LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (29-17, 28-16 LSC) vs.
UT PERMIAN BASIN (18-28 LSC)
Friday, April 25, 2025 – 2 p.m.
Saturday, April 26, 2025 – Noon
Sunda, April 27 – 1 p.m.
Roden Field – Odessa, Texas
 
LEADING OFF
It seems like just yesterday that the Chaps opened the 2025 season, but somehow the regular season finale is already here. Lubbock Christian will be on the road for their last series of the year, taking on UT Permian Basin for four games at Roden Field in Odessa, Texas. The postseason implications of the four games loom large for LCU, which currently sits in fourth place. With two wins this weekend, they could secure at least the four spot for the postseason tournament, but they could also achieve it with losses by other teams. A sweep would move the Chaps up to No. 3. The top seven teams in the league standings at the end of the regular season, with the No. 1 seed receiving a bye in round one.
 
AWARD CENTRAL
Lubbock Christian senior infielder Brevin McCool was named both the Lone Star Conference and NCBWA South Central Region Hitter of the Week for games played April 16-19. McCool hit .667 (8-for-12) with five home runs, a double and 15 RBI without any strikeouts to lead the Chaps to a conference series sweep of Cameron. He scored 10 runs, walked five times – three intentionally – and was hit by a pitch. His slugging percentage was 2.000. McCool also played errorless defense at third base. In the series-opening win, McCool's first three at-bats (in just three innings) were: grand slam, three-run home run and two-run homer. It is the fourth time this season he has earned each award.
 
POWER SURGE
Lubbock Christian enters the weekend ranked No. 6 nationally in slugging percentage (.599), No. 6 in scoring (10.4), No. 5 in home runs (78), No. 4 in hits (542) and No. 7 in batting average (.351). They are also second nationally in walks drawn with 271 for a team on-base percentage of .457. Seven of the nine Chaparral starters are batting at least .330 on the season, including Brevin McCool and Jacob Gutierrez both batting above .400. LCU hit a whopping .463 against Cameron last weekend. In the series-opener, the Chaps racked up 34 runs, which broke a program record that had stood since 1994.
 
RECORD-CHASIN'
Leading the Chaps in their offensive onslaught of the Aggies last weekend was McCool and his 24 total bases. Five of his eight hits on the weekend left the yard, bringing his season total to 28. He is now one away from tying the Lone Star Conference single-season record, set by Cameron's Chase Larsson in 2011. Furthermore, he is three shy of tying the LCU single-season record, set by Barry Wilkins in 1987. That season, Wilkins hit .364 and lead the nation in round-trippers, earning Honorable Mention All-American honors. Wilkins did set the record in 73 games, averaging .425 homers per game. McCool is averaging .608 home runs per game this season. Finally, McCool is five homers away from tying the Lubbock Christian career record. That record has been held for 48 years by John "The Franchise" Harris, who was drafted after his junior season (1976) and eventually made it to the big leagues with the California Angels.
 
TO START WITH…
Lubbock Christian mixed in two more pitchers into the starting rotation in the series against Cameron, using Logan Moore in the third game and Andrew Duran in the series finale. They have now tried 11 different arms in the rotation this year, with Ryan Markwardt as the only pitcher to start every weekend this season. Markwardt has had a great senior season, posting a 3.14 ERA in 66 innings of work and his 69 strikeouts are the second-most in the Lone Star Conference. Overall, LCU's starting pitchers have posted a 8.51 ERA in 177.2 innings with 161 strikeouts.
 
IN THEIR DEFENSE
Lubbock Christian has the third-best fielding percentage in the Lone Star Conference at .968. They have committed just 50 errors on the year, including 17 games without an error. They are 15-2 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. 5 in the league and No. 25 nationally in double plays turned with 35.
 
REGIONALLY RECOGNIZED
The first NCAA regional rankings of the year were released on Wednesday of this week, and Lubbock Christian was one of the nine teams named in the South Central Region. This first week list is not ranked, but instead listed in alphabetical order. The Chaps currently boast the fifth-best RPI of the teams in the region. Other LSC teams under consideration this week included Angelo State, St. Mary's, St. Edward's, UT Tyler and West Texas A&M. The RMAC teams include Colorado Mesa, CSU-Pueblo and Regis.
 
OTHER STATISTICAL METRICS
Invented by the legendary Bill James, Runs Created estimates a player's offensive contribution in terms of total runs. It combines a player's ability to get on base with his ability to hit for extra bases. Then it divides those two by the player's total opportunities. The formula is TB x (H + BB) / (AB + BB). It's no surprise that McCool leads the team in runs created with 98.99 this season. In runs created per nine innings, McCool averages 24.75. That means if the Chaps ran out a lineup of nine Brevin McCools, they would score almost 25 runs per game.
 
 
ROAD JOURNAL
LCU is back out on the road where they have posted an 13-9 record so far this season. The Chaps hit just .311 on the road this season, compared to .389 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 .270 batting average away from home compared to .356 at home. The Falcons play their home games at Roden Field, which features a natural grass and dirt playing surface.
 
STREAKS & MULTIS
The longest reached-base streak of the season now belongs to – who else – Brevin McCool. After the weekend against Cameron, he has now reached base in 29 consecutive games, surpassing Johnny Gomez III's 27-game streak from earlier this season. The only other active streaks in the double-digits belong to Adam Garcia (13) and Frayner Chavez (11). Shea Bowen has the longest active hitting streak at 10 games. Jacob Gutierrez leads the team in multi-hit games with 24, and McCool's 18 multi-RBI games (including four times with five) are the most on the Chaps.
 
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 3,442 games throughout all those years, posting an overall program record of 2,310 wins and 1,132 losses in that time. For the last 20 seasons, it has been head coach Nathan Blackwood leading the program, and he has a 831-384 record.
 
THE SERIES WITH THE FALCONS
Lubbock Christian and UT Permian Basin have met 47 times on the diamond all-time in a series that started back in 2005. The Chaps lead the all-time series 38-9, including wins in the first 13 meetings between the teams. LCU and UTPB met a whopping eight times during the 2024 season. The Falcons won the regular season series at Hays Field, but the Chaps won four meetings in the postseason, including in the LSC Championship and the South Central Regional final.
 
SCOUTING THE FALCONS

• UT Permian Basin has the fifth-lowest team ERA in the Lone Star Conference at 9.22, and opponents are hitting .332 against them
• Falcon infielder and Lubbock native Kaleb Scull is the conference leader in doubles with 22
• Head Coach Justin Phillips is in his first year leading the Falcon program. He was previously the head baseball coach in Trinity Christian School in Lubbock, and is a graduate of Harding
• UT Permian Basin is tied for the second-fewest home runs in the league with 29, but they rank third in doubles with 100
• UTPB allows 82.6 percent of base-stealers to be successful, which is the third-worst mark in the league