PORTALES, N.M. – With just one week left in the regular season, Eastern New Mexico Baseball will play a four-game series against Lubbock Christian University this weekend. The series will begin on Friday, Apr. 28, with a nine-inning contest starting at 2:30 p.m. The next day, the programs will face-off for a doubleheader beginning at 12 p.m. Then, the regular season finale will take place on Sunday, Apr. 30 with the first pitch at 1 p.m. Sunday will serve as the program's senior day, with ENMU Baseball recognizing its graduating members before the start of the game.

LAST TIME OUT

The Hounds picked up one win in their last LSC series, facing St. Mary's. Eastern suffered three close losses in the first three games of the series, 5-4, 9-7, and 9-7. However, Eastern picked up the final game of the series 10-5 over the Rattlers. Demetrio Archuleta finished with five RBIs, including a grand slam, Jonatan Clough hit a three-run home run, and Julian Lopez tossed a complete game effort on the mound.

POSTSEASON PUSH

Simply put, if the Greyhounds (20-23 in LSC, 7th place) win two games they will secure playoff baseball for just the fifth time in program history. Other key matchups determining the seeding will be St. Mary's (20-24 in LSC, 8th place) heading to Cameron (12-32 in LSC, 12th place), as the Rattlers are behind the Greyhounds by just 0.5 games.

Texas A&M International (18-26 in LSC, 9th place) will face a tough challenge as they travel to #15 St. Edward's (30-13 in LSC, 3rd place), with the Dustdevils trailing ENMU by 2.5 games. Finally, UT Permian Basin (17-27 in LSC, 10th place) will battle Oklahoma Christian (13-31 in LSC, 11th place) at home for their season finale. To reach the postseason, the Falcons will need to win four games of their series and hope the teams above them fail to win a game this weekend.

SCOUTING THE GREYHOUNDS 

Eastern New Mexico hold a 22-23 record, with a 20-23 LSC record. The Greyhounds offense is posting a .315 batting average, scoring 323 runs, with 449 hits. On the hill, ENMU holds a 8.27 ERA, allowing 366 runs and 482 hits, while striking out 254 batters.
 
Archuleta posts a team high .377 batting average, while Cooper Hamilton and Camden Matthews lead the team in hits with 59. Clough has driven in 61 runs this season, currently the 2^nd most in the LSC, 15 home runs (1^st in LSC), and a .752 slugging percentage (4^th in the LSC).
 
Following a complete game last weekend, Lopez holds the top ERA in the starting rotation for the Greyhounds (6.70) with a 4-2 record. Ruger Bravo has a team high of six wins this season, along with 60 strikeouts. Adrian Rubio and Noah De La Riva complete the starting rotation for ENMU, while William McBride and Javier Luna have reached registered two saves this season with 20.1 innings pitched for both.

SCOUTING THE CHAPARRALS

Looking to secure a first-round home series, Lubbock Christian come into the weekend after a four-game sweep of West Texas A&M. The Chaps won the series opener in extra innings, 7-6, scoring two runs in the 10^th inning to win in a walk-off win. LCU dominated game one of the doubleheader the next day, 12-3, followed by a tight 3-2 win in game three. In the series finale, Lubbock Christian completed the series sweep with a 13-6 win over WT.

Currently in fourth place, the Chaps hold a record of 28-18, while sitting at 26-18 in conference standings. The Chaps are one of the top hitting teams in the LSC, sitting in the top three in the conference for batting average (.330, 3^rd), slugging percentage (.541, 2^nd), hits (499, 2^nd), along with 405 runs scored. The LCU pitching staff has a collective ERA of 6.90, while giving up 433 hits and 322 runs, striking out 310 batters, and an opposing batting average of .301.

Eduardo Acosta has established himself as one of the top hitters in the conference, leading the team in batting average (.434, T-1^st in LSC), on-base percentage (.510, 3^rd in LSC), hits (65, 3^rd in LSC), while being second on the team for runs scored (60, 3^rd in LSC), with 56 RBIs (2^nd on the team). Carson Ogilvie leads the program and the conference in runs scored (66), with a .398 batting average. Nate Van Maanen is the program leader in RBIs (59, 3^rd in LSC) posting a .378 batting average.

On the mound, Ryan Markwardt, Aydan Alger, and Andrew Duran each have six wins this season on the mound. Markwardt leads the team in ERA (4.59), while Duran leads the program with 56 strikeouts. From the bullpen, Tyler Manyo leads the team with four saves, while Josh Akers leads the team with 15 appearances this season.

TUNE IN 

Each contest will be streamed on the Lone Star Conference Digital Network and are pay-per-view. Live stats will also be provided during the games.