PORTALES, N.M. (April 30, 2023) – The bats were hot again on Sunday, as Lubbock Christian University finished out the 2023 regular season with an 18-5 run-rule win against Eastern New Mexico.
 
The Chaps finished the season 31-19 overall, 29-19 in Lone Star Conference play. They end the regular season in fourth place in the league standings, meaning they will host a first-round series in the LSC Tournament next weekend. LCU will take on the No. 5 seed West Texas A&M in a best-of-three series, with the winner advancing on to the final site. Friday's game will start at 6 p.m., first pitch on Saturday will be at 3 p.m., and the if necessary game on Sunday will begin at 1 p.m.
 
Sunday's win started off exactly how you would imagine an 18-run outburst for the Chaps to start – with Carson Ogilvie getting on base. The next two plays saw him get caught stealing and Brevin McCool flying out to deep left center, giving the home team a chance to get out of the inning with no further damage.
 
The next eight batters all reached base. Eduardo Acosta got the rally going with a single, scoring the game's first run on a single from Jarred Gibson. Chris Shull homered in the middle of the inning – his 13^th blast of the season – and Caden Hensley and Ogilvie both drove in runs before the frame ended.
 
Ryan Ball drove in a run in the second, and with Marcos Escalera, tossing two shutout innings to start the game, the Chaps were in full control.
 
LCU really broke the game open in the top of the fourth inning. They sent 11 batters to the plate collecting six hits, including Hensley's first home run of the year, and scoring seven runs. The final three Chaparral runs came in the top of the fifth, with Shull, Hayden Blair and Hensley driving them in.
 
The Chaps went down in order in the sixth and got only a leadoff single from Ball in the seventh.
 
Escalera pitched through the fifth inning, getting the win and moving to 3-3 on the year, before giving way to Logan Moore, who closed out the game on the mound.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
 .706 | Carson Ogilvie feasted on ENMU pitchers on the weekend, batting an insane .706 with five walks for a .739 on-base percentage. Half of his hits were doubles, with five doubles and a triple. He scored 11 times and drove in another six
65 | With two home runs on Sunday, Lubbock Christian finished the regular season tied with UT Tyler for the LSC lead with 65 apiece
3 | Lubbock Christian has made the LSC Tournament for the third-straight season, every year they have been eligible
18.60 |The Chaparral offense scored 63 runs across the four games, forcing the Greyhound pitching staff into an ERA of 18.60 for the weekend
 
NEXT UP
Just two weeks after hosting them in the regular season, Lubbock Christian will meet up with West Texas A&M once again in a best-of-three series Friday through Sunday (if necessary) at Hays Field.