturday, March 19 – 1 p.m.
Nolan Ryan Field – Kingsville, Texas
 
LEADING OFF
Thanks to a pair of impressive pitching performances in Friday's doubleheader, Lubbock Christian University has already won a road series against Texas A&M-Kingsville and will try and sweep their hosts for the weekend with a win on Sunday. The Chaps have won seven straight games now, dating back to their series opener against Texas A&M International last Saturday, which they won 12-4. It is the longest win streak of the season and their longest overall since 2019, when the Chaps won 10 straight from March 15 to April 18.
 
STARTING PITCHING MATCHUP
LCU - Ty Stephenson will be on the mound in the second game of the series, making his sixth appearance of the year. Stephenson has an ERA of 7.88 in 16.0 innings of work this season. He has allowed 21 runs (14 earned) on 24 hits and 12 walks. Opponents are hitting .338 against the right-hander, and he has struck out 13 of them. Stephenson is also tied for the team lead with seven hit batters. In his last outing, he allowed just two runs on two hits and three walks with a pair of strikeouts in a no-decision against Texas A&M-International. The senior has not gone more than 4.0 innings on the mound this season.
 
TAMUK – The LSC's leader in ERA will take the mound for the Javelinas in the final game of the series, with right-handed pitcher Brandon Symmank starting the game. Symmank has a 1.73 ERE in 26.0 innings pitched across five starts. He is 3-1 on the mound this season, having allowed only five earned runs. Opponents are hitting just .183 against the Blinn College transfer and he has allowed just 17 total hits this season while walking nine batters. He leads the team with 37 strikeouts. Last week against St. Mary's, Symmank allowed no runs on three hits and one walk in five innings of work against St. Mary's while striking out six.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
7.31 | LCU starter Ty Stephenson has struck out 13 batters this season, averaging 7.31 per nine innings of work
43 | The Chaps have just one home run in the humid Kingsville air this weekend, but with 43 total they still lead the LSC by a wide margin
.338 | LCU ranks second in the conference in batting average at .338 and has two players – Eduardo Acosta and Luis Navarro – hitting above the .400 mark individually
20 | There were 10 less games played in the regular season in 2021, but the 2022 edition of the Chaps have already surpassed last year's regular season win total with their 20^th of the season
.538 | Another opposing LCU runner was caught stealing on Friday, giving the Chaps their 12^th of the season and lowering their stolen base allowed percentage to .538