OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City University will square off with Lubbock Christian (Texas) in a three-game series matching two of the top five-ranked teams in NAIA baseball Friday and Saturday at Jim Wade Stadium.

Top-ranked OCU meets fifth-ranked Lubbock Christian in a 4 p.m. doubleheader Friday and at 1 p.m. Saturday.

The Stars were the unanimous No. 1 team in the last NAIA rankings, gaining all 22 first-place votes. OCU has gone on a nine-game win streak since its only loss of the season March 2 to be 27-1. The Stars top the Sooner Athletic Conference standings with a 9-0 league record.

Lubbock Christian has a 24-2, standing second in the SAC with an 8-1 record. Lubbock Christian swept OCU for the first time ever last year during the regular season on April 4-5, 2008 in Lubbock, Texas, then eliminated OCU from the SAC Tournament on May 2 in Plainview, Texas.

The Stars eventually beat then-No. 1 Lubbock Christian twice on May 9-10 to win the NAIA Region VI championship at Jim Wade Stadium.

“It's a big rivalry,” OCU coach Denney Crabaugh said. “It's two quality programs, and a lot rides on our games typically. The winner of this series has a leg up for the conference championship and national seeding. It's a big matchup in the conference as well as on the national level.”

OCU leads the NAIA in home runs with 73. The Stars broke the NAIA single-season record for homers last year with 147, more than the team leaders in NCAA Division I, II or III. OCU previously held the single-season NAIA home run record with 141 hit by its 1988 and 1999 squads.

Brent Weaver leads the NAIA with 19 homers. Weaver, a senior first baseman-third baseman from Midwest City, Okla., is hitting .420 with 49 RBIs and a 1.030 slugging percentage. Weaver was a first-team all-American in 2008 and a preseason all-American this year.

“He's a special player,” Crabaugh said. “It's amazing what he's done this year because he's not getting many pitches to hit. People are working around him.”

Kirk Walker, a sophomore shortstop from Bakersfield, Calif., leads the Stars with a .474 batting average. The Stars are hitting .391 as a team, ranking third in the NAIA. OCU has a 3.00 team earned run average, ranking fifth in the NAIA.

Justin Harper, a junior right-hander from Phoenix, and Ashur Tolliver, a junior lefty from Sherwood, Ark., each have six wins to lead OCU. Harper leads the team's starting pitchers with a 1.82 ERA. Garrett Parker, a senior righty from Duncanville, Texas, has a team-high 47 strikeouts in 35.2 innings. Brad Riddle, a junior from Bethany, Okla., has notched a team-high three saves.

Will Stramp leads Lubbock Christian with a .494 batting average, while Ross Blondin has a team-high 11 homers and 49 runs driven in. Lubbock Christian ranks second nationally with a .407 team batting average.

R.L. Eisenbach has a team-high five wins for Lubbock Christian. Rene Garcia has a team-low 2.45 ERA among Lubbock Christian's starters, and Jakob Cunningham has two saves.