CANYON, Texas – The Buffaloes of West Texas A&M look to keep their postseason hopes alive this weekend as they head down I-27 for a best-of-three series with the rival Chaps of Lubbock Christian in the opening round of the 2023 Lone Star Conference Baseball Championships beginning on Friday night at Hays Field with first pitch set for 6:00 p.m.
A LOOK AT THE CHAPS
Lubbock Christian enters the weekend as the fourth seed in the Lone Star Conference Championships with an overall record of 31-19 with a 29-19 mark in league action. The Chaps closed out the regular season by taking three of four games on the road from Eastern New Mexico last weekend in Portales, the Hounds won game two (13-9) but the Chaps outscored ENMU 54-27 in their three victories to clinch hosting duties.
Eduardo Acosta leads the way offensively for the Chaps as the senior infielder from San German, Puerto Rico is hitting .440 on the season with 14 doubles, three triples and eight homeruns to drive in 63 RBI for a slugging percentage of .670 to go along with 30 walks and 19 strikeouts for an on-base clip of .515. Potential game one starter Aydan Alger leads the way on the mound as the junior lefty from Lancaster, California is 7-1 on the year with a 5.14 ERA as he has allowed 47 runs (40 earned) on 78 hits with 29 walks and 65 strikeouts in his 70.0 innings of work for an opposing batting average of .285.
LCU HEAD COACH NATHAN BLACKWOOD
Nathan Blackwood is now in his 20th season at the helm of the Lubbock Christian baseball program, holding an overall record of 753-347 (.683) during his time in Lubbock. Blackwood is the program's all-time wins leader, passing legendary LCU head coach Larry Hays last spring. 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, 47-21 in a series that dates back to the 1994 campaign. The Chaps swept the regular season series from the Buffs in late April in Lubbock. The Buffs are 18-25 all-time at Hays Field as they have dropped their last four games in Lubbock.
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 enters his 15th season at the helm of the Buffs. He holds an overall record of 478-267 (.647) during his time in Canyon while registering a career record of 577-338 (.635) in his 18 seasons in collegiate baseball.
THE COACHING STAFF
Cory Hall is now in his 13th year at West Texas A&M as the Buffs' Pitching Coach, serving the last seven 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 in 2022 as the Toronto native returns for his seventh season in Canyon.
SOUTH CENTRAL REGIONAL RANKINGS
The Buffaloes have been tabbed seventh in the first numerical South Central Region Baseball Rankings of the season announced by the NCAA headquarters in Indianapolis, Indiana on Wednesday afternoon.
Angelo State sits atop of the rankings followed by Colorado Mesa, St. Edward's, UT Tyler, Lubbock Christian, MSU Denver, West Texas A&M and Texas A&M-Kingsville.
The winners of the two conference tournaments (LSC, RMAC) receive an automatic bid into the postseason with the last four spots being filled by at-large selections. The official announcement of the NCAA Division II Championship field will be made on Sunday, May 14th via an online selection show at NCAA.com.
LSC DIGITAL NETWORK
The LSC Digital Network is in its fourth season showcasing the academic and athletic events of the league and its 18 member institutions. 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.
