Baseball | 03.18.2026

LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (14-12, 14-12 LSC) vs.
TEXAS A&M-KINGSVILLE (15-11, 15-11 LSC)
Friday, March 20 – 6 p.m.
Saturday, March 21 – 2 p.m. (DH)
Sunday, March 22 – 1 p.m.
Hays Field – Lubbock, Texas
 
LEADING OFF
Lubbock Christian University is riding a six-game winning streak as they head into a four-game series against Texas A&M-Kingsville at Nolan Ryan Field this weekend. It is the longest win streak of the season for the Chaps, who are coming off a series sweep at home against Texas A&M International. The Javelinas come into the series on a bit of a skid, suffering a series sweep at the hands of St. Mary's, who currently leads the LSC just past the halfway point in the season. The Chaps find themselves eighth in the standings, but really in seventh because UT Dallas is not eligible for postseason play this season. The top seven teams at the end of the regular season will advance to the LSC Tournament.
 
STARTING ON THE RIGHT FOOT
The Chaparral starting rotation has fluctuated some through the first half of the season, posting a 5.01 ERA in games started this year. The projected foursome for the series against the Javelinas includes Dakota McCaskill, Karson Dunn, Aaron Rubio and Bryce Nall. Nall had the best outing of the group last weekend against TAMIU, earning his first collegiate win with six innings of one run ball and lowering his season ERA more than four full runs down to 5.40. McCaskill got the win on Friday, pitching a career-high 6.1 innings, and Rubio was excellent again as well, keeping his ERA at 2.97, which is fifth-best in the conference.
 
OH, WHAT A RELIEF IT IS
Senior right-hander Caden Cline closed out Sunday's finale after Nall, earning his first save of the season. In doing so, he became the sixth different Chap to earn a save this season. The other five are Rubio, Isaiah Gonzalez, Evan Roach, Kyle England and Andrew Dalconzo. The only time in the NCAA era that LCU has had more different pitchers record saves in a single season was 2024, when there were seven Chaps who did so. The LCU bullpen has been through its highs and lows through the first half of the season, posting a 10.01 ERA overall in 77.1 innings of work while holding opponents to a .289 batting average.
 
PITCHER'S BEST FRIEND
LCU's pitching staff overall has been helped often by the defense behind them. The 21 double plays turned this season are the 16^th most in Division II and rank second in the LSC. Chap pitchers lean ground ball heavy overall, getting 244 groundouts to just 155 flyouts so far this year. Dunn is the most ground ball heavy, with 64 groundouts to just 23 flyouts. He is tied for the team lead with both Rubio and Cline for most double plays induced with four apiece.
 
POWER SURGE
Lubbock Christian is tied for the league lead and ranks Non. 32 nationally in slugging percentage with a mark of .519. They have 102 total extra-base hits on the year, incuding a league-leading 62 doubles and the third-most triples in the league with nine. LCU's 430 total bases are second-most in the league behind only West Texas A&M's 436. Although he has played in just 14 games, Ryan Gargett's .867 slugging percentage leads the Chaps. Among starters, it is Roe Forrest leading the team at .632 with Owen Alsup not far behind at .627.
 
LEAVING THE YARD
Thirty-one of LCU's extra base hits this season have left the yard, which is the second-most in the LSC and ranks 22^nd in Division II. They are averaging 1.19 home runs per game this season. In 2025, they led the league with 89 home runs, averaging 1.56 per game. Johnny Gomez III leads the team and is tied for four in the league in home runs individually with six. Forrest, Kyle Lewis, Alsup and Hudson Grace have all hit at least three as well. Texas A&M-Kingsville is dead last in the LSC in home runs this season with seven.
 
NERVES OF STEAL
Lubbock Christian stole 10 bases across the three games against Texas A&M International, bringing their season total to 64, which is the 15th-most in Division II. They have also surpassed last year's season total of 41. The most bases the Chaps have stolen in the NCAA era is 87 in 2024, but even that season they only averaged 1.42 per game, while they are averaging 2.46 per game this year. Nine of their steals came in the 3/1 game against UT Dallas, which is the most they have swiped in a game in the NCAA era (since 2015). Four in that game came from Lewis, who ranks third in the LSC with 17 steals. Jorge De Los Santos (15) and Hudson Grace (15) are both also in the top five in the conference.
 
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 .408 clip this season in leadoff opportunities, compared to .385 by their opponents. Lewis has batted in the true leadoff spot most of the season, reaching base at a .375 clip in his chances to start an inning. De Los Santos has been LCU's best in leadoff chances, reaching base at a .565 clip.
 
FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA
LCU's 22 newcomers on the 2026 roster come from all over the North American continent, with a whopping 16 (72  percent) hailing from outside of the Lone Star State. The largest contingent from outside of Texas come from Colorado (5), but they also have players from New Mexico, Washington, Idaho, Arizona, Tennessee, Florida, Mexico and even Sitka, Alaska, which more than 3000 miles away from Lubbock.
 
ROAD JOURNAL
Lubbock Christian is headed back out on the road for the fourth time this season, where they are 4-7 so far this season. LCU has not one a road series yet this year, but split both at Oklahoma Christian and at Angelo State. The Chaps are hitting just .260 in their road games, with Forrest as the team's leading road hitter at .379. Nolan Ryan Field has been the home of Javelina baseball since its construction in 1994 and has lights and seating for 4.000 fans. It features a natural grass playing surface.
 
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 3,476 games throughout all those years, posting an overall program record of 2,329 wins and 1,147 losses in that time. For the last 20 seasons, it has been head coach Nathan Blackwood leading the program, and he has a 850-402 record.
 
SCOUTING THE JAVELINAS

• TAMUK is the third-best hitting team in the conference with a .326 batting average, but only 19 percent of their hits go for extra bases and they rank 10^th in the league in slugging percentage
• The Javelinas started the season with three straight series wins against Eastern New Mexico, Cameron and UT Permian Basin
• TAMUK's pitching staff has racked up 218 strikeouts, which is the most in the LSC
• Head coach Jason Gonzales is in his 18^th season leading the program with an all-time record of 507-369
• Javelina pitcher James Placke's .217 opponent's batting average is the second-best among LSC pitchers

 
THE SERIES WITH THE JAVELINAS
Lubbock Christian and Texas A&M-Kingsville have met 38 total times, all in the 21^st century, with the Chaps leading the all-time series 17-11. LCU has won nine straight games against TAMUK, with the Javelinas last win coming in 2023. The last time the Chaps lost a series to TAMUK was back in 2021 when they dropped three of four in Lubbock. LCU is 9-6 all-time at Nolan Ryan Field.