FORT SMITH, Ark. - Lubbock Christian takes their longest road trip of the season, traveling east 529 miles to face Arkansas Fort Smith in a four-game conference series.

Lubbock Christian (7-5, 7-5 LSC) at Arkansas Fort Smith (5-5, 3-5 LSC)
Thursday, Feb. 23 - 1:00 PM
Friday, Feb. 24 - Doubleheader - 1:00 PM & 4:00 PM
Saturday, Feb. 25 - 1:00 PM
Fort Smith, Arkansas - Crowder Field

LEADING OFF 
Lubbock Christian is coming off a split in the series against RV UT Tyler. The Chaps dropped the first two games 17-4 and 12-11, before sweeping the double header on Sunday 13-5 and 12-6. Carson Ogilvie recorded a .429 batting average with six runs, two RBI and a home run in the series against the Patriots.  Brevin McCool meanwhile recorded a .467 batting average, eight RBI, four runs, and a home run in the series vs UT Tyler. McCool saved his best for last, hitting .555 with seven RBI and three runs in the Feb. 19 doubleheader vs UTT. The Chaps lead the conference and rank second in D-II with 17 double plays. LCU also leads the country in triples with eight.

THE CHAPARRAL NINE
• Lubbock Christian leads the series against UAFS 14-9, but have not won a series outright since sweeping the Lions in 2019 in Arkansas
• After giving up 29 runs in the first two games, LCU held UT Tyler to just 11 runs in the final two of the series.
• Chris Shull leads the conference and is third in Division-II with 23 total RBI, while his teammate Nate Van Maanen ranks third in the conference and 16th in D-II with 18 RBI. 
• Eduardo Acosta hit his first home run of the season on Feb. 19 vs UT Tyler. Acosta leads the conference with 23 runs and is second in batting average (.489)

ACOASTING
Eduardo Acosta has been raking at the dish this season as he leads the conference and the country with 23 runs and is second in the LSC in batting average (.489). His 23 total hits are the fifth-most of any batter so far in Division-II this season. Acosta's 15 RBI are 32nd in the country and sixth in the Lone Star Conference.

THAT'S OFFENSIVE
LCU has scored at will this season, as the Chaparrals 120 total runs in twelve games are the second most in the Lone Star Conference and fifth in Division-II. The Chaps' 139 hits so far are first in the conference and fourth in the country. Lubbock Christian is tied with Lynn for the most triples with eight, as Ogilvie and Shull lead the country individually with two apiece. The team's 30 doubles are second in the LSC and 8th in D-II with Ogilvie leading the conference with eight so far this season. Chris Shull leads the conference and is third in Division-II with 23 total RBI, while his teammate Nate Van Maanen ranks third in the conference and 16th in D-II with 18 RBI. 

MAN IT'S WINDY OUT HERE
For those unaware of the weather in the South Plains, wind speeds average at least 12.9 mph during baseball season, with gusts on average of 25-30 mph. The wind has helped the Chaps at Hays Field, with 15 total home runs at home this season. While it is a smaller sample size, LCU has hit just two home runs on the road in four away games this season. Shull leads the team and is tied for the conference lead in homers with five so far this season.

DURAN DURAN
Andrew Duran tossed the first complete game for the Chaps this season, going 7.0 innings in a 9-1 win over UTPB on Saturday, Feb. 11. The Rio Rancho, N.M. native allowed just two hits and one run, walking two batters and striking out eight. He followed that outing up with his second straight win on Feb. 19 against UT Tyler, going 5.2 innings, allowing eight hits, five runs, and striking out five.

PITCHER'S BEST FRIEND
Pitchers on the LCU staff have benefited from a solid infield defense behind them. Acosta at third, Carson Ogilvie at shortstop and Caden Hensley and Ryan Ball have split playing time at second so far this season. Nate Van Maanen and Jarred Gibson have split time at first base. The Chaparral infield has turned 16 double plays so far this season, the most in the LSC and the second most in all of Division-II.

REGIONALLY RECOGNIZED
In the NCBWA preseason regional poll, the Chaps were voted seventh, earning 28 points. It is the first time the Chaps have been ranked in the NCBWA preseason region poll since 2018, when LCU was picked second in the initial region rankings. Eduardo Acosta earned All-Region Team honors for the first time in his career. Acosta is the first Chap to earn NCBWA Preseason All-Region honors since Chandler Casey and Andrew Pratt were named to the team in 2019.
Acosta was also the first Chap to be honored with a regional weekly award from the NCBWA since Chandler Casey earned South Central Region Pitcher of the Week on May 1, 2019, being named NCBWA Region Hitter of the Week on Feb. 8.

STREAKS AND MULTIS
Acosta saw his hitting streak of 22 games snapped on Feb. 17 against UT Tyler, going 0-for-3. Ogilvie also saw his hit streak end at 14 straight games, also going 0-for-3 on Feb. 17. The longest hitting streak now belongs to Shull and Van Mannen, who have both gotten a hit in all 12 games this season. Acosta leads the Chaps in reaching base, having reached base in 26 straight games.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Lubbock Christian will play 24 games on the road this season, all of those being Lone Star Conference matchups. The Chaps will travel as far away from Lubbock as Fort Smith, Arkansas (529 miles) and Laredo, Texas (524 miles), but will also stay close to home with trips to Odessa, Texas (119 miles) and Portales, N.M (91 miles). LCU went 14-10 on the road last season, but won only two road series, taking three out of four games from Texas A&M-Kingsville and sweeping Oklahoma Christian. Lubbock Christian has not had a losing record in away games in a full season since 2018 when they went 11-12 away from Hays Field. The Chaps did go 5-8 away from home in the COVID shortened 2020 campaign. LCU is 2-2 in road games this year, splitting with UTPB. 

2000 & 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 3,281 games throughout all those years, posting an overall program record of 2,208 wins and 1,092 losses in that time. For the last 20 seasons, it has been head coach Nathan Blackwood leading the program, and he has a 729-333 record in that time. 

SCOUTING THE LIONS
- Arkansas Fort Smith enters the game 5-5 overall and 3-5 in the Lone Star Conference, having split with St. Mary's last weekend.  
- The pitching for the Lions has been solid this season, averaging 9.8 strikeouts-per-nine-innings, the 50th most in the conference. Brayden Johnson ranks second in the conference and fourth in the country with 27 strikeouts, while Jakob Petross is fifth in the conference and 15th in the country with 23 strikeouts.
- Johnson and Petross also rank second and third in the conference in ERA, with Johnson holding a 0.50 ERA and Petross with a 0.55 ERA. Johnson earned LSC Pitcher of the Week and NCBWA South Central Region Pitcher of the Week honors on opening weekend after going 7.0 innings and allowing one hit and striking out 13 against East Central
- Matt Schilling leads the Lions in batting average, hitting .303 so far this season.
- Todd Holland is in his seventh season as UAFS head baseball coach. He has compiled a 463-321 win-loss record as an NCAA Division II head coach.

THE SERIES WITH THE LIONS
LCU leads the series 14-9, but have not won a series against the Lions since getting a sweep in Arkansas in 2019. The two squads split to open the season last year in Lubbock. LCU took the last series in Fort Smith 2-1, outscoring the Lions 18-1 in the final two games.

UP NEXT
LCU returns to the friendly confines of Hays Field to face Oklahoma Christian in a four game series. First pitch is set for 5:00 PM on Friday, Mar. 3.