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23_SB_Gameday_24

Teams Tied in LSC Standings Open LSC Series at Maner Park

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

LCU and Eastern New Mexico Each Open Series With 6-6 LSC Records

LUBBOCK, Texas (March 7, 2023) – No. 10 Lubbock Christian University returns home to open a three-game Lone Star Conference series with Eastern New Mexico with a single-game 3 p.m. first pitch Tuesday at Maner Park.
 
LONE STAR CONFERENCE SOFTBALL
OPPONENT LOCATION DAY TIME (CT) WATCH STATS
Eastern N.M. Lubbock, Texas Tue., Mar. 7 3 p.m. Video Stats
Eastern N.M. Lubbock, Texas Wed., Mar. 8 1 p.m. Video Stats
Eastern N.M. Lubbock, Texas Wed., Mar. 8 3 p.m. Video Stats
WEATHER
 
 LCU and ENMU Series Snapshot
  • LCU leads the all-time series over ENMU, 39-0.
  • The Lady Chaps went 4-0 against ENMU last season, with all four games played at Maner Park. LCU outscored ENMU 27-2 in the four games, which consisted of a conference doubleheader and a non-conference doubleheader.
  • Skylar Herrera has appeared in seven career games against ENMU and is hitting .348 with six RBI.
  • Taylor Franco is 6-0 with an 0.47 ERA and 28 strikeouts in 29.2 innings over her career against ENMU.
  • Kasey Flores is hitting .444 historically against ENMU with a pair of home runs and four RBI in four games.
  • LCU is 19-0 all-time against ENMU in Lubbock.
  • The two teams have played four games in their history as LSC opponents and LCU is 4-0 in those contests.
 
How is the Team Doing?
  • LCU is 16-7 this season and coming off a three-game road series at Oklahoma Christian, where they were swept (placed their LSC record to 6-6).
  • This season's 16-7 stretch includes a 10-game and six-game win streak.
  • The Lady Chaps are hitting .337 as a team (10th nationally), with 22 home runs (14th nationally) in 23 games. LCU averages 6.2 runs a contest (26th nationally).
  • In the circle, LCU has an ERA of 1.85 (19th nationally and second in the LSC). Opponents are hitting .182 against LCU this season (leads the LSC). The staff has a WHIP of 1.00 (sixth nationally) and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 3.10 (ranks 19th nationally).
  • LCU leads the nation in doubles (49) and is seventh in doubles per game (2.1).
  • The Lady Chaps have batted in 132 innings this season. They have scored at least one run in 62 of them (47.0% of the innings).
  • Defensively, LCU ranks 19th nationally with a 97.8% fielding percentage. They are fourth in the LSC with 0.30 double plays turned per game.
 
Who is Doing What?
  • Pitcher Maxine Valdez is 6-2 this season with a 2.47 ERA in 39.2 innings pitched (also has a save). She ranks 36th nationally in WHIP (0.98), 48th in hits allowed per seven innings (4.9), 35th nationally averaging 8.8 strikeouts per seven innings and 45th in strikeouts (50). On Feb. 11, Valdez posted a complete game no-hitter against Chadron State, which was the third of her LCU career and led to LSC Pitcher of the Week honors. Valdez is 25-11 in her career.
  • Taylor Franco is 6-5 with a 0.95 ERA (33rd nationally) and ranks tied for ninth nationally with seven complete games. She is second nationally in shutouts (4), sixth in strikeouts (82), 13th in hits allowed per seven innings (3.7), 14th in WHIP (0.87). She claimed NFCA National Pitcher of the week honors this week (first of her career) on Mar. 1. On Mar. 5, she became the second Lady Chaps pitcher in program history to surpass 500 career strikeouts.
    • Franco ranks fourth actively in NCAA Div. II career shutouts (26), which is ninth actively at all NCAA levels.
    • Fourth actively in NCAA Div. II career innings pitched (585.1)
    • Fifth actively in NCAA Div. II career complete games (58)
    • Eighth actively in NCAA Div. II career saves (7)
    • 12th actively in NCAA Div. II career strikeouts (501)
    • 19th actively in NCAA Div. II career strikeouts-per-seven innings (6.0)
    • Ranks 23th actively in NCAA Div. II career marks in ERA (1.99)
  • New Mexico State transfer Hope Banales is hitting .375 (16th in the LSC) at the plate with a team-co-leading eight doubles, which is second in the LSC and seventh nationally.
  • Kasey Flores leads the team in hits (27, 25th nationally and tied for fourth in the LSC) and leads the team in home runs (8, fourth nationally and co-leads the LSC), RBI (29, third nationally and leads the LSC), total bases (61, second nationally and leads the LSC), slugging (0.984, which is 12th nationally and OPS at 1.529). She ranks seventh in the LSC hitting .435 on the season. The LSC recognized Kasey as the LSC Hitter of the Week on Feb. 7. In 23 games, she has 10 multi-RBI games.
    • In her career, Flores has the fifth-best slugging mark in active-career NCAA Div.II statistics, with a career slugging of .823.
    • She has 48 career home runs, which actively ranks 13th among all NCAA levels.
  • LCU has a 41-19 advantage this season in stolen bases. Berkeley Quinn leads LCU with 13 stolen bases (fifth in the LSC and 10th nationally) and Skylar Herrera has 11 thefts on the campaign (seventh in the LSC and 22nd nationally). LCU has 41 swipes and averages 1.8 in steals per game (third in LSC).
    • Herrera has 63 career stolen bases, which ranks 19th for active career leaders in NCAA Div. II
  • The Lady Chaps have 22 home runs this season (third in LSC) and nine different Lady Chaps have round-trippers this season.
  • Skyler Herrera ranks sixth in the LSC in runs per game (0.83… sixth in runs scored with 19).
    • Actively ranks 24th in NCAA Div.II in career runs (128)
    • 29th in total bases (279)
    • 38th in RBI (111)
    • 46th in home runs (24)
 
