CANYON, Texas – The West Texas A&M baseball team dips out of Lone Star Conference play for a Tuesday matchup at Lubbock Christian and then is on the road this weekend for a three-game series at Eastern New Mexico beginning Friday.
 
The Buffs and Chaps battle at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Hays Field.  Live stats and streaming links can be found at www.gobuffsgo.com by clicking on the baseball schedule page.  The Buffs and Chaps then will play in Canyon a week from Tuesday (April 14) at 6 p.m.
 
WT is coming off of a 2-1 series victory over Lone Star Conference leader Texas A&M-Kingsville over the weekend at Wilder Park.  The Buffs outscored the Javelinas 21-11 for the series and hit .375 on 36 of 96.  The Buffs had 11 doubles and two home runs, while driving in 19 and slugging .552 for the series.  Individually, WT had four players hit .500 for the series as senior Max Brennen was 5 for 10 with two runs scored and a RBI, while junior Matt Cole was 5 for 10 with three runs scored, a double and three RBI.  In all, eight of 12 players hit over .300 for the series. 
 
On the bump, WT tallied a 3.75 ERA with one complete game shutout in a run-rule win Friday night as senior Tyler Gibson allowed just two hits, one walk and he fanned seven in a 10-0 win.  Senior Sean Michel picked up the win in relief in the finale Saturday going 3.1 innings, allowing five hits, three earned runs, one walk and two strikeouts.  The Javelinas hit .220 against the Buffs for the series with just four extra-base hits in 20 hits for a total of 91 at bats.
 
The final two games of the series were decided by one run as WT now is 7-9 this season in one run games.  TAMUK won 5-4 in extra-innings (8) on Saturday's first game, while WT won the nightcap 7-6.  WT is 2-4 this season in extra-inning games.

The Buffs are 22-13 on the year and 14-9 in Lone Star Conference play sitting ½ game behind TAMUK in the standings with four conference series' left.  TAMUK is 14-8 in league play.  Angelo State sits at 13-9 right behind the Buffs in the standings, followed by Tarleton State at 8-11.  Cameron is 8-14, followed by Eastern New Mexico at 7-13.  The top four teams at the end of the regular season earn a berth in the LSC Championship which will be played at the site of the regular season champion.
 
Lubbock Christian is in its final year of the transition from NAIA to NCAA Division II.  The Chaps are 19-16 overall and 6-7 in the Heartland Conference.  LCU is coming off of three wins at Oklahoma Panhandle State this past weekend.  The Chaps have beaten Eastern New Mexico three times in four games this season and lost three times to Angelo State, while beating New Mexico Highlands twice in games against common opponents.  LCU also split a series against Wayland Baptist who WT plays in Plainview on Apr.  21. 
 
The Chaps are led by Hunter McFall who leads the team with a .396 average.  He has 55 hits, with 10 doubles, two triples and two home runs while driving in 33 and scoring 32 runs.  He is slugging .540 and reaching base at a .430 clip.  Gerardo Arzaga is second in average at .353 with 30 hits, eight doubles and three home runs.  He his slugging .553 and reaching base at a .444 clip, while Brett Wilhelm leads the team in runs scored with 38 and Shane Crawford has a team-high four round-trippers.  Wilhelm also leads the team in stolen bases going 12 of 13.
 
LCU is hitting .307 for the season with 367 hits, including 78 doubles, 10 triples and 23 home runs, while driving in 247 and scoring 273 runs.  The team is slugging .447 and reaching base at a .383 clip. 
 
On the mound, LCU has a 4.92 ERA in 287 innings.  The Chaps have fanned 233 and walked 113, while allowing teams to hit .288.  The team has committed 70 errors for a .947 fielding percentage leading to 64 unearned runs. 
 
Dalton Silva leads the team with 3.42 ERA in 13 appearances with two starts, while Glen Warrick is 3-0 with a 3.72 ERA in 12 relief appearances.  Guillaume Blanchette is 4-3 with a 3.75 ERA in 10 starts.  He is second in innings pitched with 57.2.  Brig Gerlich leads the team with 61 innings pitched and 44 strikeouts.  Gerlich is 5-4 on the year in 10 starts with four complete games.
 
