Rut row, the Flames are heating up again.
Victorious in their seven most recent matchups, Liberty baseball is catching fire. After tallying wins in their final two matchups of the Kent State series, sweeping the Liberty invitational, and then pounding Virginia Tech, who is coming off a sweep of previously #1 UVA, the Flames seem to have found their stroke heading into conference play. It is hard to not find some major similarities between this season and Liberty’s 2014 campaign.
Results
Mar 13 5:00 vs Western Carolina…..W, 5-1
Mar 14 1:00 vs Penn State…………….W, 7-6
Mar 14 5:00 vs Western Carolina…..W, 4-2
Mar 15 1:00 vs Penn State…………….W, 3-2
Mar 17 5:30 @ Virginia Tech…………W, 12-5
A culmination of good hitting and good pitching resulted in the Flames’ most successful week this season. Parker Bean set the tone with a complete game, only allowing one run against Western Carolina, in a masterful performance. Liberty would win the second game, a matchup against Penn State, in odd fashion, a walk-off hit by pitch.
The Flames then completed their mini sweep of Western Carolina, a squad that sports one of the top all-around collegiate baseball player in Brad Strong, with a 4-2 win. Fueled by a two run eighth inning, the Flames were able to finish off the perfect weekend with a 3-2 win over Penn State.
Last night the Flames took it to Virginia Tech in their only midweek matchup. The 12-5 win came behind a four hit effort from Nick Salisbury, and two-home runs, including a grand slam, delivered by Becker Sankey.
Now for pretty much the most prestigious weekly baseball award given to a collegiate player, which athletes all across the southern side of the Lynchburg metropolitan area dream of one day winning, your FlamesNation Player of the Week.
Sammy Taormina
There were a number of worthy candidates this week including Alex Close, Becker Sankey, Andrew Yacyk, and Parker Bean, all of whom have been in phenomenal form lately, but this ridiculous throw from the ground, checking in at #5 on the SC Top 10, separates Taormina from the pack.
Taormina has been the most reliable fielder for the Flames this year, with no errors thus far, and has also been used as the DH in certain situations. Sporting a .333 average in the Liberty Invitational, Sammy has been making a good case for locking down a position as an everyday starter.
Upcoming
Mar 20 5:00 @ Radford
Mar 21 4:00 @ Radford
Mar 22 2:00 @ Radford
The Flames will begin their journey to a second straight regular season Big South championship this weekend against Radford. Streaming will be available here.
