LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (31-19, 31-19 LSC) vs.
ST. EDWARD'S (31-18, 31-18 LSC)
Saturday, May 2 – 2 p.m.
Sunday, May 3 – 1 p.m.
Monday, May 4 – 1 p.m.
Lucian Hamilton Field – Austin, Texas
 
LEADING OFF
It is time for postseason play for Lubbock Christian University as the Chaps head to Austin to take on St. Edward's at Lucian Hamilton Field in the first round of the Lone Star Conference Tournament. The Chaps enter as the No. 5 seed, taking on the No. 4 seed Hilltoppers in a best-of-three series with the winner advancing to next weekend's final site at the No. 1 seed UT Tyler. LCU finished the back half of the season strong, winning each of their last five series of the year and going 16-4 in those games. They finished half a game back of SEU, who played only 49 games in the regular season and placed ahead of the Chaps in winning percentage. The series has been shifted back one day already due to inclement weather expected in Austin on Saturday.
 
AWARD CENTRAL
LCU junior infielder Tanner Pachorek was named the Lone Star Conference Hitter of the Week, the league announced on Monday. He hit .500 in a series win against UTPB, extending his active hitting streak to seven games, and half of his hits left the ballpark. With three home runs on the weekend, the Colorado native collected 15 total bases and slugged 1.250 while driving in eight runs and scoring four more. In Sunday's regular season finale, he reached base all five times he came to the plate, collecting three hits (including a homer) and walking twice.
 
LCU AT THE LSC TOURNAMENT
This is LCU's sixth-straight trip to the Lone Star Conference Tournament, which includes every year they have been in the league (except 2020, when no tournament was held due to the COVID-19 pandemic). The Chaps are 16-9 all-time in the league's postseason matchups, including a conference tournament title in 2024. They have been a top four seed in four of their six tournament appearances and have advanced to the final site five times in six tries as well, including doing so as the No. 6 seed in 2021. Their one first round loss came to St. Edward's in 2022.
 
REGIONALLY RECOGNIZED
The first ordered regional rankings of the 2026 came out this season with Lubbock Christian ranked No. 5. Of the eight teams ranked, six were from the Lone Star Conference and two were from the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. Colorado Mesa is currently in the No. 1 spot. St. Edward's is ranked right behind LCU at No. 6. The top six teams after the conference tournament will advance to the NCAA Regional. The No. 1 seed hosts the Nos. 4 and 5 seeds, while the No. 2 seed hosts the Nos. 3 and 6 seeds. LCU has made the NCAA tournament three straight seasons and six times overall in their nine seasons since becoming NCAA postseason eligible.
 
AWESOME APRIL
Lubbock Christian had a great finish to the regular season, going 13-3 in the month of April, including series wins against West Texas A&M, Eastern New Mexico, Cameron and UT Permian Basin. They hit .314 as a team with 38 doubles, 11 triples and 17 home runs. Pachorek led the offense with a .372 average in the month, while Hudson Grace racked up a whopping 15 extra-base hits in the month for a .783 slugging percentage. On the mound, the pitching staff has posted a 4.71 ERA with a .264 opponent's batting average. Bryce Nall has led the staff with a sparkling 2.42 ERA in 26 April innings.
 
TO START WITH
Seven different pitchers have made at least one start for the Chaparrals this season, and the rotation has been solid throughout 2026. LCU's team ERA of 6.12 is fourth in the conference, and their starters have been even better with a 4.91 ERA in 244 innings of work. Karson Dunn has been the mainstay of the rotation, posting a 4.28 ERA (eighth in the league) in a league-leading 73.2 innings. Aaron Rubio came out of the bullpen for the first two weeks of the season, but in 11 starts has a 3.43 ERA and a team-leading 57 strikeouts. LCU starters have struck out a total of 196 batters, and opponents are hitting .275 against them.
 
PITCHER'S BEST FRIEND
Lubbock Christian enters this weekend's series ranked 14th nationally in double plays turned with 41, although they only turned one in the series against UT Permian Basin. They have turned a season-high three in one game two different times this season LCU's pitching staff is ground ball heavy, getting 420 outs on the ground compared to 318 through the air. Karson Dunn gets the most groundouts with 105 to just 51 flyouts, and he leads the pitching staff with 11 double plays induced.
 
POWER SURGE
Lubbock Christian leads the conference and ranks No. 30 nationally in slugging percentage with a mark of .517. They lead the conference and are ranked No. 22 nationally in doubles with 110 this season. They also rank third in D-II in triples with 22, and their 59 home runs are the most in the conference. Grace is the team leader with a .627 slugging percentage, leading the league in triples and ranking fifth in doubles. Ryan Gargett and Roe Forrest, who leads the team with nine homers, are also slugging better than .600.
 
NERVES OF STEAL
With 10 stolen bases last weekend against the Falcons, Lubbock Christian increased their season total to 109, which ranks 24 nationally and second in the league. They Chaps have already broken the program's NCAA-era record (since 2016) of stolen bases, which was 87 in 2024. That season though, the team averaged just 1.42 steals per game, whereas this season they are averaging 2.18 per contest. Kyle Lewis and Jorge De Los Santos are both top five in the league with 30 and 27 steals, respectively. Both of those marks also surpassed the individual stolen base mark in the NCAA era of 25, set by Carson Ogilvie in 2024. Twelve different LCU players have swiped at least one bag this season.
 
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
The Chaps are done playing at home for the 2026 season and will play every game from here on out either on the road or at a neutral site. LCU is 12-11 away from home so far this season and has struggled in road games, both at the plate and on the mound. They are hitting just .276 against competition on the road compared to .339 at home. Similarly, their 6.78 ERA in road games is more than a run higher than their ERA in games at Hays Field. Forrest leads the offense on the road with a .333 average and .727 slugging percentage. Dunn has been the best pitcher on the road with a 3.38 ERA.
 
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 3,496 games throughout all those years, posting an overall program record of 2,343 wins and 1,153 losses in that time. For the last 23 seasons, it has been head coach Nathan Blackwood leading the program, and he has a 864-408 record.
 
SCOUTING THE HILLTOPPERS

• SEU finished the regular season with the exact same number of wins as the Chaps, but played one fewer game in the regular season due to a weather cancellation
• St. Edward's has the fourth-best team ERA in the LSC at 5.94, and opponents are batting .286 against them
• Hilltopper first baseman leads the league in slugging at .759 and is fourth in batting average at .407
• St. Edward's won back-to-back series to close out the season, going 7-1 against Texas A&M-Kingsville and UT Dallas to stay a half game ahead of the Chaps
• SEU has two players – Connor Freeman and Finn Mignerey – in the top three in the LSC in ERA

 
THE SERIES WITH THE HILLTOPPERS
Lubbock Christian and St. Edward's have met 84 times in the history of the two programs, with the Chaps leading the all-time series 46-38. The Chaps are just 4-6 in the last 10 matchups, but three of those wins came earlier this year in a series win at Hays Field. The two teams met at the final site of the LSC Tournament last year and also in the regional with SEU winning both matchups. LCU's last postseason win against SEU was May 12, 2023, when they won 10-6 in San Angelo in a game that saw Chris Shull go 2-for-5 and get the save.