LUBBOCK, Texas (March 14, 2026) – Kendall Ward twice shut the door Saturday at Maner Park, securing saves in Lubbock Christian's 4-2 and 5-2 victories over Midwestern State. The sophomore's back-to-back saves not only completed a doubleheader and season-series sweep for the Lady Chaps, but also moved her into sole possession of LCU's career saves record with 11.
 
GAME 1
Lubbock Christian erased an early deficit with a four-run fourth inning and received a strong outing in the circle from sophomore Natalee Gray to defeat Midwestern State 4-2 in the opening game.
 
Gray improved to 6-3 on the season for Lubbock Christian (13-12, 9-6 Lone Star), allowing two runs on six hits over five innings while walking three and striking out four. Sophomore Kendall Ward closed the door in relief, tossing two scoreless innings without allowing a hit to record her fifth save of the season.
 
The Lady Chaps finished with six hits in the contest, with six different Lady Chaps contributing with one hit (Madison Hunter, Kadin Vire, Ashlinn Hamilton, Coryn Burris, Riley Flores and Lexi Clark each recording a hit). Hamilton and Burris each drove in a run, while Flores added an RBI single and scored once during the decisive fourth inning rally.
 
Midwestern State (4-19, 2-13 Lone Star) struck first in the opening inning behind RBI hits from senior Tatum Waller and senior Marisela Landa. Freshman Chipper Mayorga led the Mustangs at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a double. Freshman Audrey Sierra (1-1) was charged with the loss after allowing three runs (one earned) over 3.1 innings before junior Kayleigh Bowers worked the final 2.2 innings in relief
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Midwestern State wasted little time getting on the board in the top of the first inning. Erikha Ibarra-Subia drew a leadoff walk, stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch before Waller lined an RBI single through the left side to open the scoring. After Mayorga followed with an infield single, Landa delivered a ground-rule double to right field to plate Waller and give the Mustangs a 2-0 lead.
 
Gray settled in after the early damage, limiting the Mustangs to three hits over the next four innings to keep Lubbock Christian within striking distance.
 
The Lady Chaps broke through in the bottom of the fourth inning. Hunter started the rally with an infield single and moved to second on Clark's groundout. Vire followed with a single down the left field line to put runners at the corners, and Hamilton drove in LCU's first run with a single to right field.
 
Following a pitching change, Burris reached on a fielding error that allowed Vire to score and tie the game. Chambers-Lee then reached on another error to load the bases before Flores delivered a single to shallow center to bring home Hamilton and give LCU a 3-2 lead. Flores later stole second, and a throwing error by the Mustangs allowed Chambers-Lee to score an unearned run and extend the advantage to 4-2.
 
Ward took over in the circle in the sixth inning and retired six of the seven batters she faced. The Round Rock, Texas, native struck out one and induced a pair of groundouts in a perfect seventh inning to seal the victory for the Lady Chaps.
 
GAME NOTES
» LCU won despite no extra-base hits. It was the first LCU win without a hit for extra bases since a 3-1 win over Nova Southeastern on Jan. 31, 2025.
 
» The two teams combined 2-for-15 in two-out at-bats, with LCU going 1-for-6 in two-out at-bats.
 
» LCU was 3-for-3 scoring a runner from third base with less than two outs.
 
GAME 2
Lubbock Christian used a pair of home runs and a three-run fifth inning to secure a 5-2 victory over Midwestern State in the second game of their Lone Star Conference doubleheader.
 
Freshman Alexis Pacheco drove in three runs, including a game-tying solo home run and a two-run double, while Ashlinn Hamilton added a solo homer and finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored to lead Lubbock Christian (14-12, 10-6 Lone Star).
 
Lexi Clark (5-3) earned the win in the circle for the Lady Chaps, allowing two runs—one earned—on five hits over five innings while walking three and striking out three. Ward recorded the final six outs to earn the save, which marked Ward's second of the doubleheader and the 11th of her career, setting a new LCU program record for career saves.
 
Midwestern State (4-20, 2-14 Lone Star) totaled six hits in the contest, with freshman Chipper Mayorga going 2-for-3 with an RBI. Erikha Ibarra-Subia added two hits and scored a run, while freshman Sydnie Rios also drove in a run for the Mustangs. Freshman Kaylin Salazar (1-1) was charged with the loss after allowing three runs in 1.2 innings of relief.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Midwestern State struck first in the second inning after Myka Riley reached on a fielding error in center field and moved into scoring position. With two outs, Rios delivered an RBI single to center field to plate Riley and give the Mustangs a 1-0 lead.
 
The Mustangs extended the advantage to 2-0 in the third. Ibarra-Subia led off with a single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt before Mayorga lined an RBI single down the right-field line to bring her home.
 
Lubbock Christian answered in the bottom of the third inning. Hamilton reached on a fielding error in right field and advanced to third on the misplay. Freshman Coryn Burris followed with a sacrifice fly to left field, allowing Hamilton to score and trim the deficit to 2-1.
 
The Lady Chaps evened the score in the fourth when Pacheco launched a solo home run to
left field, her third of the season, tying the game at 2-2.
 
LCU broke the game open in the fifth inning. Hamilton led off the frame with a solo home run to right field to give the Lady Chaps their first lead at 3-2. After Burris drew a walk and Kenzie Kauk singled to center, Pacheco delivered again, ripping a two-run double to deep right field to score both runners and extend the advantage to 5-2.
 
Ward took over in the circle in the sixth inning and worked around a one-out single, aided by a double play to end the threat. She retired the side in order in the seventh to secure the victory and complete the doubleheader sweep for the Lady Chaps
 
GAME NOTES
» Kendall Ward's two saves places the sophomore with 11 career saves, which is a career high for an LCU pitcher. She passed Katera Eltsosie, who had 10 saves from 2013-17.
 
» LCU registered their sixth doubleheader sweep of the season.
 
» Alexis Pacheco was 2-for-4 on the day, going 2-for-2 with three RBI in the second game for her fourth multi-hit game. Her three RBI marked a career high. The home run she connected on was her third of the season.   
 
» Ashlinn Hamilton led LCU with three hits on the day and was 2-for-4 in the second game with her third homer of the season and 10^th of her LCU. The performance in the second game marked her fifth multi-hit game of the season and 11^th of her LCU career.
 
» LCU hit two home runs in the game for a third time this season, matching a season high.  
 
» With a hit in each games, Kadin Vire actively leads LCU with hits in five consecutive games. She joins Riley Flores, as the pair co-lead the team in consecutive games reaching base safely.
 
» The Lady Chaps are 4-2 at home this season with the pair of wins. They one of four teams tied for the fewest home games played among LSC programs with six.

HISTORY LESSON
LCU's season sweep (4-0) over MSU has them with six straight wins in the series and 17-6 head-to-head all-time series. LCU improved to 10-2 at home against the Mustangs.  
 
WHAT'S NEXT
LCU remains home at Maner Park Friday at 1 p.m., as they open an LSC doubleheader against West Texas A&M in a Rivalry on the Range series matchup.