LCU leads the all-time series 35-12 and has won nine of the past 10 in the series and four-straight.  WT's lone win during the span (2003-2013) came on Apr. 20, 2004, in a 9-5 win in Canyon.  The Buffs have dropped five-straight in Lubbock and their last win at LCU came on Apr. 2, 2002, in a 3-2 decision.  The teams didn't play last season, but played twice in 2013 after not playing previously since 2010.  Since 2004, the teams have played four times – all wins by LSCU.
 
WT head coach Matt Vanderburg is in his seventh season at the helm of the Buffs.  He is 191-146 at WT and is 290-213 overall his 10^th season.  Vanderburg is 0-4 all-time against LCU.
 
Eastern New Mexico enters with an 11-21 record overall and a 7-13 mark in LSC play.  The Greyhounds split four games at Tarleton State this past week dropping the first two each by one run and winning the final two, 9-5 and 9-8. 
 
The Greyhounds are led this season by Justin Paul who leads the team with a .337 average.  He has a team-high 354 hits with seven doubles, two triples and two home runs while driving in 24 and scoring 24 runs.  He is slugging .505 and reaching base at a .414 clip.  Charles Sandberg, Jr., is second in average at a .299 clip.  Sandberg, Jr., has 26 hits with seven doubles, one triple and two home runs.  He leads the team with five stolen bases. 
 
As a team, the Greyhounds are hitting .260 for the year with 263 hits, including 56 doubles, 12 triples and 17 home runs while driving in 153 and scoring 179 runs.  The team has 47 errors for a .955 fielding percentage and are 28 of 40 in stolen bases. 
 
On the mound, Cody Pope leads the team among starters with a 4-3 record in eight starts and a 4.02 ERA.  James Grey is 2-3 with 4.50 ERA and leads the team with 54 strikeouts.  Pope leads the team in innings pitched with 47, while Gray is second with 36.  The staff has a 5.82 ERA in 250.2 innings of work.  ENMU has allowed 193 runs with 162 earned, while walking 140 and fanning 251.  Teams hare hitting .280 against the Greyhounds. 
 
WT won three of four games in Canyon in the first series this season between the two teams.  The Buffs hit just .239 for the series and were outscored 27-26, but were able to win the series.  The Buffs were led by a pair of clutch home runs from senior Jacob Caples and Aaron Blair as Caples went 4 for 13 in the series for a .308 average with five runs scored and four RBI.  Blair went 2 of 7 with four RBI and one run scored.  Blair tallied a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the ninth of the finale for the 3-1 series win, while Caples used a round-tripper in the eighth of the opener for an 8-6 victory.  Senior Paul Lujan had two saves and a win on the mound, while junior Kyle Tinius earned two wins in relief.  WT committed 12 errors in the series leading to six unearned runs and had a 5.62 ERA for the series.
 
ENMU leads the all-time series 51-48.  WT has won 9 of the last 12 in the series and 18 of 25 dating back to 2010.  Last season the Buffs went 5-2 against ENMU and 3-1 in Portales.  Vanderburg is 19-11 against the Greyhounds.
 
This season, the Buffs are led by Cole who is hitting .342 for the season on 40 of 117.  He has eight doubles, two triples and a home run while driving in 16 and scoring 19 runs.  Senior Ryan March is second in average at a .317 clip.  He has 39 hits, five doubles, two triples and 16 RBI while scoring 22 runs.  Junior Josh Day leads the team with 24 runs scored, while Caples and junior Trace Hansen each have three home runs on the year.
 
As a team, the Buffs are hitting .275 for the year with 300 hits, 61 doubles, 12 triples and 11 home runs while driving in 165 and scoring 181 runs.  WT is slugging .383 and reaching base at a .348 clip.  The Buffs are 14 of 26 in stolen bases and have committed 52 errors on the year. 

The staff is led by Gibson who has a 2.30 ERA and a 4-2 record in 10 appearances with nine starts.  He has two complete games and a shutout in a team-high 62.2 innings pitched.  Gibson has fanned 58 and walked just 19 as teams are hitting .204 against him.  Junior Brooks Trujillo is 2-2 on the year with a 2.45 ERA in nine starts.  He has pitched in 51.1 innings with 39 strikeouts and 17 walks as teams are hitting .225 against him.  Lujan leads the team with seven saves.
 
As a team, WT has a 3.16 ERA in 276.1 innings.  The Buffs have allowed 249 hits, 123 runs with 97 earned, while walking 78 and striking out 244.  Teams are hitting just .243 against WT.  The Buffs have turned 35 double plays this season, while hitting into just 17.