With the final week of regular season play set for this week, five Lone Star Conference baseball teams - Incarnate Word, Southeastern Oklahoma, Tarleton State, Cameron and Southwestern Oklahoma - have clinched a spot in the LSC Championship set for May 7-10 in Abilene, Texas. Angelo State, West Texas A&M, Abilene Christian and Texas A&M-Kingsville each have a chance at the sixth and final spot in the postseason tournament.
LSC baseball teams are 293-258 overall this season. Combined the squads are currently 37-17 versus Heartland Conference teams and 5-3 against the Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletics Association, which are the other two conferences in the NCAA South Central Region.
QUICK HITS
• Eastern New Mexico’s Daniel Patching set a new LSC single game record with three triples against Southwest (April 19).
• Incarnate Word extended their winning streak from eight to 12 games with victories against Houston-Victoria and East Central.
• Angelo State earned their 11th come-from-behind victory this season with a win against West Texas A&M (April 23).
• Tarleton State’s Ryan Turner set a Texan single-season record with his ninth and 10th saves of the year in a doubleheader against Eastern New Mexico (April 22).
DIAMOND PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
HITTERS
Arrow Cunningham, University of Central Oklahoma, SR, Catcher, Harrah, Okla., Harrah HS Cunningham sparked UCO to a perfect 3-0 week as the surging Bronchos stretched their winning streak to six in a row. The senior catcher batted .692, going 9-for-13 with one double, one home run and seven RBI. Cunningham started the week with a 2-for-4 night in a 7-3 win over Oklahoma Christian and then went 2-for-4 with four RBI - including a three-run homer - in a 9-3 victory over Oklahoma Panhandle. He finished the week with a perfect 5-for-5, three-RBI outing in a 15-9 LSC win over Northeastern State.
Zane Hensley, Tarleton State University, SR, 1B, Florence, Texas, Florence HS
Hensley led the Texans this past week to four victories with his team-high six hits and six RBI’s to go with a .429 average. The senior first baseman started off the week with a 2-for-3 outing, an RBI and two runs scored against St. Edward’s. In the weekend series with Eastern New Mexico, the Florence native had at least one hit and one RBI in each game. Hensley highlighted the week with a three-run home run in Tarleton’s 7-4 win over the Greyhounds Friday night.
PITCHERS
Heath Wyatt, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, SR, P, Searcy, Ark., Searcy HS
Wyatt continued to dominate in the closer role, finishing off all three of Southeastern’s wins in a sweep of Southwestern Oklahoma State. Wyatt tossed a total of 7.0 innings in his three appearances and ran his league-leading saves total to 12 on the year. He allowed just three hits and SWOSU batted just .130 off him. He struck out eight of the 14 batters he faced. His longest outing was 3.2 innings and on the weekend, he allowed just two of the six runners he inherited to score.
Payden Bravenec, Angelo State University, SR, P, Carrollton, Texas, Hebron HS
Bravenec turned in a pair of terrific performances on the mound Saturday. He came out of the bullpen and collected two wins in one day. The senior right-handed pitcher notched a 2.25 ERA after pitching a total of 4.0 innings of relief and allowing just one earned run while scattering four hits and fanning one. In game one of a doubleheader, Bravenec came on in the eighth inning of a tied ball game and retired West Texas A&M in order, allowing the Rams to win the game in the bottom of the frame (9-8). He was called upon again in the nightcap in the fifth inning and limited the Buffs to just one run allowing the Rams to rally and earn their 11th come-from-behind win of the season. On the year, Bravenec is 2-0 with a 3.41 ERA in 19 appearances. He has collected one save and struck out 13.