LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (27-11, 25-11, LSC) vs.
CAMERON (11-25, 11-23 LSC)
Thursday, April 14 – 6 p.m.
McCord Field – Lawton, Oklahoma
 
LEADING OFF
It's the second-to-last road trip of the regular season for Lubbock Christian University, as they make their second trip of the year to the Sooner State to take on Cameron in four games. The series is shifted slightly off the normal routine, with teams playing Thursday, Friday and Saturday due to Easter on Sunday. The doubleheader portion of the series will be played on Friday. The Aggies are riding a seven-game losing streak but have posted good numbers on the mound. Their staff opponent's batting average of .283 ranks in the top half of the conference. The Chaps are coming off a series win at home against Eastern New Mexico and lead the league in slugging percentage at .573.
 
THE CHAPARRAL NINE

• Lubbock Christian has gotten six complete games from pitchers, which is second-most in the LSC
• Larry Leitha's 13 home runs lead the conference and are the 18th-most nationally
• CU has two pitchers in the top three in the LSC in opponent's batting average
• LCU held steady at No. 23 in this week's NCBWA top-25 poll
• Cameron has split four series this season, but has yet to claim a series win
• Lubbock Christian has the second-best LSC batting average (.331) and leads in slugging (.573)
• Over the next two weekends, LCU will take on the bottom two teams in the conference
• The Chaps are one game back of second place in the conference with a .694 league winning percentage

 
OPENING NIGHT
There have been 10 series so far in the 2022 baseball season. In all but one of them, Lubbock Christian has been the winning team in the first game of the weekend. The only series-opener they did not win was on opening day, when Arkansas-Fort Smith beat them 7-5. And in that game, LCU had the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh inning, falling just short of a comeback when they hit into a double play. It is a far cry from the 2021 season, when LCU played 12 series in the regular season and only won the opening game four times.
 
COMEBACK KIDS
Two times in last weekend's series win against Eastern New Mexico the Chaps came back after trailing early and won the game. In fact, in the series finale, LCU trailed by three runs on two separate occasions, eventually winning 13-12 on Eduardo Acosta's walkoff solo home run in the ninth inning. Lubbock Christian now has nine comeback wins this season, and they are 9-7 overall when their opponent scores first. Conversely, the Chaps have not let teams come back against them all that often, posting an 18-4 record in games where they score first. LCU starting pitchers have accounted for 12 of the Chaparral wins this season, while the relievers have notched 15.
 
POWER SURGE
The Chaps ended the four-game matchup with Eastern New Mexico having clubbed nine doubles, three triples and 10 home runs for a .701 slugging percentage. Overall in 2022, the Chaps rank No. 8 nationally and lead the Lone Star Conference with a slugging percentage of .573. They have 80 doubles, 14 triples and 62 home runs. The home run mark also leads the conference and ranks ninth nationally. It is 20 more than the next-closest LSC team. Larry Leitha and Luis Navarro are both slugging over the .700 mark, and Leitha's percentage of .733 ranks second in the league.
 
IN A PINCH
Only 10 players can be in the starting lineup in any given game, meaning a lot of good ones are on the outside looking in. They have to stay ready though, in case they are called on off the bench, and LCU's hitters have done a solid job in a pinch so far this year. The Chaps are batting .286 in pinch-hit opportunities this year, with 10 hits in 35 chances. They also have three walks and a pair of hit-by-pitches for a .375 on-base percentage. Cayde Ward is the most oft-used pinch-hitter, with three hits and a pair of walks in 11 chances. Two of his pinch hits have left the yard, and the other was a double.
 
PITCHER'S BEST FRIEND
The Chaps turned another four double plays over the weekend, bringing their season total to 31. That is the second-most in the Lone Star Conference and the eighth-most nationally. Earlier this season, they turned five in one game against West Texas A&M, which tied the program record. LCU's pitchers do lean far more heavily on the ground ball, getting 335 groundouts to just 233 flyouts. Caden Hensley (2B) and Carson Ogilvie make up the middle infield, and George Mendazona has started all but one game at third base.
 
NATIONALLY KNOWN
The Chaps held firm in this week's National Baseball Writer's Association poll, which is made up of sports information directors from around the country. They are ranked No. 23 with 83 points in the poll. The Collegiate Baseball Newspaper poll, which is voted on by coaches, moved LCU up five spots to No. 22. Three teams from the South Central Region – West Texas A&M, Colorado Mesa and Angelo State – are ranked ahead of LCU nationally.
 
STREAKS & MULTIS
For the first time this season, somebody has wrestled away the team lead in multi-hit games away from Luis Navarro. Mendazona now has the most at 17, although Navarro still leads the team with 13 multi-RBI games. Mendazona also has the longest active reached-base streak at 14 games. Mason Donohoe is not far behind, having reached base safely in 12 straight games.
 
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
The Chaps have played four series on the road, going 11-5 in those 16 games. LCU's hitters have a .286 average on the road, led by Ogilvie's .366. There have been 29 doubles, three triples and 18 home runs hit in opposing ballparks. The pitching staff is slightly better on the road, with a 5.46 ERA and .261 batting average. Shandon Herrera's 2.63 road ERA leads the staff. McCord Field is the home of the Aggie baseball team. It seats more than 1,200 fans and features a natural grass playing surface. It measures 330 feet down each foul line and 400 to straightaway center 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 3,269 games throughout all those years, posting an overall program record of 2,194 wins and 1,080 losses in that time. For the last 18 seasons, it has been head coach Nathan Blackwood leading the program, and he has a 715-321 record in that time.
 
SCOUTING THE AGGIES

• Cameron is batting .273 as a team, which ranks ninth out of the 13 teams in the Lone Star Conference
• The last time the Aggies won was on April 1, when they beat Oklahoma Christian 8-6 at home, just holding off an Eagle rally in the ninth. They lost all four games last weekend at St. Mary's
• Despite a solid opponent's batting average of .283, Cameron's pitching staff has an ERA of 8.00 due in large part to their 186 walks, which is the fourth-most in the league
• Jordan Harrison-Dudley leads the Aggie offense with a .316 batting average and .639 slugging percentage. He has six doubles, five triples and nine home runs on the year
• Cameron's fielding percentage of .950 is the third-worst in the conference, and they have committed 55 errors this season

 
THE SERIES WITH THE AGGIES
Lubbock Christian and Cameron met four times in 1976, four times in 1981 and never again until 2016. They have played just 16 games overall, with the Chaps leading the series 13-3. LCU has won every series played against CU, including a pair of sweeps, but the Aggies have salvaged one game in each of the last two meetings. Last Season, the LCU outscored Cameron 25-12 across three games, but fell 9-8 in the finale.