LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (21-6, 19-6, LSC) vs.
ST. EDWARD'S (18-11, 18-11 LSC)
Saturday, March 26 – 6 p.m.
Hays Field – Lubbock, Texas
 
LEADING OFF
First impressions are always important and Lubbock Christian University has made it a habit of starting every series off on the right foot. The Chaps have now won seven straight series openers, including Friday night's first game against St. Edward's, which LCU won 12-10. LCU can now attempt to win the series on Saturday in the doubleheader, which will feature a pair of seven inning games. A series win over the Hilltoppers would be the third straight for the Chaps, who have beaten Texas A&M-Kingsville and Texas A&M International in the last two weeks.
 
STARTING PITCHING MATCHUP
Game One
LCU – Ethan Coombes will go to the mound, coming off the best outing of his LCU career (so far) last week against Texas A&M-Kingsville. The New Mexico native threw a complete game shutout against the Javelinas, allowing just four hits and four walks on 103 pitches. TAMUK never had more than one runner on the bases at once, and no Javelinas made it farther than second base as Coombes improved to 3-1 on the year. Overall, Coombes has an ERA of 6.10 in 31.0 innings pitched. Opponents are hitting just .246 against him and he has a team-leading 36 strikeouts, but he has struggled with command at times, walking 22 batters on the year.
 
SEU – St. Edward's will send their first lefty to the mound in the top half of the doubleheader as Luke Short starts for the seventh time this season. Short has a 4.91 ERA for the year and a 3-2 overall record in 33.0 innings of work. In that time, he has limited opposing hitters to a .266 batting average. Of his 33 hits allowed though, 15 of them have gone for extra bases, and he has 20 walks on the year as well. Short also has 42 strikeouts. In his last outing against St. Mary's, Short lasted just 2.1 innings, allowing five runs on five hits and four walks.
 
Game Two
LCU – Shandon Herrera will go to the mound for the Chaps in the nightcap, also coming off a complete game last week against the Javelinas. The right-hander showed excellent strike zone command in the outing, walking just one batter across seven innings. He scattered eight hits and a pair of runs in the outing, moving to 3-1 on the year. Herrera has the third-best ERA on the team at 5.30 this season. Saturday will be his seventh start of the year and he has spent 35.2 innings on the mound overall. Opponents are hitting .312 against him, but Herrera has done a good job limiting walks with just 16 on the year. Herrera is also second on the team with 25 strikeouts.
 
SEU – There a couple of options for the game three starter, but last week against St. Mary's it was Eric Worden who went to the mound. Worden has a 3.63 ERA this season, and the start against the Rattlers was the right-hander's first of the year along with four relief outings. In 22.1 innings of work, opponents are hitting .244 and he has 24 strikeouts. Lefty Brady Putnik is the other option and has more starting experience. Putnik has five starts and two relief appearances but just 18.1 innings of work this year. His ERA is 5.89 and opponents are hitting .273 against him.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
.448 | Lubbock Christian put their leadoff batter on in seven of their eight chances on Friday night and they are reaching at a .448 clip overall this season
5.94 | With an average of 5.94 innings per appearance, game two starter Shandon Herrera has the longest average outings of any Chaparral pitcher
4 | SEU shortstop Morgan Allen was a bit of a nuisance for the Chaps on Friday. Batting in the nine-hole, Allen was 4-for-5 with a triple and a home run
.459 | Chap shortstop Carson Ogilvie has been on a tear in the month of March. With his 2-for-4 performance on Friday, he is now 17-for-37 in the month for a .459 batting average
2^nd | With Angelo State suffering a series-opening loss against Texas A&M-Kingsville on Friday night, the Chaps are now tied with the Rams for 2^nd in the LSC standings