AUSTIN, Texas (March 30, 2025) – Lubbock Christian came up short twice on Sunday, falling 5-3 and 18-11 to St. Mary's at Lucian Hamilton Field.
 
It is the first back-to-back losses for the Chaparrals in more than a month and drops them to 21-12 overall and 20-11 in Lone Star Conference play.
 
GAME ONE
Ryan Markwardt got the start in the first game of the day and fought through four and a third innings, but allowed four of the five Hilltopper runs in his third loss of the year.
 
SEU got on the board early, pushing a run across in the first but stranding the bases loaded. They added two more in the second and two in the fifth – on a pair of solo home runs – to lead by  five.
 
Meanwhile, Hilltopper starting pitcher George Hettrick was keeping the Chaps off the board. LCU put runners in scoring position in the second, third and sixth innings, but couldn't push a run across.
 
Hettrick went back out for the seventh to try and complete the game, but was chased from the game when the Chaps scored a run and loaded the bases. LSC leader in save Parker Tennill was brought into the game and gave up a two-run single to Nicklaus Baumbach, but Tennill got back-to-back strikeouts to end the game.
 
GAME TWO
The Chaparrals got the scoring started early, putting up four runs, including a three-run home run off the bat of Johnny Gomez III.
 
SEU immediately answered back with three runs in the bottom of the frame, and the Hilltoppers took the lead in the second with six more runs to go up 9-4.
 
Baumbach homered in the third to get one run back, and the Chaps brought in Logan Moore on the mound in the bottom half of the inning. Moore had an excellent outing, allowing just one hit and no runs over two and two thirds innings, keeping the Hilltoppers off the board through the third, fourth and fifth.
 
That gave the Chaparral offense the chance to work on the comeback. Doubles from Kade York, Shea Bowen and Brevin McCool plated two runs in the fourth and mad the score 9-7. LCU went scoreless in the fifth, but the top of the order came up again in the sixth.
 
Bowen walked to lead off the inning and McCool followed up with a home run to left center – off the Hilltopper scoreboard – to tie the game at 9-9. The Chaps put two more runners on in the inning, but a groundout ended their threat of taking the lead.
 
St. Edward's quickly broke the tie in the bottom of the inning, taking the lead on a balk by Liam Scott before breaking the game wide open with a grand slam by Lance Little. They would homer one more time in the inning and led 18-9 heading to the seventh.
 
LCU got two final runs in the seventh on a Frayner Chavez homer before the game ended.
 
GAME NOTES
» With their four home runs in the second game of the day, LCU now has 54 on the season and leads the league by 11.
» Brevin McCool's sixth-inning home run was his 20^th of the season.
» The 18 runs scored by St. Edward's are their second-most in a single game this season, behind only the 21 they scored against Sul Ross on March 9.
» After earning the save in game one of the day, Tennill pitched the final 3.2 innings of the second game, earning his first win of the season in the process.
» Baumbach led the way at the plate for the Chaps in game two, collecting three hits. It is his sixth three-hit game of the season.