CANYON, Texas – The #5 West Texas A&M Buffaloes return to Wilder Park this weekend for Rivalry on the Range Lone Star Conference action as they host the #19 Chaps of Lubbock Christian in a four-game series beginning on Friday night with first pitch set for 7 p.m. in Canyon.
 
A LOOK AT THE CHAPS
Lubbock Christian enters the weekend with an overall mark of 22-8 with a 20-8 record in LSC play to sit third in the league standings following a series split with St. Edward's last weekend in Lubbock. The Chaps took the first two games of the series before the Toppers outscored LCU 13-8 in the final two to salvage a split.
 
Senior catcher Luis Navarro leads the way offensively for the Chaps as the Panama product is hitting .387 this season with 10 doubles, one triple and six homeruns to drive in 33 RBI with 71 total bases for a slugging percentage of .670 while registering 21 walks and striking out nine times for an on-base clip of .500. Friday night's probable starter Tyler Hardwick leads the way on the mound for LCU, going 1-1 with a 4.78 ERA as the junior righty from Roswell, New Mexico has allowed 21 runs (17 earned) on 34 hits with 15 walks and 21 strikeouts in his 32.0 innings of work for an opposing batting average of .274.
 
LCU HEAD COACH NATHAN BLACKWOOD
Nathan Blackwood is now in his 19th season at the helm of the Lubbock Christian baseball program, holding an overall record of 710-318 (.691) during his time in Lubbock. Blackwood became the program's all-time wins leader back on February 19th against St, Mary's to surpass legendary skipper Larry Hays. The Chaps have made three appearances in the NCAA Division II Postseason (2016, 2017, 2019) while also appearing in four NAIA World Series under Blackwood highlighted by a 2009 NAIA National Championship. The Lubbock native was a two-year letter winner on the diamond for the Chaps in 1991 and 1992. 
 
SERIES HISTORY
The Chaps lead the all-time series against the Buffaloes, 41-19 in a series that dates back to the 1994 campaign. WT has claimed the last three meetings between the two teams as the Buffs picked up an LSC sweep at Hays Field by a combined score of 29-19 last season in Lubbock highlighted by an 8-3 victory in the finale as Izaiah Madrid went 3-for-4 at the plate with four RBI to go along with Carter Brown striking out four Chaps in his 1.2 innings of relief to close out the win. The Chaps are 15-8 all-time on the road against the Buffs including 3-11 at Wilder Park.
 
WEEKEND LSC REWIND
Three Lone Star Conference teams picked up conference series wins over the weekend, including No. 4 West Texas A&M, Oklahoma Christian and UT Tyler, which each won three games. The Buffs continue to lead the league with a 23-5 record, two games ahead of second-placed Angelo State at 21-7. Lubbock Christian remains in third at 20-8.
 
2021 RECAP
The 2021 campaign saw the Buffaloes claim their third Lone Star Conference Championship with a 28-4 mark in league action as they advanced to a seventh straight NCAA Tournament, making an appearance in the program's first ever Regional Finals with an overall record of 34-9. 
 
WT HEAD COACH MATT VANDERBURG
Matt Vanderburg has built West Texas A&M Baseball into a regional and national contender as the Norman, Oklahoma native is now in his 14th season at the helm of the Buffs. He holds an overall record of 434-243 (.640) during his time in Canyon while registering a career record of 533-304 (.636) in his 17 seasons in collegiate baseball.
 
THE COACHING STAFF
Cory Hall is now in his 12th year at West Texas A&M as the Buffs' Pitching Coach, serving the last six as the program's Associate Head Coach. Hall has had four different pitchers drafted in the Major League Baseball Draft during his time in Canyon with multiple other professional players learning under one of the top pitching minds in collegiate baseball. Assistant Coach Shawn Neale was named WT's Recruiting Coordinator this summer as the Toronto native returns for his sixth season in Canyon. WT welcomes former All-LSC catcher Kyle Moos to the coaching staff as a graduate assistant. 
 
2022 LSC PRESEASON POLL
Angelo State picked up 27 of the possible 36 first place votes to sit atop of the poll with 452 points followed by West Texas A&M with five first place votes and 432 total points. UT Tyler sat third with 364 points followed by Texas A&M-Kingsville (three first place, 360), Oklahoma Christian (315), Lubbock Christian (289), St. Mary's (one first place, 287), UAFS (201), St. Edward's (195), UT Permian Basin (138), Texas A&M International (106), Cameron (90) and Eastern New Mexico (47).
 
ASU's Aaron Walters was named the league's Preseason Player of the Year while teammate Carson Childers picked up Preseason Pitcher of the Year accolades. The league's preseason poll reflects the opinions of LSC head coaches, sports information directors and various media representatives throughout the region.
 
THIS IS LSC BASEBALL
The LSC Championship will feature a two-week tournament comprised of the top eight teams with the opening round at on-campus sites May 6-8. The winners of each opening round series will advance to a double-elimination tournament played May 12-14. The winner of the postseason tournament will be recognized as the LSC Tournament Champion and receive the conference's automatic qualifier to the NCAA postseason.
 
HOME OF CHAMPIONS
West Texas A&M is home to one of the most successful athletic programs in all of NCAA Division II. The 2020-21 season saw WT claim seven LSC Regular Season Championships, three LSC Tournament Titles, three Regional Championships, four Top-three track & field finishes, a men's basketball national title game appearance and the 2021 NCAA Division II Softball National Championship.
 
LSC DIGITAL NETWORK
The LSC Digital Network is in its third season showcasing the academic and athletic events of the league and its 18 member institutions. Under the new structure for 2021-22, football, volleyball, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's basketball, baseball and softball broadcasts will be available via conference-wide pay-per-view passes.
   
The LSC Digital Network will offer season passes for football, volleyball, soccer, basketball, baseball and softball, giving fans access to all regular-season contests for that sport. In addition, viewers will continue to have the option to purchase a $10 day pass that provides access to all broadcasts aired that day and access to all archived content for 24 hours. 
 
Fans can watch games and purchase passes online at www.lonestarconferencenetwork.com on computer and mobile devices. Viewers can also tune in to games on the LSC Digital Network via OTT apps available on Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV and Roku by searching for "LSC Digital Network".