LCU softball game day graphic with bright blue sky. 'GAME DAY' in large light blue letters. Left shows player in orange 'CHAPS' uniform with tan visor. Center shows player in light blue uniform holding bat on infield dirt at Rosetta Canyon Sports Park with palm trees and mountains in background. Right displays 'LADY CHAPS VS. STANISLAUS STATE SUN - 11 AM (CT) ROSETTA CANYON SPORTS PARK LAKE ELSINORE, CALIF.' with team logos. LSC and New Balance logos in corners

Lady Chaps Grind Through California Gauntlet, Close West Coast Challenge Sunday

02.08.2026 | By: Chris Due (chris.due@lcu.edu)

LCU Looks to Build on Back-to-Back Wins in Finale vs. Stanislaus State

LAKE ELSINORE, Calif. (February 8, 2025) – Lubbock Christian University was one of the last teams to leave Rosetta Canyon Sports Park Saturday night, and will be one of the first teams to arrive early Sunday morning, as they close their play at the NCAA Division II West Coast Challenge with an 11 a.m. (CT) first pitch against Stanislaus State.

NCAA D2 WEST COAST CHALLENGE
OPPONENT	LOCATION	DAY	TIME (CT)	VIDEO	STATS	WEATHER
Stanislaus State	Rosetta Canyon Sports Park (Blue)	Sun., Feb. 8	11 a.m. (CT)	None	Stats	Forecast

LCU and SSU Series Snapshot

LCU and Turlock, Calif. based Stanislaus State have never met.
The Lady Chaps are 6-4 all-time against California based programs.
The Warriors are part of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA), and all five games scheduled for LCU in this event have all been against CCAA programs.

Season Tidbits

LCU is 2-5 on the season, bouncing back from an 0-5 start to win their last two games.
LCU's first five opponents were NCAA postseason programs that were regional qualifiers last season.
Kadin Vire leads the team hitting .476 with 10 hits in seven games.
Coryn Burris has two home runs and nine RBI to lead LCU in those categories.
Natalee Gray is 1-0 in the circle with a 2.33 ERA.
Kendall Ward, who led LCU in saves last season has two this season.

California Dreamin'

LCU's trip to Lake Elsinore marks their first-ever games in California.
The games are a homecoming for a trio of Lady Chaps, as Piper Garcia (Buena Park, Calif.) Brianna Chambers-Lee (San Jose, Calif.) and Gabby Diotalevi (San Jose, Calif.) are each from California.
LCU has seven games scheduled in California, with five games in Lake Elsinore and then a doubleheader Tuesday in Costa Mesa, Calif. at Vanguard.

Here is a recap of each of LCU's games played in California:
Game 1 – San Francisco State 11, Lubbock Christian 10 (9 innings)
Lubbock Christian suffered a heartbreaking extra-inning loss to San Francisco State as the Gators erupted for five runs in the bottom of the ninth to claim an 11–10 walk-off victory. Freshman Coryn Burris powered the Lady Chaps with two three-run home runs and six RBI, giving LCU a 9–6 lead in the ninth. Alexis Pacheco added an RBI single and sacrifice fly, while Kadin Vire and Lexi Clark collected multi-hit games. LCU led multiple times, including late, but San Francisco State answered with timely hitting to complete the comeback.

Game 2 – No. 14 Cal State San Marcos 8, Lubbock Christian 0
No. 14-ranked Cal State San Marcos used a pair of home runs and strong pitching to shut out Lubbock Christian, 8–0. The Cougars scored in four different innings and limited LCU to six hits. Alexis Pacheco went 2-for-2 to lead the Lady Chaps, while Kadin Vire tripled. CSUSM's Jordan Hill earned the win with four shutout innings and seven strikeouts. LCU loaded the bases in the fourth but came away empty, as the Cougars maintained control throughout.

Game 3 – Lubbock Christian 6, Cal State Dominguez Hills 5
Lubbock Christian picked up its first win of the season with a dramatic 6–5 comeback victory over Cal State Dominguez Hills. Trailing 3–0 entering the sixth inning, the Lady Chaps erupted for six runs, highlighted by a two-run double from Ashlinn Hamilton and a two-RBI triple by Riley Flores. Alexis Pacheco and Coryn Burris each drove in a run during the rally. Alexis Clark earned the win, and Kendall Ward recorded the save as LCU held off a late push.

Game 4 – Lubbock Christian 5, Cal State San Bernardino 2
Lubbock Christian closed the day with a 5–2 win over Cal State San Bernardino behind steady pitching and timely offense. The Lady Chaps scored twice in the first inning on RBI hits from Coryn Burris and Ashlinn Hamilton. Brianna Chambers-Lee delivered a two-run double in the sixth to extend the lead, and Kadin Vire added an RBI double in the seventh. Natalee Gray earned the win, while Kendall Ward notched her second save of the tournament.

Last Season Refresher

LCU went 23-22 last season and was fifth in the Lone Star Conference with a 26-18 conference mark. Additionally, LCU went 18-10 in West Division play to finish third in the division (LSC will not use divisions this season).
Their season came to an end at the NCAA Division II South Central Regional tournament in Canyon, Texas with a 3-1 loss to Colorado Mesa.
LCU went 4-11 last season against nationally ranked programs last season., collecting a win over No.1 West Texas A&M on April 25, 2025.
The Lady Chaps went 21-6 last season at home, 10-14 on the road and 5-2 in neutral site games.

Coach Talk

LCU head coach Daren Hays is in his 16^th season at the helm of the Lady Chaps.
Hays is LCU's winningest softball head coach, entering the weekend with a softball record of 590-223.
Along with surpassing 575 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 1,284 total games at LCU.

Looking at SSU