Lubbock Christian (31-19, 29-19 LSC) at
West Texas A&M (30-20, 28-20 LSC)
May 5-7 – Hays Field – Lubbock, Texas
 
WARMING UP
All 50 games of the regular season are officially in the books and it is time for postseason play to begin, and for the second-straight season, the Chaps get to start it at home. No. 4 seed LCU will host an opening round, best-of-three series in the Lone Star Conference Tournament this weekend, hosting No. 5 seed West Texas A&M at Hays Field. If it seems like the Buffs just left Lubbock, it's because they were here just two weeks ago for Lubbock Christian's final home series of the regular season. The Chaps have made the LSC Tournament in all three years they have been in the league and it was held, and this is the second-straight year they have earned a top four seed and the right to host a first round series.
 
FIRST PITCH

• Chap shortstop Carson Ogilvie finished the regular season leading the LSC and No. 2 nationally with 25 doubles. He is also tied for the national lead and leading the conference with eight triples
• In their series win at Eastern New Mexico last week, Lubbock Christian hit .477 as a team with an on-base percentage of .553
• LCU is tied for the national lead in complete games this season with 11. Ryan Markwardt and Andrew Duran are tied for the team lead with four apiece
• Outfielder Eduardo Acosta hit .500 with three walks against the Greyhounds, ending the regular season with an LSC-leading .440 batting average
• This is the 17^th season in head coach Nathan Blackwood's tenure that the Chaps have reached the 30-win mark

 
REGIONALLY RECOGNIZED
The second round of NCAA South Central Regional rankings were released on Wednesday, with the Chaps tied for fifth with MSU Denver. This is the first week the release has included the teams actually ranked, with last week's list just in alphabetical order. The top eight are released each week, but only the top six at the end of the conference tournaments will advance to the NCAA Tournament. This week's top eight featured six teams from the LSC and two from the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
 
EARLY AND OFTTEN
Lubbock Christian has done a good job of getting on the board early all season. They have outscored their opponents a whopping 73 to 35 in the first inning, and 182 to 119 in the first three innings combined. The Chaps hit .380 in the opening frame, with Ogilvie, Acosta and Nate Van Maanen all hitting above .400 in the first on more than 40 at-bats. They are 21-10 when scoring in the first inning and 25-11 when scoring first overall. Their record when leading after the first inning is 18-5.
 
HEAVY HITTERS
The Chaps clubbed six home runs in the series against the Greyhounds, ending the season with 65 total, which was tied for the LSC lead and ranks No. 27 among all NCAA Division II teams. They seem to be hitting their stride offensively, ranking in the top 25 nationally in batting average (No. 6), doubles (No. 6), hits (No. 5), on-base percentage (No. 18), runs (No. 8), sacrifice flies (No. 11), slugging percentage (No. 7) and triples (No. 5). Seven of the nine everyday starters are batting above the .300 mark, led by Acosta's .440 average.
 
THE FRIENDLY CONFINES
The Chaps finished the regular season with a 17-9 record at Hays Field. 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 1,154-354 in home games all-time.
 
LET IT FLY
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 two more home games than road game to this point in the season, the Chaps have hit seven more home runs at the friendly confines. The team bats 36 points better at home (.361 vs. .325) and the slugging percentage is a 63 points higher (.589 vs. .526). Acosta sees the most drastic split individually, with a .520 home batting average and a .355 average on the road.
 
STREAKS AND MULTIS
A lot of Chaps had good weekends at the plate in Portales, N.M., including Ogilvie, who batted a whopping .706 with five doubles, increasing his hitting/reached base streak to a team-leading nine games. He also continues to lead the Chaps in multi-hit games with 27. Van Maanen and Chris Shull are now tied for the team lead in multi-RBI games with 16.
 
A DEEPER LOOK
Our deep dive into baseball nerd statistics this week is going to be on the pitching side of things and the Component ERA. Created by the godfather of Sabermetrics Bill James, attempts to forecast a pitcher's earned run average (ERA) from the number of hits and walks allowed. It theorizes that pitchers can only really control how they pitch, not necessarily the outcomes and CERA/ERC allows us to see if pitchers were lucky or unlucky in giving up runs. Markwardt, for example, seems to have been slightly unlucky, with an ERC of 4.98, lower than his actual ERA of 5.20. Colton Brown, Chris Shull and Tyler Manyo all have lower ERCs than ERAs as well. Manyo's is the most drastic on the team, with an ERC of 6.01, a full run lower than his ERA of 7.17.
 
RIVALRY ON THE RANGE
The LCU/WT matchup this weekend will continue the Rivalry on the Range series between the two schools. Announced on August 6, 2019, the Rivalry on the Range is a year-long competition including 15 sports in which the two schools will compete against one another. The rivalry series scoring components includes head-to-head battles in men's soccer, women's soccer, volleyball, men's basketball, women's basketball, baseball and softball, with additional points available in postseason play.
 
SCOUTING THE BUFFS

• West Texas A&M closed out the regular season with a series split against No. 1 Angelo State last weekend in Canyon, Texas
• Buff third basemen Adam Becker ranks second in the LSC in home runs with 15 and third in batting average at .424. He hit .267 in the four games against the Chaps in the regular season, but did have a grand slam
• WT's team ERA of 6.21 is the third-best in the conference, but nearly two full runs higher than the second-place team St. Edward's
• The Buffs have attempted far and away the fewest steals in the LSC with only 29. They have been successful on 22 of those tries
• Head coach Matt Vanderburg is in his 15^th season leading the WT program