PORTALES, N.M. (February 27, 2024) – Lubbock Christian University's six game road trip continues Tuesday at Greyhound Softball Field, as the Lady Chaparrals open a three-game Lone Star Conference series against Eastern New Mexico. First pitch was originally scheduled for 4 p.m. (Central), but high winds have pushed the start to 7 p.m. (Central).
| LONE STAR CONFERENCE SOFTBALL |
| OPPONENT |
LOCATION |
DAY |
TIME (CT) |
WATCH |
STATS |
| Eastern N.M. |
Greyhound Softball Field |
Tue. Feb. 27 |
1:00 p.m. |
Video |
Stats |
| Eastern N.M. |
Greyhound Softball Field |
Wed. Feb. 28 |
2:00 p.m. |
Video |
Stats |
| Eastern N.M. |
Greyhound Softball Field |
Wed. Feb. 28 |
4:00 p.m. |
Video |
Stats |
WEATHER
LCU and ENMU Series Snapshot
- LCU leads the all-time series over ENMU, 42-0.
- The Lady Chaps went 3-0 against ENMU last season, with all three games played at Maner Park. The previous seven meetings have been played in Lubbock and LCU has outscored ENMU 45-4 in the seven games.
- The last time the two teams met in Portales was Mar. 15, 2021 (14-3 LCU win). LCU is 16-0 all-time in Portales.
- Skylar Herrera has appeared in 10 career games against ENMU and is hitting .344 (11/32) with 10 RBI.
- Hope Banales is hitting .700 against ENMU (three career games), going 7-for-10 with two doubles and six RBI.
- Kamryn Gibbs has two career home runs against ENMU (nine games) and is hitting .471 with five RBI.
- Maxine Valdez is 2-0 with an 0.45 ERA and 29 strikeouts in 20.0 innings over her career (four appearances) against ENMU. The Greyhounds are hitting .125 against her all-time.
- The two teams have played seven games in their history as LSC opponents and LCU is 7-0 in those contests.
Season Tidbits
- The Lady Chaps are 6-7 on the season. They enter the ENMU series following a 6-3 win Sunday in Denton, Texas over Texas Woman's, which has them 5-4 in Lone Star Conference play.
- They have had three games canceled due to weather this season.
- Returning All-Region selection and three-time All-Conference selection Skylar Herrera had a two-homer game Sunday for her fourth multi-home run game of her career and leads LCU with three home runs on the season (has 36 in her lCU career).
- Maxine Valdez has a 2-3 record in the circle with a 2.51 ERA. She has 30 strikeouts in 28.2 innings. Valdez ranks 87th nationally with 7.3 strikeouts per seven innings, which is fifth in the LSC. Her 3.40 strikeout-to-walk ratio is seventh in the LSC.
- Valdez is the reigning Lone Star Conference Pitcher of the Week after claiming her first no-hitter of the season (seventh in LCU career, which is second in program history behind Taylor Franco's eight no-hitters) Saturday at TWU (LCU lost the game 2-1).
- She led the LSC last season with four LSC Pitcher of the Week honors and has five in her career.
- LCU pitchers have a 2.55 strikeout-to-walk ratio, which is 50th nationally and is fourth in the LSC.
- Teoni Lamb (2-2) ranks 27th in the nation in WHIP with a mark of 0.79. She did not allow a walk for the first 17.2 innings pitched to open the season and is on a pace of 1.2 walks allowed per seven innings (second in the LSC and is 80th nationally). She has allowed one run over her last 22.0 innings spanning four outings (one in relief, which a save was recorded) and ranks second in the LSC in shutouts (2, tied for 15th nationally), 31st nationally in ERA (0.72, second in LSC) and 53rd in hits allowed per seven innings (4.34, fourth in the LSC).
- The Lady Chaps rank 17th nationally in WHIP (1.10), which ranks second in the LSC. They also rank second in the LSC in ERA at 1.96 (24th nationally).
- LCU is hitting .292 as a team, with Hope Banales leading the team with 18 hits (she leads LCU hitting .419).
- The Lady Chaps have produced eight home runs and they have been hit by six different Lady Chaps. Skylar Herrera has three to lead the team.
- Banales (.468), Tiarra Delrosario (.458) and Riley Flores (.425) each have an on-base percentage over .400.
