The 2022 baseball season is underway, with all 13 teams beginning their campaigns over the past week. Oklahoma Christian, St. Edward's and Texas A&M International started the season 3-1 and are tied atop the league standings after week one. Fifth-ranked Angelo State and UT Tyler split their season-opening series 2-2 in San Angelo. Lubbock Christian and UAFS, and Cameron and Texas A&M-Kingsville also went 2-2 in their opening four-game sets. West Texas A&M opened the year 2-0 against non-conference competition.
 
    LSC baseball teams are playing a single round-robin conference schedule with a four-game series against each league opponent (48 total LSC games).
 
    In the NCAA Division II South Central Region, LSC teams are 2-0 combined versus Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference competition.

    LSC schedule and results available here: https://lonestarconference.org/calendar.aspx?path=baseball

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
HITTER
Matt Kissamis, Texas A&M International, JR, Kinesiology, OF, Katy, Texas, Katy HS
Kissamis had a fantastic opening weekend for the Dustdevils as they took three of four games over UT Permian Basin to open their 2022 campaign. The junior recorded at least one hit in each game and went a perfect 3-for-3 from the plate, recording a pair of extra-base hits, including a third-inning home run. Over the four games, the Dustdevil right fielder hit .583, reached base at a .667 rate and slugged 1.083. He collected seven hits in his 12 at-bats and four went for extra-base hits (three doubles and one home run). He drove in five runs, scored four more, drew three walks, and went 2-for-2 in stolen base attempts.

PITCHER
Isaiah Alvarenga, Oklahoma Christian, SO, Management, RHP, Grapevine, Texas, Colleyville Heritage HS
Alvarenga was dominant on the mound in his OC debut, leading the Eagles to a 10-0 win at St. Mary’s in the season opener. The sophomore right-hander pitched seven shutout innings, allowing only three hits and two walks while striking out seven batters. Alvarenga, last season's NCAA Division III West Co-West Region pitcher of the year, didn't allow an StMU baserunner past second as Rattler hitters hit just .125 against the Grapevine native. By contrast, the Rattlers scored 16 and 18 runs against OC last season in the Lone Star Conference tournament, ending the Eagles' campaign.

WEEKLY AWARDS
Hitter
F-8      Matt Kissamis, Texas A&M International
 
Pitcher
F-8      Isaiah Alvarenga, Oklahoma Christian
 
SELECTED NOTABLE PERFORMANCES
Tanner White, Oklahoma Christian, led the Eagles’ offensive outburst as OC took three of four games at St. Mary’s, scoring 36 runs in the four games, to take the early lead in the LSC race. White drove in nine runs in the series, the highest total of any LSC player during the week. Three of his six hits in the series went for extra bases, including a solo homer in an 8-3 win in the series opener and a grand slam in a 13-1 win in the third game of the series that gave him five RBIs in the contest. He also had a two-run double in a 10-5 loss in the final game. He posted a slugging percentage of .867 on the week.
 
    Jarred Gibson, Lubbock Christian, started his LCU career about as well as possible, terrorizing Arkansas-Fort Smith pitchers four games in a series split for the Chaps. He collected seven hits, three walks and a hit by pitch to reach base at a .688 clip for the weekend. He scored seven times and drove in four runs himself, and three of his seven hits went for extra bases to give him a .917 slugging percentage. Gibson also started games at DH, catcher and first base throughout the weekend.
 
    Lukas Polanco, UT Tyler, showed up big for the Patriots as they split the season-opening series with No. 5 Angelo State. Polanco totaled three extra-base hits with three RBIs in 14 at-bats for the weekend. His most crucial hit came in the top of the seventh inning in game two of the series. With two runners on in a tie game, Polanco took a 3-2 pitch and drilled it over the left field wall for the eventual game-winning home run.
 
    Kennedy Badgett, West Texas A&M, and the Buffs clicked offensively on Opening Weekend as they topped Colorado State-Pueblo and New Mexico Highlands during the Bob Sloan Baseball Classic in Canyon. The Arvada, Colorado native went 4-of-7 at the plate to hit .571 on the weekend with a pair of doubles to drive in four RBI for a slugging percentage of .857. The senior catcher drew one walk with just one strikeout for an on-base clip of .624 while also handling a WT pitching staff that registered an incredible 34 strikeouts in the pair of games.
 
    Stacey Bailey, St. Edward's, went 8-for-17 against Eastern New Mexico during the Hilltoppers' 3-1 series win to open the season. The Kerens native recorded three extra-base hits (all doubles) and brought home seven RBI. The sophomore also went 1-1 ins stolen base opportunities.
 
    Jordan Harrison-Dudley, Cameron, was the big bat for the Aggies as they split their series with Texas A&M-Kingsville to open the season. After going 0-3 in the opener, the senior outfielder bounced back with two hits in each of the final three games, including a two-run home in game three and a three-run blast that ignited the CU offense in the series finale. Harrison-Dudley also had a double in the series, giving him a slugging percentage of .867 over the team's first four games.
 
    Nick Marshall, West Texas A&M, was dominant during his first career start in Maroon & White on Sunday afternoon as the No. 15 Buffs rolled past New Mexico Highlands to wrap up the Bob Sloan Baseball Classic in Canyon. The Antigo, Wisconsin, native tossed five shutouts innings, allowing just one hit with one walk and 10 strikeouts for an opposing batting average of .059. The Indian Hills CC transfer sat down the final five batters he faced, all with strikeouts to pick up his first win.
 
    Luke Short, St. Edward's, pitched six scoreless innings against Eastern New Mexico, striking out seven Greyhound batters and allowing just four hits in 21 at-bats. The sophomore allowed hitters just a .190 batting average against him in the 12-0 SEU win.
 
    Kolby Lunsford, Texas A&M-Kingsville, was lights out on the mound in the first game of Saturday's twin bill against Cameron as the 2021 all-conference selection kick-started the 2022 campaign, earning a win and recording nine strikeouts in 5.2 innings of work, allowing a single hit in a 5-3 victory.
 
    Jan Cabrera, Texas A&M International, made an immediate impact in his debut as a Dustdevil, helping TAMIU bring home a 9-1 victory in game three of the weekend series against UTPB. Cabrera completed his start in the second game of the seven-inning doubleheader, allowing one hit and a walk while striking out seven Falcons, limiting UTPB to a .071 team batting average. The lone hit Cabrera allowed came in the top of the fifth inning after four no-hit innings.
Drew Henderson, Cameron, helped the CU staff hold Texas A&M-Kingsville to a .176 batting average over their four-game series this past weekend. The junior came in to pitch in relief in the series finale, allowing just two hits and one walk while striking five over five innings of work. Henderson held the Hogs to just a .118 batting average during the team’s 8-1 win.
 
    Shandon Herrera, Lubbock Christian, gave the best starting pitching performance of any Chap in their opening weekend series split with Arkansas-Fort Smith. The righty threw six strong innings in game three of the series, allowing just one run on three hits in his time on the mound while striking out four. In 20 at-bats against him, the Lions hit just .150.