Liberty extended its conference shutout streak to six games this past week, dominating the series against VMI in all aspects. The Flames won 5-0, 4-0, and 17-0 against VMI, and beat Richmond later in the week 10-7.
Trey Lambert talked with us a bit about how well the pitching staff is playing lately. “It’s been a staff effort” Lambert told us, “everybody looks out and sees what the other guys are doing, and they just want to contribute. It’s not any pressure on one individual guy, we’ve got 18 arms that can perform.”
Trey Lambert
Lambert himself has gone two complete games in a row without allowing a run. He attributed this to Danny Grauer. “He’s been huge, and we all have confidence in him to control the game. You can throw any pitch in any count and know he’s going to be a wall back there,” Lambert said of his catcher. He also told us his experience with being senior gives him an advantage. “There’s not many situations I’ve faced this year that have been new. It’s stuff I’ve been through before, prepared for, and I’m confident that I’m capable of handling.”
Lambert now has a 1.92 ERA and has helped save the bullpen all year, pitching 13 more innings than the second most worked pitcher (Parker Bean). He will be on the mound tonight against Longwood.
Will Shephard and the DH, Becker Sankey have both been solid pieces at the plate lately. They are batting .347 and .306 respectively for the Flames. Ryan Seiz didn’t have his best week at the plate but still ranks in the top 10 in the NCAA for slugging percentage (.692).
We still haven’t heard anything about Carson Herndon (2.82 ERA), who injured his arm in game 2 against VMI. We should have word on his state after the weekend.
The Flames are now 26-8 and 11-1 in conference with an RPI ranking of 18th.
Player of the Week- Parker Bean
Parker Bean
Liberty.edu
Bean went 8 1/3 innings without allowing a hit in last Sunday’s game against VMI. He struck out 16 batters on his way to blowing out VMI 17-0. Bean now has a 2.91 ERA and has a record of 5-1 on the year. Also, if you want something to get excited about, Bean is only a true freshman.
Upcoming
Aprill 11 6:00 Longwood
April 12 4:00 Longwood
April 13 1:00 Longwood
April 14 7:00 Virginia Tech
April 15 6:00 James Madison
Liberty will play three in-state teams this week, one of which is against ACC opponent, Virginia Tech. The Flames will begin their weekend series with Longwood today in Farmville, then wrap things up at home against Virginia Tech and James Madison.