- LCU is hitting .319 this season with the bases empty, but hitting .268 with runners on base. They have struggled with runners in scoring position, hitting .220 as a team in the category. They are 1-for-17 (.059) with the bases loaded and holding their opponents 1-for-11 (.091) with the bases loaded.
- LCU has a 18-9 advantage against their opponents this season in two-out RBI. Hope Banales, Ally Oyanguren and Bailey Hughes each co-lead the team with four.
Lone Star Conference Breakdown
- This season is LCU's fifth season in the LSC.
- LCU is 79-40 all-time in LSC play.
- The Lady Chaps went 29-13 last season in conference (shared third place in the standings).
- LSC happenings this season.
- The Lady Chaps are 5-4 in LSC play this season.
- LCU is hitting .302 as a squad in LSC contests.
- Hope Banales leads LCU with a .484 average in LSC play. She has a team-leading 15 hits, along with three doubles and seven RBI. She has a .529 on-base percentage in conference.
- The Lady Chaps have seven home runs in LSC play from five different individuals. Skylar Herrera leads LCU with a trio of home runs in conference.
- LCU's pitching staff has a 1.93 ERA in LSC contests. They have held opponents to a .208 average.
- Teoni Lamb is 2-1 in LSC play, with a 0.41 ERA in 22.0 innings. Opponents are hitting .163 against her.
- Maxine Valdez (1-2) has 18 strikeouts in 18.2 innings and is holding opponents to a .148 average. She has one no-hitter in LSC play this season (Feb. 24 at Texas Woman's).
Road Review
- The Lady Chaps are 1-2 in road games this season.
- LCU went 15-6 last season in road contests.
- The Lady Chaps are hitting .256 on the road, with a 2-0 advantage in home runs (Skyler Herrera has both road home runs).
- Sydney Bowlin is 4-for-6 in road games and leads LCU in hits (4) on the road.
- Herrera leads LCU with four RBI on the road.
- LCU pitching has a 1.83 ERA on the road and is holding opponents to a .176 batting average. Maxine Valdez (0-1, 0.00, 7 strikeouts in 6.2 innings) and Teoni Lamb (0-1, 1.12, 8 strikeouts in 8.0 innings) are looking for their first wins in road play.
Streaking Along
- Tiarra Delrosario leads LCU, actively with a 12-game hit streak, which is the longest by a Lady Chap this season.
- Delrosario and Hope Banales each are riding a 13-game streak of reaching base safely, which are the highest marks by a Lady Chap this season. Ally Oyanguren has reached base safely in the last 11 games.
- Hope Banales leads LCU with five multi-hit games. Ally Oyanguren and Amanda Valdiviezo co-lead LCU with a pair of multi-RBI games.
Coach Talk
- LCU head coach Daren Hays is in his 14th season at the helm of the Lady Chaps.
- Hays is LCU's winningest softball head coach, entering Tuesday with a softball record of 532-181.
- Along with surpassing 500 coaching wins in softball, Hays had surpassed 300 wins as a collegiate baseball head coach. He spent eight seasons as the LCU baseball head coach and compiled a 356-163 record. Combine the two sports and Hays has coached in 1,232 total games at LCU.
National Notes
- Lubbock Christian went 0-9 last season against nationally ranked programs (went 9-10 in 2022).
- This season, LCU is 1-2 against nationally ranked programs.
- LCU opened the season receiving votes in the NFCA National Top-25 Coaches Preseason Poll.
Looking at ENMU
- The Greyhounds posted a 26-30 record last season, finishing tied for 10th in the LSC with a 17-25 conference mark. They are 13-4 this season with a 6-3 conference record (fifth in the LSC). They enter the series on a five-game win streak after sweeping St. Edward's in Portales, where they are 3-0 this season.
- Eastern New Mexico is hitting .373 this season (leads the LSC and is eighth nationally) and they have 16 home runs (leads LSC and is 18th nationally) on the season. They have a staff ERA of 3.61 and opponents are hitting .281 against them. ENMU is 28-of-28 this season in stolen bases.
- ENMU was preseason picked to finish 11th in the LSC in the LSC Preseason Poll.
- The Greyhounds are in the top-10 nationally in doubles (second, 38), slugging (fifth, .612), on-base percentage (sixth, .462) and total runs (sixth, 138).
- Alondra Vasquez has 10 doubles and four home runs this season, which has led to a team-leading 28 RBI. Taighen Whitzel and Samantha Gutierrez have also each produced five home runs this season.
