West Texas A&M (31-19) vs. Lubbock Christian (31-19)
Game 1	Friday, May 2nd at 6:00 p.m.
Game 2	Saturday, May 3rd at 3:00 p.m.
Game 3 (If Nec.)	Sunday, May 4th at 1:00 p.m.
Location	Lubbock, Texas | Hays Field
Live Statistics	Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
Live Video (FloCollege)	FloCollege
Other Links	Game Notes | Championship Central

CANYON, Texas – The Buffaloes of West Texas A&M make their 15th appearance in the LSC Baseball Championships this weekend as they make the short trip down Interstate 27 for a best-of-three series with the rival Lubbock Christian Chaps 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 LSC Championships as they went 31-19 overall with a 30-18 record in league play. The Chaps split their final series of the regular season at UT Permian Basin winning the first two games of the series by a combined score of 27-4 before dropping the final two games 10-6 and 8-7.
 
The Chaps are hitting .350 as a team so far this season with 517 runs on 586 hits as they have registered 122 doubles, 19 triples and 81 homeruns for a slugging percentage of .590 to go along with 296 walks and 265 strikeouts. Brevin McCool leads the way at the plate as the LSC career homerun king is hitting .416 with 14 doubles and 30 long balls to drive in a league-best 81 RBI.
 
LCU has registered a team ERA of 8.31 as they have allowed 386 runs (353 earned) on 479 hits with 275 walks and 328 strikeouts in their 382.1 innings of work as a staff with an opposing batting average of .316. Potential game two starter Ryan Markwardt is 7-3 on the year with a 3.31 ERA, allowing 35 runs (26 earned) on 58 hits with 38 walks and a team-best 79 strikeouts in 70.2 frames.
 
CHAPS IN 2024
2024 was the most successful season in LCU Baseball history since transitioning to NCAA Division II. The Chaps went 45-16 to claim the LSC Regular Season and Tournament Crowns, advancing to the South Central Super Regionals and finishing just one win shy of the NCAA College World Series.
 
LCU HEAD COACH NATHAN BLACKWOOD
Nathan Blackwood is now in his 22nd season at the helm of the LCU baseball program, holding an overall record of 833-386 (.683). Blackwood is the program's all-time wins leader, passing legendary LCU head coach Larry Hays in 2022. The Chaps have made five appearances in the NCAA Division II Postseason (2016, 2017, 2019, 2023, 2024). Blackwood led the Chaps to four trips to the NAIA World Series highlighted by an NAIA National Championship in 2009.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Lubbock Christian holds a 53-25 advantage in the all-time series against the Buffs dating back to 1994. The Buffs are 20-29 at Hays Field during that time. The two teams split the season series in Lubbock back on April 4-7.
 
WT HEAD COACH CORY HALL
West Texas A&M didn't have to look far to find the new head coach for Buffalo Baseball as longtime Associate Head Coach Cory Hall was promoted to the skipper of the Buffs announced on June 28th. Hall has spent 14 seasons as the top assistant and pitching coach for the Buffs, having four different pitchers (Austin Moore, Josh Payne, Marshall Kasowski, Joe Corbett) 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.
 
WT COACHING STAFF
Shawn Neale was named WT's Recruiting Coordinator in 2022 as the Toronto native returns for his ninth season in Canyon, the Buffs ranked 13th nationally in batting average (.334) last season while sitting 16th in hits (623) and 24th in on-base percentage (.432). 
 
WT alumni Cooper Harris returns to Canyon as the new pitching coach for the Buffs following two seasons at LSC foe Cameron. Nollan Koon enters his first season in the dugout for the Buffaloes as a graduate assistant coach in December of 2024. Koon returns to the Texas Panhandle following time as a hitting coach at Northeastern State.
 
THE BUFFS IN THE LSC TOURNAMENT
West Texas A&M is making their 13th straight and 15th overall appearance in the Lone Star Conference Championships. WT has made six appearances in the LSC Title Game with three tournament crowns (2016, 2017, 2019). The Buffs are 19-23 all-time in the event with appearances coming in (1994, 2006, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025). WT has claimed 34 All-Tournament selections including three MVP honors (Kyle Tinius - 2016, Dominic Yearego - 2017, Keone Givens - 2019).
 
AROUND THE LSC
The Lone Star Conference baseball regular season is complete and the conference tournament is set. The teams in the LSC tourney are Angelo State, UT Tyler, St. Edward's, Lubbock Christian, West Texas A&M, St. Mary's and Texas A&M-Kingsville.
 
ASU (41-7 overall) won the LSC regular season title for the eighth time in program history – and third time in four years – with a 39-7 record. The Rams are ranked No. 1 in national polls and enter the postseason on an 11-game winning streak.
 
UT Tyler (41-9, 40-8 LSC), which is ranked inside the top 5 in the national polls, closed the regular season on an LSC-best 14-game winning streak. ASU is leading the conference in hitting (.378) and fielding (.977), and UT Tyler is tops in pitching (3.81 ERA). LCU has hit a league-high 81 home runs.
 
LCU senior infielder Brevin McCool set the LSC single-season home run record with 30. He broke the mark of 29 set by Cameron's Chase Larsson in 2011. McCool also became the LSC's all-time home run leader with his 48th blast on March 23 against Texas A&M-Kingsville at Hays Field in Lubbock, Texas. He broke the mark of 47 set by WT's Ben Hangartner from 1999-2002. McCool currently sits at 53 homers.
 
Four players from the LSC have won national player of the week honors by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association – three hitters and one pitcher. WT senior first baseman Dylan Fesperman (March 5), McCool (Feb. 13) and Cameron senior third baseman Lance Barnett (Feb. 6) have won the hitting award, while Markwardt (Feb. 20) was honored for pitching.
 
Two other LSC single-game records have been broken this season as Fesperman had 13 RBI on Feb. 28 and McCool hit four home runs on March 10. SEU junior outfielder Connor Cox tied an LSC record with four doubles in a game on March 30.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
The Buffs rank 14th in the nation in team batting average (.337) while sitting 18th in hits (531), 13th in doubles (110), 17th in on-base percentage (.441), 14th in runs (440), 13th in slugging percentage (.553), 10th in triples (21) and 23rd in scoring (8.8). Defensively the Buffs are 39th nationally in fielding percentage (.971). Tai Phetluangsy's eight saves on the season ranks the senior 14th in the nation.