Baseball | 05.06.2026

LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (33-19, 33-19 LSC) vs.
NO. 6 UT TYLER (40-10, 40-10 LSC)
Thursday, May 7 – 6 p.m.
Irwin Field – Tyler, Texas
 
LEADING OFF
Lubbock Christian University pulled off the upset and beat St. Edward's to advance to this weekend's Lone Star Conference Tournament, hosted Thursday through Saturday at Irwin Field by UT Tyler. The Chaps needed just two games to get through the opening round, beating the No. 4 seed Hilltoppers 10-0 and 8-6 in Austin, Texas. They will take on the host Patriots in their first game of the double-elimination tournament, playing at 6 p.m. on Thursday. UTT had a bye last week after winning their first LSC regular season title and locking up the No. 1 seed. LCU is the only lower-seeded team that advanced out of the first round. The other two teams playing this weekend are the No. 2 seed Angelo State and the No. 3 seed St. Mary's.
 
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.
 
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 18-9 all-time in the league's postseason matchups, including a conference tournament title in 2024. They have advanced to the final site five times in six tries as well, including twice now as the lower-seeded team. The last time they advanced as a lower seed was 2021, when they upset Texas A&M-Kingsville as the No. 6 seed.
 
REGIONALLY RECOGNIZED
The second round of regional rankings came out on Wednesday with the Chaps holding steady at the No. 5 spot. 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.
 
FIRST THINGS FIRST
The Chaparrals scored first in both games against the Hilltoppers, including once in the first inning. This season, they are 15-8 when they score in the first inning and an even better 20-6 when they are the first team to score. Conversely, they are 13-13 when the opposing team scores first and have a losing record of 7-10 when they allow a run in the first inning. LCU has outscored their opponents overall in the first inning this season, plating 48 runs in the first compared to just 33 for opposing teams.
 
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 6.00 is fifth in the conference, and their starters have been even better with a 4.83 ERA in 253.1 innings of work. Dunn has been the mainstay of the rotation, posting a 4.50 ERA in a league-leading 76 innings of work. Aaron Rubio came out of the bullpen for the first two weeks of the season, but in 12 starts has a 3.33 ERA (second in the league) and 61 strikeouts (fourth in the league). LCU starters have struck out a total of 202 batters, and opponents are hitting .275 against them.
 
PITCHER'S BEST FRIEND
Lubbock Christian enters this weekend's series ranked 24th nationally in double plays turned with 41, although they did not turn any in the two wins against St. Edward's last weekend. 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 107 to just 52 flyouts, and he leads the pitching staff with 11 double plays induced.
 
POWER SURGE
Lubbock Christian leads the conference and ranks No. 26 nationally in slugging percentage with a mark of .522. They lead the conference and are ranked No. 23 nationally in doubles with 115 this season. They also rank third in D-II in triples with 23, and their 64 home runs – five of which came in the last two games - are the most in the conference. Gargett leads the team with a .640 slugging percentage, having hit six doubles, three triples and five home runs in 34 games played. Grace leads the league in triples and is fifth in doubles for a slugging percentage of .629, and Forrest is also slugging above .600.
 
NERVES OF STEAL
Even though they did not steal a base in the two games against St. Edward's, LCU's uptick on the basepaths this year has been noticeable. With 109 stolen bases on the season, 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 2.09 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 14-11 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 .278 against competition on the road compared to .339 at home. Similarly, their 6.46 ERA in road games is almost 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. 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 3,498 games throughout all those years, posting an overall program record of 2,345 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 866-408 record.
 
SCOUTING THE PATRIOTS

• UT Tyler leads the LSC in ERA at 3.93, which is more than a full run lower than any other team in the conference
• The Patriots are coming off their first trip to the NCAA Division II World Series last year, when they upset Angelo State in the super regional
• Cole Ketzner leads the UTT offense with a .399 average and a .709 slugging percentage that ranks third in the league
• UT Tyler has drawn 321 walks, which is the most in the LSC, giving them a team on-base percentage of .450
• Former Chaparral reliever Coleson Abel is a member of the UTT pitching staff, posting a 2.01 ERA and 6-0 record

 
THE SERIES WITH THE PATRIOTS
Lubbock Christian and UT Tyler have been meeting on the diamond since 2020, when the latter moved up from the Division III level and joined the Lone Star Conference. In the 27 total meetings between the teams, LCU is 8-19. The Chaps have lost seven straight games against the Patriots. Their last win was on Feb. 18, 2024 in Tyler. Current LCU graduate assistant Andrew Duran was the winning pitcher for the Chaps and Coleson Abel pitched in relief for LCU.