No. 1 Chaps pound generous Northwestern Oklahoma

Top-ranked Lubbock Christian University hits the baseball well enough as it is. With extra chances, the Chaparrals become even harder to beat.

LCU swept a Sooner Athletic Conference doubleheader from Northwestern Oklahoma State on Saturday, winning 16-1 and 11-4 at Hays Field. The Chaparrals banged 14 extra-base hits and Northwestern Oklahoma helped out with nine errors, leading to five unearned runs in each game.

"You play a good team like Lubbock Christian, you've got to make plays if you want to have a chance,' Northwestern coach Ryan Bay said. "We did not do that.'

The series concludes with a 1 p.m. game today.

The Rangers (21-12, 8-6 in the SAC) had all sorts of problems with the northeast wind, which was 18 mph sustained with gusts to 26 mph. For them, nothing hit in the air seemed routine.

"We did not make adjustments to the conditions today,' Bay said. "I don't have an answer for that. Wind blows in northwest Oklahoma, too.'

LCU (28-4, 12-2) got back on track after losing its last two games, at No. 2 Oklahoma City University and at Texas Tech.

"It's going real well for us right now,' said third baseman Ross Blondin, who homered in both games. "We're just coming out here, going with the no-mercy (approach).'

The strong crosswind knocked down balls hit to left and center field, but didn't hurt balls hit to right, where the Chaps hit three home runs in the first game. Blondin and first baseman Rob Learned unloaded three-run shots, left fielder Will Stramp a two-run drive. All three finished with three runs batted in.

Besides the homers, the Chaps had four other extra-base hits to right.

"With the wind blowing in, our hitters did a good job of adjusting, going the other way with the ball, especially that first game,' LCU coach Nathan Blackwood said. "We did a good job of taking what he gave us and going with it.'

LCU batted around in the second and third innings of the opener, putting up eight and five runs, respectively. The eight-hit second included a triple from shortstop Armando Dominguez, Blondin's homer and RBI doubles from second baseman Bo Merrell, designated hitter Tanner Rindels, catcher Tyler Johnson and right fielder J.J. Muse.

Jaime Armendariz, LCU's leadoff-batting center fielder, was 5-for-7 with a walk on the day.

"It felt good,' the senior from Midland said. "New approach, making adjustments with this wind. I was staying more relaxed. I was just trying to put the ball in play, hit the ball on the ground.'

In game two, LCU erased a 1-0 deficit with three in the bottom of the first. In the 2-hole through 4-hole, the Chaps got a double from Rindels, a triple from Stramp and a two-run homer from Blondin. They made it 8-2 in the third, again with the Rangers' help.

Rindels tripled leading off and scored on a Stramp groundout. Five batters later, in a two-outs, bases-loaded situation, the Rangers misplayed Dominguez's fly to left field, allowing all three runners to score. An error at third base left the door open for the Chaps to add another in the inning on an Armendariz RBI single that made it 8-2.

LCU starting pitchers R.L. Eisenbach (7-0) and Rene Garcia (5-0) got the wins.

"It was good to get a couple of wins, but we were sloppy overall,' said Blackwood, whose team also was charged with one error in each game. "I was proud of our hitters, but our defense and our pitching was not as good as it has been.'

Northwestern Oklahoma came in leading the nation in team batting average at .386, but the Rangers played without team home-run leader Dan Coury, who was sick on Saturday.

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First Game

LCU 16, NORTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA STATE 1

NW Oklahoma 001 00 - 1 2 5

LCU 185 2x - 16 16 1

Game ended by 10-run rule.

Phelps, Inman (3), Clover (4) and Schwerdtfeger; Eisenbach, Karnbach (5) and Johnson. W-Eisenbach (7-0). L-Phelps (5-2). 2B-LCU, Merrell, Rindels, Johnson, Muse. 3B-LCU, Dominguez, Armendariz. HR-LCU, Blondin (14), Learned (10), Stramp (9).

Second Game

LCU 11, NORTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA STATE 4

NW Oklahoma 101 020 0 - 4 7 4

LCU 305 120 x - 11 13 1

Ford, Stratton (5), Clover (6) and Schwerdtfeger; Garcia, Karnbach (5) and Neumann. W-Garcia (5-0). L-Ford (1-1). 2B-LCU, Rindels. 3B-LCU, Stramp, Rindels, Merrell. HR-Northwestern Oklahoma State, Cros (7); LCU, Blondin (15). Records: Northwestern Oklahoma State 21-12, 8-6; LCU 28-4, 12-2.

LCU BASEBALL/NWOSU aids Chaps' cause with nine errors

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