LUBBOCK, Texas With the wind blowing out and up to 30 miles per hour during some parts of the game, it was a good day to hit for power at Hays Field and Lubbock Christian University took advantage, smacking six home runs and beating Cameron 18-8 (eight innings) to win the series on Monday afternoon.
The game four win gave the Chaps their first series victory of the year after taking 3 of 4 games from the Aggies. LCU is now 5-2 overall heading into a road series next week against Angelo State.
Chase Whetsel had the best day at the plate, but he was far from alone in the offensive explosion. A number of eye-catching offensive numbers were the highest in many years for the Chaps and are broken down below. The total from today’s game is listed as well as the last time a total that high was recorded in a single game.
The Aggies actually opened the scoring in the game, plating a pair of first inning runs off of Chaparral starting pitcher Logan McCrummen who was making the first start of his LCU career.
Whetsel got one of the runs back quickly as he led off the next inning with a home run on the first pitch he saw. LCU then took the lead in the bottom of the second with its highest scoring inning of the day. The Chaps sent 12 batters to the plate in the inning, scoring seven runs eight hits. Two of the hits were home runs, coming from Hill Alexander (three-run homer) and Whetsel’s second (two-run homer).
Keaton Greenwalt got in on the home run barrage in the third with a two-run homer to left center and Alexander added his fourth RBI of the day with a double. Lubbock Christian scored its 12th unanswered run when Braden Hayward singled to score James Hardberger.
Cameron did not go down without a fight, however, responding in the fourth inning with six runs to cut the deficit to just four. The Aggies could not hold the Chap offense in the bottom half of the inning though. Andrew Pratt got two of the runs back with his first home run of the year, blasting a ball to straightaway center field.
LCU added another run in the fifth on an Andres Negron single that scored Ryan Rijo and two more in the sixth on Greenwalt’s second home run of the game. Greenwalt came into the game hitting .417 and still raised his average, going 4-6 with four RBI and four runs scored. He is now batting .467 with a .529 on-base percentage a .933 slugging percentage and a conference-leading four home runs.
Chandler Casey entered the game on the mound in the fourth inning and finished it for the Chaps, pitching 4.1 innings of shutout ball while allowing just three hits and striking out five batters (two looking).
Casey was saved from having to throw in the ninth, however, thanks to Alexander’s fifth RBI of the day in the eighth inning. Whetsel led off the eighth with another triple and two batters later Alexander beat out an infield single that scored Whetsel and invoked the run rule for LCU’s win.
Whetsel Stats:
Total Bases… Chase Whetsel, 15 – Wigberto Nevarez, 16 (3/28/13 at St. Gregory’s)
Most hits… Chase Whetsel, 5 – Brandon Rix (4/19/16 vs. Eastern New Mexico)
Most Runs… Chase Whetsel, 5 – Ryan Burnam (4/9/2011 vs. Northwestern Oklahoma St.)
Most Triples… Chase Whetsel, 2 – Caleb Koedyker (2/10/2017 vs. Adams State)
Courtesy: LCU Athletics