CANYON, Texas – The No. 24 West Texas A&M baseball team concludes its seven-game home stand Tuesday evening with No. 6 Lubbock Christian at Wilder Park in a key South Central Region matchup. First pitch scheduled for 5 p.m.
The Buffs are a perfect 9-0 on the season, which is the best start in school history, after back-to-back-to-back series sweeps at New Mexico Highlands and at home against Northwestern Oklahoma State and Oklahoma Panhandle State. Lubbock Christian is 7-4 on the year after a tough three-game series at No. 6 Angelo State over the weekend as ASU swept the Chaps in the series.
Fans can access links to live stats, audio/video streaming of the game and ticket information at www.gobuffsgo.com on the baseball schedule page.
Last weekend, the Buffs pounded Oklahoma Panhandle State, outscoring the Aggies 47-4 for the weekend, while hitting .484 for the series on 46 of 95. WT recorded 22 extra-base hits in the series with 13 doubles, three triples and six home runs, while driving in 46 runs. The Buffs slugged .874, reached base at a .558 clip, while going two-for-two in stolen bases and had just four errors for the series (.955) leading to one unearned run.
Individually, 13 players hit over .300 in two or more games, with seven hitting over .500 in the series. Junior Jimmy Cubillos went five of seven (.714) from the plate with five runs scored, three doubles, one triple and three RBI, while junior Luis Amaro went five of 10 from the plate with three runs scored, one double, one home run and a team-high eight RBI.
On the bump, the Buffs were as effective as they had a 1.29 ERA in 21 innings of work. Two of the three games decided by run-rule and one scheduled for seven innings. Each of the three starters in the series earned wins as senior Joshua Payne went five innings, allowing four hits, one unearned run, walking one and fanning five. Junior Matt Littrell also went five innings, allowing one earned run on five hits, with three walks and seven strikeouts for a 1.80 ERA, while junior Ryan Larison had a 3.00 ERA in six innings, allowing five hits, two earned runs, no walks and he fanned a team-high eight. WT held OPSU to a .195 average on 15 of 77 and just four doubles. OPSU committed five errors leading five unearned runs.
Last weekend, the Buffs set two top-five attendance records as 357 fans saw the opener in a 22-1 win over Oklahoma Panhandle State ranking fourth all-time in Wilder Park history and the finale on Saturday saw 403 fans which ranked third all-time.
WT is 121-44 (.733) at Wilder Park since it opened prior to the 2011 season.
The Buffs have never had back-to-back-to-back series sweeps of three games or more. WT last won back-to-back series' in 2014 at McMurry and home against New Mexico Highlands. The nine wins in a row is fifth-best in program history as 13-straight wins in 1997 is the school-record. WT ninth-year head coach Matt Vanderburg has been part of three of the five-longest streaks with 11 in 2014, 10 in 2011 and the nine this year. Vanderburg is 250-173 (.552) at WT and 349-240 (.593) overall in his 12th season of coaching.
For the season, the Buffs are hitting .416 on the year on 131 of 315. WT has scored 126 with 32 doubles, six triples and 16 home runs, while driving in 120. The Buffs are slugging .708 for the year and reaching base at a .497 clip. WT is 14 of 16 in stolen bases and has a .973 fielding percentage with eight errors leading to four unearned runs. In all 11 players are hitting .300 or better for the year with seven hitting .400 or better.
Individually, junior Nelson Paredes leads the team with a .600 average on six of 10 from the plate in five games. He has three doubles, tied for second on the team, one home run and six RBIs, while scoring eight runs. Senior Aaron Vallance is hitting .552 in nine starts on a team-high 16 of 29 from the plate with one double, one home run and seven RBI. He has scored a team-high 18 runs and is a perfect five-of-five in stolen bases. Senior Troy LaBrie leads the team with three home runs, while Amaro leads the team with 19 RBI. Junior Adam Adkins has a team-high two triples.
On the bump, the Buffs carry a 1.88 ERA into the Lubbock Christian game in 72 innings. The team has three saves, along with two shutouts, one complete game and three saves. WT has allowed 52 hits with 19 runs – 15 earned, walked 23 and fanned 88 as teams are hitting an even .200 against it. Two WT starters have a 0.00 ERA in two starts as senior Marshall Kasowski, Tuesday's starter, is 2-0 in 13 innings, allowing two hits, five walks and fanning 23 as teams are hitting .050 against him. Payne is 2-0 in 11 innings, allowing five hits, one unearned run, three walks and he has fanned 15 as teams are hitting .135 against him.
WT, picked third in the preseason Lone Star Conference poll, was eighth in the preseason National Collegiate Baseball Writers (NCBWA) South Central Region poll and is 24th currently according to D2Baseballnews.com.
Lubbock Christian enters the game with a 7-4 record, after three losses at No. 8 Angelo State over the weekend. LCU had leads in all three games, including a 6-4 lead heading to the bottom of the ninth, falling 7-6 in the opener and a 3-2 lead heading to the bottom of the eighth in the finale, losing 4-3.
The Chaps are led this season by Caleb Koedyker, who leads the team hitting .378 in 11 starts, while leading the team with 17 hits and four home runs. Koedyker is fourth on the team in runs scored with nine and has a team-high 16 RBI. He is slugging .800 and reaching base at a .396 clip, while going three-for-three in stolen bases. Logan Nethercot is second in average at .361 as he has 13 hits, with three doubles and eight RBI, while scoring six runs. Jamie Bustamante leads the team with 13 runs scored is second in hits with 15 for a .341 average. Bustamante has six doubles to lead the team, while recording one triple and two home runs.
As a team, the Chaps are hitting .295 on the year with 117 hits in 396 at bats. LCU has scored 73 runs, while allowing 61. The Chaps have tallied 25 doubles, nine triples and nine home runs, while driving in 67. The team is slugging .472 and reaching base at a .358 clip. LCU is eight-of-12 in stolen bases and has 16 errors leading to 15 unearned runs.
On the mound, LCU has a 4.25 ERA in 97.1 innings. The team has three saves, while allowing 98 hits (.273 BA), 61 runs – 46 earned walked 49 and fanned 82. Ricky Contreras leads the team with 2.08 ERA in three starts and 17.1 innings. He has allowed 18 hits, six runs – four earned, walked five and fanned 13. Christian Marquez is second in ERA at 3.38 with a 2-1 record in three starts. He has pitched 16 innings, allowing 18 hits, 13 runs – six earned, walked six and fanned 13. Russell Reber (4.64 ERA, 2-0) leads the team with 21.1 innings pitched, allowing 22 hits, 12 runs – 11 earned, walked four and fanned 11.
WT is scheduled to face Daniel Crooks (RHP) who is 1-1 with 7.30 ERA in three appearances with two starts. Crooks has pitched 12.1 innings, allowing 12 hits, ten earned runs, walked 14 and fanned 15 as teams are hitting .279 against him.
The Buffs are scheduled to throw Kasowski, a right-hander, in the game Tuesday.
LCU leads the all-time series 37-15, won the last meeting, 4-2, in the NCAA South Central Regional last year in Grand Junction, Colo., ending the Buffs' season. WT is 7-14 all-time at home against LCU, but won 7-6 last season in Canyon in 15-innings for the second-straight win at home in the series. WT has won three of the past five meetings in the series. LCU won last season in Lubbock, 13-3.
Vanderburg is 3-6 against LCU, while Chaps' head coach Nathan Blackwood is 11-4 against WT. Blackwood is 558-220 at Lubbock Christian.
Following Tuesday's game, the Buffs will have a week off before play at Lubbock Christian on Tuesday, Feb. 28, at 5 p.m. at Hays Field.
