No. 1 Angelo State baseball completes sweep of Lubbock Christian

LUBBOCK, Texas (February 23, 2020) – This is a press release from Lubbock Christian athletics.

Lubbock Christian scored five runs on Sunday, but once again could not stay on pace with the Angelo State offense, losing 12-5 in the series finale.

It was the eighth straight loss for the Chaps, who fell to 3-11 on the year, while the No. 1-ranked Rams stayed undefeated to start the year 14-0. Shandon Herrera started the game for LCU and took the loss, allowing nine of the 12 runs on 10 hits in three and a third innings. ASU starter Josh Barnett earned the win, allowing three of the LCU runs on eight hits in six and two thirds innings on the mound.

Both teams got a baserunner in the first inning, but neither were able to score. The Rams broke through in the second, though, using seven hits and a walk to score six runs and take a lead that they would never relinquish.

Lubbock Christian got a run back in the bottom of the sixth, as Luis Navarro crushed a 1-1 pitch over the left field for a leadoff home run. It was the first home run of the year for LCU’s everyday catcher, who is hitting .239 for the year.

There was never time for the Chaps to even chip away at the Angelo State lead, as the Rams added a run in the third and two more in the fourth, chasing the starter Herrera from the game. His replacement was Logan McCrummen, who induced a flyout and a struck out a batter to end the inning. An unearned run came across for Angelo State in the fifth, but other than that McCrummen pitched well with just one hit allowed and two strikeouts in two and a third innings.

In the sixth, Jaden Fowler came in to relieve McCrummen and got Ram leadoff batter Parker Bramlett to ground out to end the inning. The bottom of that inning is when LCU scored its second run of the game, thanks to singles from George Mendazona, Jaxon Shirley and Tate Ellison. Fowler pitched all of the seventh and got two outs in the eighth before giving way to Koi Carrillo, who closed out the game.

LCU’s only inning to put a crooked number on the scoreboard was the seventh, when they scored three. The rally started with a pinch-hit double to lead off the inning from Trevor Andrus, marking the outfielder’s first collegiate hit. Gavy Perez Torres then walked, but he was erased on a double play. Mendazona then walked with two outs and Larry Leitha plated Andrus with a double to right field. Shirley then singled again, driving in the two runners before the Rams brought in Carson Childers and he ended the inning.

Carrillo gave up a pair of runs with two walks and a hit in the ninth, and LCU went down in order in the bottom of the inning.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
.305 | The Lubbock Christian offense hit well in all four games, posting a team batting of .305, including .464 against left-handed pitchers and .326 with runners in scoring position
1-6 | Through the first seven home games of the season, LCU has just one win. With 20 games left on the home schedule, the Chaps will need to go 13-7 the rest of the way to finish with a winning record at Hays Field
.438 | Mendazona led the team during the four games against the Rams with a .438 batting average, including 3-5 with runners on base. He was followed closely by Shirley, who hit .429 in the series
3 | Navarro’s second-inning home runs was just the third of the season, which is tied for the fewest among the 14 Lone Star Conference teams
5.0 | Through 5.0 innings on the mound this season, freshman Jaden Fowler has allowed just two hits, limiting opponents to a .125 batting average