LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (21-13, 20-12 LSC) vs.
WEST TEXAS A&M (24-10, 22-10LSC)
Friday, April 4, 2025 – 4 p.m.
Sunday, April 5, 2025 – 2 p.m.
Monday, April 6 – 1 p.m.
Hays Field – Lubbock, Texas
 
LEADING OFF
Lubbock Christian suffered just its second series loss of the 2025 season last weekend and will be looking to bounce back this week against West Texas A&M in the newest iteration of Rivalry on the Range - the rivalry series between the two schools. Weather has once again adjusted the series for the Chaps, who will now host the Buffs on Friday, Sunday and Monday due to inclement weather on Saturday. Now in the back half of the regular season, LCU is two games behind WT in the Lone Star Conference standings. The Chaps currently tied for fifth in the league with Eastern New Mexico, and those two teams will face off next weekend in Portales, New Mexico.
 
MADNESS IN MARCH
Although it didn't end on a high note, Lubbock Christian had a strong month of March, going 12-5 overall, including 7-1 on their home field. The month included a series win against No. 2 Angelo State and a sweep of Texas A&M-Kingsville. They hit .362 for the month, led by Jacob Gutierrez's .441 batting average. Brevin McCool led in the slugging department with a .940 percentage. Chap pitchers limited opponents to a .330 batting average. Tyler Manyo did not allow a run in three relief appearances in the month, and Ryan Markwardt had a 3.27 ERA out of the starting rotation.
 
OFFENSIVE OUTBURST
Lubbock Christian enters the weekend ranked No. 3 nationally in slugging percentage (.590), No. 5 in scoring (10.3), No. 3 in home runs (55), No. 5 in hits (405) and No. 7 in batting average (.350). The are also fourth nationally in walks drawn with 208 for a team on-base percentage of .461. Six of the nine Chaparral starters are batting at least .350 on the season, including McCool and Gutierrez both batting above .400. Shea Bowen had the best weekend at the plate against St. Edward's, batting .571 with six walks for an on-base percentage of .700.
 
PAGING DR. MCCOOL
LCU's third basemen clubbed another home run against the Hilltoppers, his 20^th of the season and the 50^th of his career. He is the first LCU player to hit 20 home runs in a season since 2011, when Richard Bohlken blasted 23. His 50 home runs have him now with the ninth-most in LCU history, one behind Will Stramp. He already this season set the LSC single-game home run record (4) and career home run record. The Hobbs, New Mexico, native has been one of the top hitters in Division II this season, leading the nation in total bases (130), ranking second in slugging percentage (1.053), home runs (20), fourth in runs (4) and runs batted in (56) sixth in hits (58), 11th in walks (32) and 25th in batting average (.443). He has clubbed 12 doubles and four triples along with the 20 homers. He is also reaching base at a .554 clip and has struck out just 12 times all year.
 
ON THE BUMP
LCU has used the same four starting pitchers for two weeks in a row, sending Karson Dunn, Ryan Markwardt, Evan Roach and Jake Llaneza to the bump. Eight different arms have been used in the starting role this season, with LCU starters posting a 9.24 ERA in 125.2 innings of work. The overall Chap ERA is 8.81. Markwardt has been the ace of the staff, posting a 4.02 ERA in 47 innings of work. His 55 strikeouts are the second-most in the LSC, and he is limiting opponents to a .213 batting average. WT enters the weekend with the third-best ERA in the LSC and is projected to use Matt Milner, Max Langford, Nathan Scott and Chase Weaver in the starting role.
 
IN THEIR DEFENSE
Lubbock Christian has the third-best fielding percentage in the Lone Star Conference at .969. They have committed just 36 errors on the year, including 13 games without an error. They are 11-2 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.
 
CAUGHT RED-HANDED
Lubbock Christian caught a pair of bringing their season total to 21, which leads 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. West Texas A&M is not a team that steals much, but they are 39-53 (73.5%) this season.
 
RIVALRY ON THE RANGE
The LCU/WT matchup will continue the 2024-25 school year's Rivalry on the Range series. 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 on the Range 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. Fans can review the scoring system at rivalryontherange.com.
 
FRIENDLY CONFINES
The Chaparrals have played more than half of their 24-game home slate already this season, going 10-6 at Hays Field so far. 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. LCU is hitting a whopping .394 at home this season, compared to just .312 on the road The Chaparrals are 1,192-365 in home games all-time.
 
STREAKS AND MULTIS
The longest streak by a Chap this season came to an end over the weekend, as Johnny Gomez III missed reaching base and saw his 27-game streak end. The longest active streak now belongs to Shea Bowen, who has reached base in 18 straight games. The longest hit streak is from Nicklaus Baumbach, was has hits in 12 straight games. Gutierrez has the most multi-hit games on the year with 19, followed closely by Baumbach with 17. McCool is leading the team with multi-RBI games with 14.
 
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 3,430 games throughout all those years, posting an overall program record of 2,302 wins and 1,128 losses in that time. For the last 20 seasons, it has been head coach Nathan Blackwood leading the program, and he has a 823-380 record.
 
THE SERIES WITH THE BUFFS
Lubbock Christian and West Texas A&M have met a whopping 82 times in the history of the two programs, with LCU leading 56-26. The first meeting came all the way back in 1971, which was LCU's first season with a baseball program as a four-year institution. The Chaps have been in control of the series in the base two seasons, winning eight of the 10 matchups, including winning all six in 2023 – all of which were at Hays Field.
 
SCOUTING THE BUFFS

• Cory Hall is in his first season at the helm of the WT program, succeeding Matt Vanderburg after serving as his assistant for the previous 14 seasons
• The Buffs are hitting .325 as a team, which is the fifth-best mark in the Lone Star Conference
• WT has struck out just 162 times this season, which is the fewest in the league
• The Buff pitching staff is led by Max Langford, who has posted a 3.32 ERA in 40.2 innings of work
• West Texas A&M dropped its most recent series 3-1 to St. Mary's in Canyon. It was only their second series loss of the year