After achieving a 35-10 record through 45 games this year, the Flames checked in at 22nd in the Baseball America top 25 yesterday, and took the number 25 spot in the USA Today Coaches’ Poll. Both rankings were program firsts, and could huge in establishing Liberty as a consistent baseball contender.
The Flames have been red hot this year, going 29-4 since their 6-6 start to the season. They currently rank 20th in RPI, and have consistently stayed in the top 25 in RPI for a few weeks now. With the top 16 seeds in the NCAA tournament usually hosting their own regional, Liberty has put themselves in a position to make a bid over the home stretch of the season.
Boyd’s World’s RPI predictor has the Flames needing to win out to break into the RPI top 16, but it doesn’t factor in the conference tournament. Liberty may be able to drop a game, including the conference tournament, and still have a chance, but that won’t be easy. Liberty will play the top ranked team in the country in UVA on May 7, after the exam break. They then have a series against Coastal (197 RPI), a game against Elon (83 RPI), and then a series at Radford (119 RPI) before the Big South Tournament.
