LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (34-21, 31-19 LSC) vs.
ST. MARY'S (38-17, 36-14 LSC)
Thursday, May 14 – 3:05 p.m.
The Diamond at Hamilton Park – Grand Junction, Colorado
 
LEADING OFF
It's a rematch of last week's Lone Star Conference Tournament elimination game, but the stakes are now much higher as Lubbock Christian University and St. Mary's meet in the first round of the South Central Regional. The No. 5 seed Chaps and No. 4 seed Rattlers are in Grand Junction, Colorado along with the No. 1 seed and host Colorado Mesa for a double-elimination tournament to decide who will advance to the super regional round of the NCAA Tournament. The winner of the matchup between LCU and StMU will advance to play Mesa on Friday. The loser will turn around immediately and play the Mavericks on Thursday evening to try and keep themselves alive in the tournament.
 
LCU AT THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
Lubbock Christian has been eligible for the NCAA tournament for 10 seasons now (excluding 2020, when there was no tournament), reaching the postseason in seven of those opportunities. This is the fourth-straight year the Chaps have reached the South Central Regional. In their six previous trips to the NCAA Tournament, LCU has posted an overall record of 7-12. They won three games at the 2025 regional tournament they hosted to advance to the super regional and also won multiple games in 2016 at their very first regional, which was also hosted by Colorado Mesa.
 
LONE STAR ALL-STARS
Five Lubbock Christian University baseball players were recognized with Lone Star Conference postseason awards, the league announced on Wednesday. Right-handed pitcher Aaron Rubio and utility player Jorge De Los Santos were named to the All-Conference First Team, outfielder Hudson Grace was recognized on the Second Team, right-handed pitcher Karson Dunn was named to the Third Team and outfielder Kyle Lewis was selected for the All-Defensive Team. Rubio also earned a spot on the All-Academic Team.
 
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 5.69 is fourth in the conference, and their starters have been even better with a 4.88 ERA in 265.1 innings of work. Rubio and Dunn are first and second, respectively, in innings pitched in the league, and Rubio's 3.05 ERA is the second-best in the league. LCU starters have struck out a total of 212 batters, and opponents are hitting .278 against them.
 
OH, WHAT A RELIEF IT IS
In the three games at the Lone Star Conference Tournament, the Chaparral bullpen shined. The six relievers used by the Chaps in the three games combined to allow just one earned run in 14.0 innings of work for an ERA of 0.64. Opponents hit just .133 against them, and they struck out 10 batters, most of which came from Kyle England and Andrew Dalconzo. They walked just four batters and allowed only six hits. The performance was a strong improvement over the season averages for the Chaparral bullpen, which has posted a 7.42 ERA and .279 opponent's batting average this season.
 
PITCHER'S BEST FRIEND
Lubbock Christian enters this weekend's series ranked 23rd nationally in double plays turned with 42, and they turned one last week in the LSC Tournament. They have turned a season-high three in one game two different times this season LCU's pitching staff is ground ball heavy, getting 459 outs on the ground compared to 363 through the air. Karson Dunn gets the most groundouts with 111 to just 54 flyouts, and he leads the pitching staff with 11 double plays induced.
 
POWER SURGE
Lubbock Christian leads the conference and ranks No. 36 nationally in slugging percentage with a mark of .511. They lead the conference and are ranked No. 23 nationally in doubles with 118 this season. They also rank fourth in D-II in triples with 23, and their 67 home runs are the most in the conference. Grace leads the team in slugging at .637, as he leads the league with seven triples and ranks fifth with 19 doubles. Roe Forrest is the only other Chap slugging above .600 at .622. He leads the team in home runs with 10, having reached the double-digit mark last week in Tyler.
 
NERVES OF STEAL
With eight more stolen bases at the LSC Tournament, the Chaps now have 116 on the season, which is second in the LSC and 31^st in D-II. The 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 2.11 per contest. Kyle Lewis and Jorge De Los Santos are both top five in the league with 34 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.
 
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 are now back home for this weekend with five hailing from Colorado, 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.
 
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 15-13 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 .273 against competition on the road compared to .339 at home. Similarly, their 6.38 ERA in road games is almost a run higher than their ERA in games at Hays Field. Ryan Gargett leads the team with a .346 average on the road and has four doubles and two homers away from home. Rubio has been the best road pitcher with a 3.79 ERA and 5-1 record. 
 
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 3,501 games throughout all those years, posting an overall program record of 2,346 wins and 1,155 losses in that time. For the last 23 seasons, it has been head coach Nathan Blackwood leading the program, and he has a 867-410 record.
 
SCOUTING THE RATTLERS

• This is the seventh time St. Mary's has appeared in the South Central Regional but the first time since 2015, when they went 3-2 and lost in the regional final in games also played in Grand Junction
• StMU finished third in the LSC regular season and advanced to the second round of the league's postseason tournament before losing two games
• Six Rattlers were honored will All-LSC honors, including four pitchers
• St. Mary's has the second-best ERA in the Lone Star Conference at 4.87, and they lead the league with 423 strikeouts
• The Rattlers are hitting just .292 as a team, which is the fourth-lowest mark in the conference

 
THE SERIES WITH THE RATTLERS
Lubbock Christian and St. Mary's have met 68 times total on the diamond with LCU leading the all-time series 37-31. This season, the teams have played five times with the Rattlers winning three and the Chaps two. St. Mary's took the regular season series, which was played in Lubbock, coming from behind late in two of the wins. In the last 10 games, they two teams have split exactly 5-5.