Box Score OKLAHOMA CITY (April 19, 2014) – The scouting report on Lubbock Christian (Texas) was that the Chaparrals liked to sit back and wait on the home run to score. Unfortunately for Oklahoma Christian, they did just that in bunches on Saturday afternoon at Dobson Field.

With the wind blowing out to left field, No. 9-ranked LCU hit five homers – accounting for all but one of the Chaparrals' runs – and rallied from an early five-run deficit to beat the Eagles 11-6 in the decisive game of the three-game Heartland Conference series.

LCU (32-10, 23-4 Heartland) moved within a win of clinching the best regular-season record in the Heartland, although the conference refuses to allow member schools that are in the NCAA Division II membership process, such as LCU and OC, from winning regular-season titles. OC (26-14, 14-10) is solidly in fourth place in the standings, two games ahead of fifth-place Newman (Kan.).

It was the third time this season the Chaparrals won on the road in the decisive game of a conference series, but they had to work for it, as they never took the lead until the eighth inning against a game OC squad looking to post a statement win.

"Last year, we thought we knew where the bar was set (in the conference) and I think this year there's a new bar," OC coach Lonny Cobble said. "What I think is, the better teams, you want to get to that level. They're a great team. There's no wonder they haven't lost a series. They've swept a lot of series. We just need to make sure we know where that bar is and try to climb to that level."

"Every time it seems like we've had a chance to make a statement in a series, against St. Edward's or Lubbock, and try to take two, we just haven't been able to get over that hump yet. But we're going to figure out a way to get there."

Five different LCU players – Joel Lutz, Brandon Wilson, Wigberto Nevarez, Brett Wilhelm and Tanner Rainey – hit a home run. The latter two, a three-run shot by Wilhelm and a two-run shot by Rainey (his first career homer) came in a five-run eighth inning that put LCU ahead 10-6.

"We knew those guys were going to hit and they were going to score a lot of runs," Cobble said. "Unfortunately for us, we didn't keep the ball down enough. … We learned a lesson. We've got to keep the ball down."

Early on, it looked like the Eagles would run away from LCU. Cameron Keener and Cory Eastwood each had a RBI single in the first inning and Jordan Lopez's two-run double keyed a three-run second off LCU starter Jack Mabe. Keener's second run-scoring single of the day put OC ahead 5-0.

Lutz hit a three-run homer in the third after bunt singles by Rainey and Jesus Pintado, cutting OC's lead to 5-3. Solo shots by Wilson and Nevarez in the fifth off OC starter Kacy Cook tied the game at 5-5.

A solo homer by Sean Murphy – his second of the season and second of the series – in the sixth put the Eagles back ahead 6-5. Ryan Nash pitched a perfect sixth inning for OC and Garrett Guys (2-2) did the same in the seventh, but Guys ran into trouble in the eighth. LCU put two men on with one out before Wilhelm put them ahead 8-6. Reliever Tyler Schuman later gave up Rainey's homer that made it 10-6.

LCU added an insurance run in the ninth to make it 11-6. The Chaparrals' late-inning hitting made a winner out of reliever Levi Westerlund (3-1), who didn't allow a hit in three innings of work.

"We're in that ball game and even have the lead in the seventh," Cobble said. "… I feel good about the way we played. We battled with those guys. We just unfortunately came out on the short end of the stick twice."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SV5MyJ3LN78