LCU Sits a Win Away From Advancing to Super Regionals

05.14.2022 | By: Chris Due (chris.due@lcu.edu)

Lady Chaps Facing No.1 UT Tyler Saturday, Needing a Third Win of the Season Against a "No.1" Team to Advance to Super Regionals

TYLER, Texas (May 14, 2022) – No.16 Lubbock Christian University heads into the regional finals of the NCAA Division II South Central Regional Saturday, as the No.4-seeded Lady Chaparrals face No.1-seed No.1 UT Tyler with a noon scheduled first pitch. LCU has two opportunities to move on the NCAA Division II South Central Super Regional, as UTT has to defeat LCU twice Saturday, while LCU can advance with one win.

NCAA DIVISION II SOFTBALL SOUTH CENTRAL REGIONAL
OPPONENT	LOCATION	CITY	TIME	WATCH	STATS	LCU STATS	OPP. STATS
UTT	Suddenlink Field	Tyler, Texas	12 p.m.	Video	Stats	Season	Season
UTT	Suddenlink Field	Tyler, Texas	2 p.m.	Video	Stats	Season	Season

WUNDERGROUND WEATHER: A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible early. A mix of clouds and sun. High 91F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph. Expected game-time temperature is 84, with a heat index of 88...

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The Scenario

If LCU defeats UT Tyler, LCU will make their first NCAA Division II South Central Super Regional appearance in program history.
A loss would place LCU and UTT into winner-take-all (if necessary game) game, which would take place 30 minutes at the conclusion of the noon game.

LCU and UTT Series Snapshot

LCU holds a 3-2 all-time series advantage over the Patriots.
Last season marked the first-ever meetings between the two teams, as they split a doubleheader on Mar. 28, 2021 in Tyler, Texas. LCU fell in the first game 4-3 in 10 innings before the Lady Chaps responded with an 8-2 win in the second game.
LCU and pitcher Taylor Franco no-hit the Patriots on Mar. 27 and claimed a 3-0 win before falling 6-2 in a doubleheader split at Maner Park in Lubbock during this season's doubleheader split.
The prior meeting was Friday in Tyler, with LCU defeating the Patriots 5-1.
Taylor Franco is 2-0 with a 1.83 ERA in four career appearances (23.0 innings) against UTT.
Savannah Wysocki is 13-for-19 (.684) in her career verses UTT.
Brooke Makemson has two home runs this season against UTT.

South Central Regional Breakdown

This tournament marks LCU's third tournament appearance in the NCAA postseason. LCU previous received automatic berths in 2016 (San Antonio, Texas) and 2017 (San Angelo, Texas) after winning Heartland Conference Tournament titles.
LCU is 3-4 all-time at the NCAA South Central Regionals. They defeated Angelo State 6-5 Thursday, which was their first NCAA postseason win since a 14-11 win on May 12, 2017 in San Angelo against Cameron.
Sydney Beuthien is LCU's all-time leader in NCAA postseason play in hits (8), as she hit .533 (8-for-15) in five NCAA postseason games. She posted four home runs and seven RBI in NCAA postseason play, which leads LCU all-time in career NCAA postseason numbers.
Savannah Wysocki is 7-for-10 (.700) in NCAA postseason play for LCU.
Taylor Franco (2-0) leads LCU in NCAA postseason ERA with a 1.35 ERA, and Maxine Valdez leads LCU in NCAA postseason strikeouts with six (Taylor Franco is tied for second with five).

Tournament Notes

LCU opened the 2022 NCAA South Central Regional with a 6-5 13-inning win over No.5-seed No.7 Angelo State Thursday in a game lasting nearly three-and-a-half hours. They followed Friday with a 5-1 win over UT Tyler to claim their first berth to a regional final in program history.
Savannah Wysocki matched a program single-game record with five hits against ASU Thursday, as she went 5-for-7 (.714). She followed going 2-for-3 against UTT Friday and is hitting .700 (7-for-10) in this season's tournament.
The Lady Chaps are hitting .359 in this season's tournament. They have a staff ERA of 2.70 and opponents are hitting .200 against the Lady Chaps.
Kamryn Gibbs, Athena Muniz and Tyla Lee co-lead LCU with two RBI each.
LCU's 13 innings played Thursday matched a program record for the longest game in program history, and it marks two consecutive 13-inning games played for LCU and both have been at Suddenlink Field (LCU has played five games in their program history at Suddenlink Field and three have resulted in extra-inning results. LCU is 1-2 in those outcomes).
This season's tournament field features three programs with national championships within their history from three different levels. Angelo State (NCAA Division II), LCU (NAIA) and UT Tyler (NCAA Division III) have won national titles.

National Notes

The Lady Chaps went 8-0 last season against nationally ranked programs in 2020, but went 2-10 against nationally ranked programs in 2021.
LCU is 9-8 this season against nationally ranked programs. They have six wins against top-10 programs, which is the most since 2013 (12 wins in 2013).
Top 25 Wins:
- No.14 Rogers State (13-5 in five innings on Feb. 20 in Oklahoma City)
- No.18 Oklahoma Christian (doubleheader sweep on Friday, 4-3 and 8-7).
- Mar. 12, they defeated No.6 West Texas A&M at home.
- Mar. 27, they no-hit No.1 UT Tyler at home.
- No.7 Texas A&M-Kingsville (4-3 on Apr. 8 in Kingsville, Texas)
- No.7 Angelo State (9-4 on Apr. 30 at home)
- No.7 Angelo State (6-5 in 13 innings May 12 in Tyler, Texas)
- No.1 UT Tyler (5-1 on May 13 in Tyler, Texas)
On Mar.1, LCU made their debut in the NFCA national Top-25 rankings, debuting at No.15. They moved up to No.10 on Mar. 21 for their best ranking since joining NCAA Division II (2016 season). They enter this week ranked No.16.

Looking at UTT

The Patriots qualified for the program's for NCAA Division II postseason by receiving an at-large bid after posting a 41-5 regular season record. They opened the NCAA Division II South Central Regional with an 8-0 win in five innings over Colorado Christian. Friday, they lost to LCU 5-1, but rebounded with a 2-0 win over Angelo State to put them into Saturday with a 43-6 overall record on the season.
The Patriots went 33-7 last season, finishing atop the LSC standings with a 27-3 conference mark. They were not postseason eligible (transitioned from Division III) last season, but this season they are.
UTT is hitting .357 this season (second in the LSC) and have 48 home runs on the season. They have a staff ERA of 2.10 (second in the LSC) and opponents are hitting .226 against them (fourth in the LSC).
They are 19-3 at home this season.
The Patriots rank fifth in the nation with their .357 batting average. Ashley Perez leads the team in the category and ranks 39^th nationally hitting .435.
UTT has four pitchers with at least eight wins on the season, as they have a staff that includes Payton Foster (12-1), Sarah Gartman (9-1), Tatum Goff (10-4) and Kaylee Davis (8-0).

Additional Preview Notes Can Be Found HERE

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