LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (23-15, 22-14 LSC) at
EASTERN NEW MEXICO (24-14, 22-14 LSC)
Friday, April 11, 2025 – 7 p.m. CT
Saturday, April 12, 2025 – 4 p.m. CT
Sunday, April 13 – 2 p.m. CT
Greyhound Field – Portales, New Mexico
 
LEADING OFF
It's another big series for the Lubbock Christian baseball team as they head out on the road to the Land of Enchantment for four games against Eastern New Mexico. The Chaps and Greyhounds currently have identical 22-14 records in Lone Star Conference play, making them tied for fifth in the league standings with three weeks left in the regular season. ENMU has been on a hot streak of late, winning 10 of their last 12 contests, but LCU will need to slow them down if they want a chance to moved up into the top four of the conference and host a first round series in the LSC tournament -- not to mention the larger implications for making the NCAA Tournament.
 
OFFENSIVE OUTPUT
Lubbock Christian enters the weekend ranked No. 6 nationally in slugging percentage (.575), No. 8 in scoring (9.8), No. 9 in home runs (58), No. 5 in hits (443) and No. 7 in batting average (.345). They are also third nationally in walks drawn with 226 for a team on-base percentage of .453. Six of the nine Chaparral starters are batting at least .340 on the season, including Brevin McCool and Jacob Gutierrez both batting above .400. In the series last week against West Texas A&M, it was Kyle Lewis leading the way at the plate with a .615 batting average. Nicklaus Baumbach also hit . 412 against the Buffs.
 
TABLE-SETTERS
One of the reasons the LCU offense has been so dangerous has been their ability to put the leadoff batter on base. The Chaps are reaching at a .459 clip this season in leadoff opportunities, 40 points higher than their opponents. Bowen, who was moved to the top of the lineup after the first month of the season, is reaching base at a .490 clip in leadoff opportunities. LCU's best leadoff OBP belongs to Johnny Gomez III at .700, but in just 20 chances. Baumbach and Adam Garcia are also both reaching base at better than a .500 clip when leading off.
 
TO START WITH…
LCU has used the same four starting pitchers for three weeks in a row, now sending Karson Dunn, Ryan Markwardt, Evan Roach and Jake Llaneza to the bump. Dunn had the best outing of his LCU career last week against the Buffs, striking out seven batters in seven innings – both career highs – while allowing just three runs. Markwardt also had a strong performance with six shutout innings, lowering his season ERA to 3.57. The lefty's 63 strikeouts are the second-most in the LSC. ENMU is projected to use Demitrius DiMatteo, Cole Lancaster, Josaiah Estrella and Chase Rozell in their starting rotation for the series.
 
THE DEFENSE DOESN'T REST
Lubbock Christian has the third-best fielding percentage in the Lone Star Conference at .968. They have committed just 42 errors on the year, including 14 games without an error. They are 12-2 in those contests. Earlier this season, they went four straight games without an error, marking the first time they have gone more than three games in a row without an error since March 29 to April 9, 2019, when they went six straight games. If the season ended today, it would be their highest fielding percentage in a season since 2017, when the Chaps posted a .972 mark with just 57 errors on the year. LCU is also No. 3 in the league and No. 25 nationally in double plays turned with 25.
 
LEADING THE NATION
Chaparral third basemen Brevin McCool is having a senior season to remember and writing his name all over the LCU and LSC record books in the process. The New Mexico native has already set the league's single-game home run record with four on March 10 as well as surpassing the career mark with 52 (and counting). That mark is also the most among active D-II players. He ranks in the top 10 nationally is six offensive stats, including leading all of D-II in home runs (22) and total bases (149). He has more total bases than at-bats (147). He also ranks third in slugging (1.014), fourth in RBI (60), seventh in runs (54) and in hits (63). The 22 home runs this season are the most by a Chap in a single season since 2011, when Richard Bohlken hit 23. McCool is eight short of setting the LSC single-season record (Chase Larsson, Cameron, 2011) and 10 shy of setting LCU's single-season mark (Barry Wilkins, 1985).
 
OTHER STATISTICAL METRICS
We've already talked about BABIP once this season but it's been a bit. The stat known as batting average on balls in play removes outcomes not affected by the opposing defense (namely home runs, walks and strikeouts). Last time, we looked at it from the offensive side, but this stat is likely even more important when evaluating pitchers because they have almost no control over what happens to a ball once it is put in play. Pitchers with a high BABIP are most likely victims of poor defense or bad luck, and neither is the pitcher's fault. This is not to say that pitchers have no control over the quality of contact against them, but research has shown that they have very limited control over whether a ball that is put into play becomes a hit. Still, the lowest BABIPs on the team belong to Markwardt and Logan Moore, who also have the lowest ERAs on the team. Overall, LCU's pitching staff has a BABIP against of .384.
 
CAUGHT RED-HANDED
Lubbock Christian caught a pair of runners stealing against the Buffs bringing their season total to 23, which is second in the Lone Star Conference. The Chaps have split the catching duties fairly evenly between Ryan Blackwell and Adam Garcia this season. Blackwell has nabbed 11 would-be baserunners, while Garcia has caught eight. Overall, LCU has a stolen base against percentage of .765. Eastern New Mexico enters the weekend with 65 stolen bases, which is the fifth-most in the league.
 
ROAD JOURNAL
LCU is back out on the road where they have posted an 11-7 record so far this season. The Chaps hit just .312 on the road this season, compared to .376 at the friendly confines, but the pitching has been much better away from home. Lubbock Christian's team ERA is more than two runs lower on the road than at home, and the staff is limiting opponents to a .280 batting average away from home compared to .360 at home. ENMU plays at Greyhound Field, which was built in 1992 and measures 365 feet to left field, 410 feet to center field with a 14 foot fence and 343 feet to right field.
 
STREAKS AND MULTIS
Bowen enters the weekend with the longest active streak of any Chap, having reached base in 22 straight games. He is followed closely by McCool's 21 straight games of reaching base. Baumbach's 14-game hitting streak came to an end last week, which is tied for the longest by a Chap this season. Gutierrez still leads the team with 20 multi-hit games, and McCool is the leader in multi-RBI games with 15.
 
2000 & COUNTING
Since the inception of LCU's baseball program in 1971, the Chaparrals have been one of the best baseball teams at whatever level they were playing. Lubbock Christian has played 3,434 games throughout all those years, posting an overall program record of 2,304 wins and 1,130 losses in that time. For the last 20 seasons, it has been head coach Nathan Blackwood leading the program, and he has a 825-382 record.
 
THE SERIES WITH THE GREYHOUNDS
Lubbock Christian and Eastern New Mexico have played 94 times overall in a series that began all the way back in 1971, which was LCU's first year with a baseball program. The Chaps lead the all-time series 71-23, including going 8-2 in the last 10 meetings. LCU swept the Greyhounds last year at Hays Field and also won the last series played in Portales 3-1.
 
SCOUTING THE GREYHOUNDS

• Eastern New Mexico leas the Lone Star Conference wit 18 triples
• Riley Price is in his sixth season leading the Greyhound program, posting an all-time record of 96-151
• The Greyhounds have caught just 12 runners stealing so far this season, which is tied for the second-fewest in the LSC
• The ENMU offense is led by Willie Ponce, who is tied with McCool for second in the conference in batting average at .429
• The pitching staff ERA for the Greyhounds is 6.56, which ranks right in the middle of the conference