TYLER, Texas (May 12, 2023) – In eight plate appearances, Tierra Delrosario reached base seven times. Teammate and pitcher Maxine Valdez threw 177 pitches. The gritty performances by members of the No.5-seed Lubbock Christian University Lady Chaparrals were unable to advance them through the elimination game stages in the Tyler Bracket of the NCAA Div. II South Central Regional, as LCU opened Friday with a 6-2 win over No.8-seed St. Edward's, but had their first 40-win season since 2017 come to a close with a 5-1 loss to No.4-seed No.22 Oklahoma Christian at Irwin Ballpark.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Score: Game 1: (5)LCU 6 - (8)SEU 2 / Game 2: (4)OC 5 – (5)LCU 1
Records: LCU (40-17), OC (38-15), SEU (27-28)
Location: Tyler, Texas (Irwin Ballpark)
Time of Game: Game 1: 2:23 / Game 2: 1:34
Weather: Game 1: 86-Partly Cloudy, Wind-12 to CF | Game 2: 85-Sunny Wind-9 to CF

Game 1 vs. SEU
 
LCU Highlights:

• Hope Banales – 3-for-5, 2 RBI
• Tiarra Delrosario – 2-for-2, 3 BB
• Kasey Flores – 2-for-5, 2 RBI

Turning Point:
Hope Banales and Kasey Flores had back-to-back two-RBI singles in the fourth inning, which helped LCU take their first lead of the game.  

How it Happened:
St. Edward's took the first lead of the game in the bottom of the first inning. LCU right fielder Berkeley Quinn was unable to come down with the third out, as she dove to attempt to rob Alexis Massey of a hit, and the ball coming out of Quinn's glove provided the Hilltoppers a 1-0 lead.
 
LCU was able to tie the game in the next half inning, as Kamryn Gibbs hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield to score Victoria Owens. In the fourth inning, LCU exploded for five runs. Banales hit a two-run single with the bases loaded and Kasey Flores followed with another two-run base hit for a quick 5-1 lead. LCU scored their final run of the game, and of the fifth inning, on a dropped third strike wild pitch.
    
Inside the Numbers:

• Maxine Valdez claimed the win in the circle and did it in two stints. Valdez pitched the first three innings and the final two innings for a combined one run allowed on two hits, while collecting eight strikeouts. She did not allow a hit to the final 13 batters faced.
• Skylar Herrera had a stolen base in the top of the third inning, which places her with 78 career stolen bases, and the swipe was her team-leading 26^th of the season. She claimed her second of the game (27^th of season), and her 79^th career stolen base, in the fifth inning to move past Lindzi Clemmer (78 from 2016-2019) and into second all-time in program history.  
• LCU notched six stolen bases in the game, which was their second-highest mark this season and the most since swiping seven bases against Chadron State on Feb. 9.
• The Lady Chaps matched a season high in walks, drawing seven in their at-bats.
• Tierra Delrosario reached base in all five of her at-bats, as she went 2-for-2 at the plate and drew three walks.
• The game was LCU's first neutral site win of the season (1-1).
• LCU stranded 13 batters in the game.

 
Game 2 vs. OC
 
LCU Highlights:

• Skylar Herrera – 1-for-2, HR, RBI
• Tiarra Delrosario – 2-for-3
• Berkeley Quinn – 1-for-3,

Turning Point:
LCU was hanging around, trailing 2-0 for a trio of innings, but OC's Brooklin Bain hit a two-out double in the sixth inning for an insurance run to put OC up 3-0.  

How it Happened:
For a third consecutive game in the tournament, LCU had to play from behind, as OC scored in the first inning. OC's first three batters reached on hits, but LCU was able to get out of the inning by holding OC to one run. OC hit their third sacrifice fly against LCU in the tournament, to add to the scoring in the third inning, as Kiley Brewster completed the task for a 2-0 advantage.
 
Trailing 2-0, LCU was unable to get much offensive life. OC pitcher Jill Dickson held LCU to three base runners over the first five innings. She pitched a complete game and never faced more than four batters in any inning. LCU's lone run stemmed from a solo home run hit by Skylar Herrera in the seventh inning, as LCU trailed 5-0 prior to her at-bat. OC's runs late in the game were tallied by a Bain double in the sixth inning and a two-run home run in the seventh inning by Kylie Janzen.
 
Inside the Numbers:

• Maxine Valdez made back-to-back starts in the circle. Valdez ended up with 12 innings pitched on the sunny humid afternoon and threw 177 pitches (100 against OC). She was the pitcher of record in both games and completed the season 16-7 and with 159 strikeouts in 125.1 innings for a pace of 8.9 strikeouts per seven innings, which is the second-best single-season mark in program history behind Sarah Mendez's 2012 pace of 9.8 strikeouts per seven innings.
• Skylar Herrera produced her 10^th home run of the season, which gives her 33 in her LCU career (ranks sixth in program history). The hit also provided her with a career high total in single-season hits with 56.  
• Tiarra Delrosario had two hits in the game to finish with a team-leading 22 multi-hit games on the season, which is the most since Lindzi Clemmer had 25 in 2019.
• Tierra Delrosario finished the day reaching base seven times in eight plate appearances, which led to her leading the team this season with a .498 on-base percentage, which is the highest single-season total by a Lady Chaps member since Liz Torres completed the 2016 season with a mark of .505.
• LCU completed the season with a 40-17 overall record. Their first 40-win season since 2017 and third since becoming postseason eligible in the NCAA in 2016.
• Of LCU's 17 losses, 11 were to nationally ranked teams, as LCU finished 0-11 this season against nationally ranked opponents.

HISTORICAL NOTE
LCU moved to 4-8 all-time in NCAA Division II South Central Region contests (four appearances). They finished 0-5 against OC this season and are 37-24 in the all-time series. In their win over SEU, LCU improved to 24-8 all-time against the Hilltoppers and it was their 13^th win over a 15-game span against them. LCU is now 4-7 all-time in games played at Irwin Ballpark.