Lone Star Conference Breakdown
  • This season is LCU's fourth season in the LSC.
  • LCU is 51-29 all-time in LSC play.
  • The Lady Chaps went 23-7 last season in conference.
  • LCU is 6-6 in conference play, sitting tied for eighth in the LSC standings.
    • LCU is hitting .262 in conference, with 12 home runs.
    • The pitching staff has a 2.61 ERA in LSC play, with 81 strikeouts in 75.0 innings and holding opponents to a .217 batting average.
    • Kasey Flores leads LCU in hitting (.375), home runs (4), hits (12) and RBI (14) in conference play.
    • Taylor Franco has a 1.39 ERA and is 3-4 with 47 strikeouts in 45.1 innings. She is averaging an allowance of 4.5 hits per seven innings in LSC play.
 
 Season Expectations
  • The Lady Chaps are preseason picked to finish fourth in the Lone Star Conference.
  • LCU is in their ninth season playing a NCAA Division II schedule (2013 was their last season in NAIA) and this is their fourth season as members of the Lone Star Conference.
  • There are 15 softball programs in the LSC this season. The major difference from last season to this season is Texas A&M-Commerce made the move to NCAA Division I.
 
National Notes
  • Lubbock Christian is 0-4 this season against nationally ranked programs.
  • The Lady Chaps went 9-10 last season (2022) against nationally ranked programs.
  • LCU opened the season No.21 in the NFCA National Top-25 Coaches Preseason Poll. LCU is currently ranked No.10, falling from No.7. They have previously been ranked No.9, No.8 and No.7 this season.

Coach Talk
  • LCU head coach Daren Hays is in his 13th season at the helm of the Lady Chaps.
  • Hays is LCU's winningest softball head coach, entering Friday with a softball record of 502-164.
  • Along with surpassing 500 coaching wins in softball, Hays had surpassed 300 wins as a collegiate baseball head coach. He spent eight seasons as the LCU baseball head coach and compiled a 356-163 record.
 
Streaking Along
  • Berkeley Quinn has the longest streak of the season at eight games. She currently has an active three-game hit streak leading the team.
  • Quinn is also the active-leading streak in games reached-base-safely at seven games. Skylar Herrera has this season's highest mark, reaching base safely in 11 consecutive games this season.
  • Kasey Flores is leading the squad with 10 multi-hit games.
  • Kasey Flores also leads the team with 10 multi-RBI games.
 
Home on the Range
  • LCU is 301-47 (86.5%) all-time in home games at Maner Park.
  • Last season, LCU was 15-6 at home (17-7 in 2021).
  • This season, LCU is 13-4 at home.
  • LCU played their first 14 games at home this season, which is a program record for home games to start a season.
    • LCU is hitting .368 at home and has a 1.75 staff ERA.
    • The Lady Chaps have 17 home runs in 17 home games, with seven hit by Kasey Flores.
    • Kasey Flores leads LCU at home with a .489 batting average.
    • Maine Valdez is 5-1 at home and Taylor Franco has a 0.76 ERA at home.
 
In Summary
  • LCU has a 23-6 scoring advantage in the first inning and a 29-2 advantage in the fourth inning, with their highest offensive output coming in the second inning, with a 33-14 scoring advantage. LCU is 9-1 when leading after the first inning and 16-1 when scoring first.
  • The Lady Chaps are 15-1 when leading after four innings.
  • LCU is 11-2 this season when they hit at least one home run in a game.
  • The Lady Chaps are 11-2 when errorless. They are 14-4 when their opponents commit at least one error.

Looking at ENMU
  • The Greyhounds went 18-30 last season, finishing tied for 10th in the LSC with a 9-21 conference mark. They are 14-10 this season and are tied for eighth in the LSC with a 6-6 conference record.
  • ENMU is hitting .298 this season and have 17 home runs on the season. They have a staff ERA of 3.10 and opponents are hitting .257 against them.
  • They are 2-4 on the road this season. This is their third trip to Lubbock this season. They opened their season at Maner Park, playing their first seven games of the season (4-3). They played in the Lubbock Sports season-opening tournament and then hosted Chadron State in a doubleheader in a midweek series.
  • ENMU is preseason picked to finish 12th in the LSC in the LSC Preseason Poll.
  • Alondra Vasquez is tied for the third in the LSC in walks (15) and is third in the LSC in RBI with 22.
  • Brook Leger is 9-3 with a 1.94 ERA. She leads the LSC in innings pitched (79.1) and is fourth in strikeouts with 64.
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