The rematch of Liberty’s 7-1 loss to Tennessee in Knoxville from back in February was nothing like the first matchup, as the Flames picked up a 6-1 win over the Volunteers in game 2 of the Chapel Hill regional.
Game 1 of the regional between 1-seed North Carolina and 4-seed UNC-Wilmington did not finish until nearly 9 p.m. after a 3-hour weather delay.
When the game finally got underway, shortly after 10 p.m., Liberty wasted little time getting to work. Gray Betts got a leadoff single and was immediately followed by ASUN Player of the Year Jonathan Embry who blasted a pitch over the right field wall to give the Flames the early 2-0 lead.
That would be all starting pitcher Mason Meyer would need. Meyer pitched 6 1/3 innings only allowing a solo homerun to Evan Russell to start off the 7th.
Garrett Price came on to pitch 2 2/3 innings of shutout work in relief.
The Flames would add insurance runs in the 3rd, 6th, and 7th innings. Tyler Galazin doubled to left to score Logan Mathieu in 3rd, putting LU ahead 3-0. Brandon Rohrer scored in the 6th on a throwing error by the Tennessee left fielder after Jaylen Guy singled to left. Liberty would add 2 runs in the 7th on a Rohrer single that brought around Galazin and Mathieu.
The win is the program’s 4th ever in NCAA Regional play in Liberty’s 6th ever NCAA Tournament appearance. It’s also the team’s 43rd win of the season, tying the school record for most wins in school history.
Liberty advances to play regional host and the number 14 national seed North Carolina. The Tar Heels came from behind in the bottom of the 9th inning to a walk-off win, 7-6, over UNCW after the weather delay. Game time is tentatively scheduled for 4 p.m. Saturday and will follow Game 3 between Tennessee and Wilmington n an elimination game. The Flames and Tar Heels split their season series this year, each team winning on their home turf.
