LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (33-14, 31-14, LSC) vs.
UT TYLER (27-18, 27-18 LSC)
Saturday, April 30 – Noon (DH)
Irwin Field – Tyler, Texas
 
LEADING OFF
It's not very familiar territory for the Lubbock Christian University baseball team, but they will enter the doubleheader portion of the series against UT Tyler down a game. Friday night's series loss was just the first all season for LCU. In their previous two tries in those situations, the Chaps have gone 1-1. They bounced back from a series-opening loss against Arkansas-Fort Smith with an 11-5 win, but they followed up a loss to Cameron with another 2-1 loss. LCU has lost back-to-back games just twice this season.
 
STARTING PITCHING MATCHUP
Game One
LCU – Coming off a complete-game one-hitter last week against UT Permian Basin, Ethan Coombes will take the mound for game one of the doubleheader. Coombes has been excellent his last three times out, not allowing more than two runs in each of the outing and completing the seven inning game very time. The right-hander has a 4.57 ERA in 61 innings of work and has been apart of four shutouts on the year, completing three himself. He has allowed 45 hits and 38 walks but leads the team with 73 strikeouts. His .206 opponent's batting average leads the Lone Star Conference. The complete-game one-hitter Coombes tossed last week was the first by a Lubbock Christian pitcher since March 23, 2019, when Chandler Casey accomplished the feat in a nine-inning game.
 
UTT – After sending a lefty to the mound on Friday night, it will be a right-hander starting the first game of the doubleheader in the form of Harrison Lee. A sophomore, Lee has a 5.36 ERA in 37.2 innings of work, making seven starts and four relief appearances so far this season. He has allowed 23 runs on 41 hits with just 10 walks  while striking out 36 and holding opponents to a .287 batting average. Last week against St. Mary's, he lasted only three innings, allowing three runs on five hits and a walk with two strikeouts, but the Patriots came back to win the game anyways.
 
Game Two
LCU – It will be Shandon Herrera going in the second half of the doubleheader for the Chaparrals as the right-hander takes the mound for the 12^th time this season. He has a 6.14 ERA ion 58.2 innings of work this season. Herrera has allowed 41 runs on 69 hits and 30 walks while striking out 48 batters and holding them to a .296 batting average. He has been LCU's best pitcher on the road in 2022, going 4-0 in five appearances with a 3.41 ERA in 34.1 innings of work. In his last road outing against Cameron he pitched the complete seven-inning game, striking out a career-high 12 batters.
 
UTT – Another lefty will take the mound for UT Tyler in Saturday's second game, as Nolan Cox gets the ball. Cox is a junior and has posted a 4.91 ERA in 40.1 innings of work this season. He is 3-2 on the mound, having allowed 26 runs on 41 hits and 13 walks. His .248 opponent's batting average is the best of the Patriot starting rotation though, and he has struck out 35 batters on the year. Cox was the losing pitcher in his most recent start, allowing six runs on eight hits with only three strikeouts against the Rattlers.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
.111 | The Chaps have been generally very good at getting their leadoff batter on, posting a team OBP of .449 this season, but they got just one leadoff batter on in nine chances on Friday for a .111 OBP
20 | Luis Navarro was behind the dish on Friday and caught a pair of runners stealing, bringing LCU's team total to 20, which leads the Lone Star Conference
.186 | Game three starter Shandon Herrera has been especially good against left-handed batters this season, allowing just 13 hits in 70 at-bats for a .186 batting average
5.55 | Ethan Coombes has been LCU's longest lasting pitcher, averaging a team-high 5.55 innings pitched per game
28 | With a pair of walks in the series-opener, Navarro now has 28 on the season, which is the ninth-most in the conference