Liberty opened the 2013 season by going down to Columbia, SC to take on the fifth ranked South Carolina Gamecocks. The Flames won one out of a three game series, which all games were decided by one run.
Liberty’s opening day starting pitcher was Carson Herndon who had a solid outing pitching 5 innings, giving up only 1 ER and 3 K. Liberty went into the top of the 8thtrailing 4-0. The Flames were able to rally scoring 3 runs to make it 4-3, but ended with a 4-3 loss.
The second game, Liberty sent out starting pitcher Brooks Roy, who pitched 5 scoreless innings. Roy gave up one hit, walked three and had one strikeout. Heading into the 7th inning, the Flames had a 1-0 lead when they erupted for 6 runs in the top of the inning. Starting center fielder and team captain, Ryan Cordell, drove in 3 runs by hitting a bases-clearing double off the left field wall. The Flames then headed to the bottom of the 8th inning with a 7-0 lead. The Gamecocks scored 3 runs in the 8th inning to make it 7-3 going into the bottom of the 9th. In the bottom of the 9th, Liberty sent in relief pitcher, Grauer, who faced four batters and gave up 1 run. Then came in relief pitcher, Josh Richardson, who walked his first batter, making it 7-5. The next batter had an RBI ground out, with the score now 7-6 and 1 out. Richardson struck out a batter for the second out, which brought up pinch hitter Kyle Martin with bases loaded and 2 outs. Martin hit a line drive that struck Richardson and caused an error and 2 runs to score. The game ended in a heart-breaker for Liberty losing 8-7.
In the finale in Columbia, the Flame Train bounced back from a very disappointing game 2 and won 3-2. The win marked the highest ranked team that Liberty has ever beaten. South Carolina was ranked 5th. In the win, Justin Sizemore got the Flames going with a solo home run giving the Flames a 2-1 lead they would never give back. Junior starting pitcher Trey Lambert pitched 4.1 innings gave up 1 ER and got 4 K’s. Lambert also picked up the win.
Center Fielder Ryan Cordell
It would probably be easy to tell you what Cordell didn’t instead of what he did. He was everywhere, making great defensive plays, and provided the Flames some timely hits as well. For the weekend he was 6-13 with 5 RBI’s and 2 runs. Not only do the numbers look good but his hits came in big situations. In game one, with Liberty trying to come back, he hit a 2 run double in the 8th inning. Game two, he helped open up a 3-0 Liberty lead by hitting a 3 run double to push the lead to 6-0. It was a great start to the season for Cordell.
Liberty travels to Radford Tuesday @ 3:30 (note this will not be a conference game).
Friday 2/22 @ 4:00
Saturday 2/23 @ 1:00
Sunday 2/24 @ 1:00
