GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (May 18, 2023) – Lubbock Christian University saw the 2023 season come to a close on Thursday at the NCAA South Central Regional as they fell to No. 3 seed St. Edward's 6-2 and No. 2 seed Colorado Mesa 5-2.
 
The Chaps end the season with a 35-23 overall record, reaching the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in program history. This is their 17^th 30-win season under head coach Nathan Blackwood.
 
GAME ONE
Facing off with the Hilltoppers for the sixth time this season, LCU sent Aydan Alger to the mound to face off with SEU starter Luke Short. St. Edward's got on the board first with three runs in the second, which would end up being all they needed to win the ballgame.
 
The Hilltoppers added to their lead and eventually went up 6-0 with solo runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth. The absence of LCU runs was not for their lack of trying though, as the Chaps put at least one runner on base in every single inning and had scoring chances almost from the get-go.
 
In the first, Eduardo Acosta hit a two-out single and Nate Van Maanen followed with double, but no runs came across. LCU had another great scoring chance in the fourth with a leadoff single from Jarred Gibson and a double from Chris Shull put the pair in scoring position with no outs, but a groundout and two strikeouts ended the frame.
 
Still with time to come back in the top of the sixth, Lubbock Christian loaded the bases with two outs thanks to singles from Ryan Ball and Hayden Blair and a Hilltopper error, but Short wriggled out of the jam once again.
 
The Chaps ended up out-hitting SEU 12-10 in the loss, but stranded 15 runners. They had just two hits with runners in scoring position in 14 chances for a .143 batting average, and one of those hits didn't even drive in a run.
 
LCU finally got on the scoreboard in the seventh on a single from Gibson to score McCool. Gibson also had the other Chap RBI in the game with his solo home run in the top of the ninth.
 
GAME TWO
Ryan Markwardt went to the mound in the second game of the day as the Chaps tried to stave off elimination in what was a pitcher's duel most of the way.
 
The Chaparral lefty allowed an early solo shot in the second that just cleared the wall, but otherwise kept the host Mavericks scoreless through the first five frames.
 
He was given the slimmest of leads to work with in the top of the fourth, when Lubbock Christian loaded the bases with one out, pushing in a run on a Blair walk and another on a groundout from Caden Hensley.
 
Markwardt executed the shutdown inning in the bottom of the fourth and kept CMU off the board again in the fifth, but they tied the game in the sixth and took the lead with a two-out double on a 3-2 count. Colton Brown came on in relief to start the seventh and allowed a pair of insurance runs before Shull came in from center field and got a strikeout to end the frame.
 
McCool homered against the Colorado Mesa closer to lead off the eighth, cutting the Chap deficit back to just two. It was his 14^th home run of the season, tying him for the team lead in just his sophomore year.
 
The Mavericks got the run back in the bottom of the eighth though, and LCU was only able to get a two-out walk in the final frame.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
80 | With the home runs from Gibson and McCool, Lubbock Christian ended the season with exactly 80 on the year. It is the most hit by a Chaparral team in a single season in the last eight years, which is as far back as that data is available
.150 | LCU didn't strand as many runners in the nightcap, but still had just one hit in six at-bats with runners in scoring position, and it did not drive in a run. On the day, they were 3-20 (.150 BA) in those situations
88.0 | With 6.0 innings of work against the Mavericks, Markwardt ended the season as the team-leader in innings pitched at 88.0. He posted a 4.60 ERA in his 16 appearances
20 | Head coach Nathan Blackwood has now completed 20 seasons at the helm of the LCU program, posting an all-time record of 757-351 (.683)