Lubbock Christian (21-16, 20-16 LSC) vs.
Wayland Baptist (24-13, 9-6 SAC)
April 11 - Hays Field - Lubbock, Texas
 
WARMING UP
Fresh off a series win against Texas A&M-Kingsville, Lubbock Christian faces a quick turnaround with former NAIA rival Wayland Baptist visiting for a midweek tilt Tuesday night. It is the final midweek game of the season for the Chaps, who beat Southwest (NM) 15-6 earlier this season in their only other nonconference contest. LCU and WBU, once fierce rivals in the Sooner Athletic Conference, will be facing off on the diamond for the first time since 2016.
 
FIRST PITCH

• With the series win over Texas A&M-Kingsville, Lubbock Christian jumped them in the standings and now sits in fifth in the LSC
• Wayland Baptist is also coming off a series win, having beaten Mid-America Christian two games out of three this past weekend
• LCU hit five home runs in Saturday's series finale with the Javelinas, tying their most in a single game this season
• The Chaps rank third in the Lone Star Conference with a .335 team batting average
• The Pioneers do have two series wins over NCAA D-II schools this season, having swept New Mexico Highlands and taken three out of four against Adams State

 
STARTING STRONG
The starting rotation had one major change this past weekend, as center fielder Chris Shull took the mound in game one. Shull had a strong first pitching outing, allowing just one earned run and striking out four in three innings, and the rest of the Chaparral starting pitchers followed suit. In the final three contests of the series, LCU did not use a relief pitcher, getting complete games from Ayden Alger, Ryan Markwardt and Andrew Duran. Alger pitched a gem, allowing just one earned run in a 2-1 victory. Markwardt struggled some early but bounced back and gave his team a chance in a one run loss. Duran allowed only three earned runs in the finale and struck out six. The four combined for a 3.00 ERA in 24 innings of work with a .283 opponent's batting average.
 
CAUGHT RED-HANDED
Chap pitchers have also been helped out by the guys behind the plate, with LCU catchers recording 22 caught stealings so far this year – tied for the most in the LSC. Jarred Gibson, Bo Hogeboom and Jaxson Edwards have split time at catcher with Gibson getting most of the starts. They have allowed stolen bases at just a 67.6 percent clip, and Gibson caught four runners stealing last weekend against Texas A&M-Kingsville, and Hogeboom picked off another. Gibson has now gunned down 12 runners, followed by Edwards with four and Hogeboom with three.
 
HARD-HITTING STATS
Heading to their final few weeks in the 2023 season, Lubbock Christian boasts the fourth-best offense in the league, averaging 8.9 runs per game. The Chaps rank in the top 25 nationally in batting average (No. 10), doubles (No. 9), hits (No. 16), sacrifice flies (No. 15), slugging percentage (No. 6) and triples (No. 3). Leading the LCU offense is Eduardo Acosta, who is third in the league with a .442 batting average. Carson Ogilvie also ranks third in the LSC in runs scored with 53, and Nate Van Maanen is tied for third with 49 RBI, followed closely by Shull's 48. Shull is also one of just eight total LSC players to have reached the double-digit homer mark so far this season.
 
SOLO SHOTS
With five home runs in the series finale against TAMUK, LCU now has 45 on the season, the third-most in the conference and the 26th most in all of Division II. A whopping 53.3 percent of those, however, have come without any runners on base. In the five-homer game against the Javelinas, only Van Maanen's homer came with a runner on base. Six of Shull's 10 home runs have been solo shots, and Gibson has cleared the wall seven times but only twice with runners on.
 
FRIENDLY CONFINES
Including the Tuesday night contest against the Pioneers, Lubbock Christian has just five games left at Hays field this season, where they boast a 12-9 record. Originally dedicated on April 29, 1978 as Chaparral Stadium, the complex was renamed Hays Field in 1999 to honor the L.D., Pearl, Larry, and Daren Hays families for their dedication and commitment to the ideals and values of Lubbock Christian University. The playing dimensions of Hays Field measure 340 feet down the lines, 380 feet to the power alleys, and 400 feet to straight away center. The program is 1,149-354 in home games all-time.
 
HITTER'S PARADISE
With the elevation of Lubbock (3,202 feet) up on the Llano Estacado and the way the wind blows on many spring days, Hays Field is a great place for hitting. Despite playing only five more home games than road game to this point in the season, the Chaps have hit twice as many home runs at the friendly confines. The team bats 77 points better at home (.369 vs. .292) and the slugging percentage is a whopping 157 points higher (.616 vs. .459). Acosta sees the most drastic split individually, with a .538 home batting average and a .317 average on the road.

STREAKS AND MULTIS
Only one Chaparral – Brevin McCool – currently has a reached base streak in the double-digits, having done so in 10 straight games. Van Maanen has the lonest hitting streak, collecting at least one in each of the last six games. Ogilvie, despite being third on the team with a .393 batting average, leads the team in multi-hit games with 19. Shull is the team leader in multi-RBI games with 13.
 
A DEEPER LOOK
For the baseball stat nerds out there, this week we're going to look at the BABIP of the LCU baseball team. That stands for Batting Average on Balls In Play. It's one of the simpler "modern" stats, because all it does is focus on plays where the opposing defense is involved (removing home runs and strikeouts). Some hitters are just particularly good at hitting the ball hard when they put it in play. The Chaps have a BABIP of .380, much higher than their .335 overall average, meaning when they, hit the ball, they hit it hard. Acosta leads the team individually with a .471 BABIP, followed closely by Ogilvie (.464) and Shull (.460).
 
SCOUTING THE PIONEERS

• First basemen Arturo Disla leads the team in hitting with a .423 batting average and 48 RBI
• The Pioneers run A LOT, leading the Sooner Athletic Conference and ranking 13^th in the NAIA with 87 stolen bases
• The team boasts a 5.04 ERA, led by senior Ty Jackson's 3.52 ERA in 69 innings of work
• WBU is 10-4 on the road this year. The have a slightly better batting average away from home, but their team ERA is almost two full runs worse on the road
• Todd Weldon is his second season as the head coach at Wayland Baptist after playing for the Pioneers in 2009 and 2010 and working as the team's pitching coach from 2013-18

 
THE SERIES WITH THE PIONEERS
This marks the 106th all-time meeting between the two teams. LCU leads the all-time series with a 78-27 mark. In 2016, when the two teams met for three midweek games throughout the season, WBU won all three. The last Lubbock Christian win over Wayland Baptist was March 24, 2015 by a score of 11-0 in Plainview, Texas. The last time the Chaps beat the Pioneers in Lubbock was March 25, 2014, when they swept a doubleheader 13-10 and 14-2.