No. 5 seed Liberty (23-32) was able to power past No. 4 Sam Houston to a 9-3 win Thursday afternoon in the first round of the 2024 CUSA Tournament at Love Field at Pat Patterson Park in Ruston, Louisiana.
Rain impacted the CUSA Tournament on Wednesday with Liberty’s game pushed until Thursday. Following the conclusion of Louisiana Tech and Middle Tennessee which resumed in the late innings, the Flames and Bearkats finally took to the field just after Noon ET.
Flames’ starter Cole Hertzler pitched a gem, going 7.2 innings. He allowed one run on four hits while striking out five and walking three.
It was a pitching duel during the early innings, with both teams remaining scoreless into the third inning. The Bearkats would strike first with a two-out RBI single in the bottom of third, taking a 1-0 lead.
Liberty would finally get to Sam Houston starter Coltin Atkinson with two outs in the fifth. Cam Foster singled to extend the inning and he was followed by a two-run home run blast to center field by Camden Troyer, giving the Flames’ its first lead of the day at 2-1.
Troyer would continue to deliver, as his two-RBI double with two outs in the sixth inning extended the lead. Austin Marsh followed with an RBI single, making the score 5-1. The Flames would tack on two more in the seventh, one coming from a Troyer sacrifice fly, as the lead ballooned to 7-1. Troyer’s second home run of the afternoon came in the top of the ninth, making it 9-1.
Liberty right fielder Camden Troyer would finish the day 3 for 4 with 7 RBI and 3 runs scored with two home runs and a double.
Ben Blair would come on in relief of Hertzler, allowing a two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth. He pitched 1.1 innings to secure the victory as Liberty improves to 4-0 against Sam Houston this season.
With the win, the Flames advance into the winner’s bracket of the double-elimination tournament and will take on No. 1 seed and tournament host Louisiana Tech on Friday afternoon at approximately 1:30 p.m. Liberty was swept by the Bulldogs in a three-game series in Lynchburg last weekend in the regular season finale series for both teams.
CUSA TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE/RESULTS
All games streamed on ESPN+ except for Sunday’s Championship game which is on CBS Sports Network
Wednesday, May 22
Game 1: #6 FIU 7, #3 Western Kentucky 5
Game 2: #2 Dallas Baptist 5, #7 New Mexico State 3
Thursday, May 23
Game 3: No. 1 LA Tech 8, No. 8 MTSU 2
Game 4: No. 5 Liberty 9, No. 4 Sam Houston 1
Game 5: No. 3 WKU 8, No. 7 NM State 2 – NMSU eliminated
Game 6: No. 2 DBU 8, No. 6 FIU 2
Friday, May 24
Game 7: No. 4 Sam Houston vs. No. 8 Middle Tennessee, 10 a.m.
Game 8: No. 1 LA Tech vs No. 5 Liberty, 1:30 p.m.
Game 9: No. 3 WKU vs. No. 6 FIU, 5 p.m.
Game 10: Winner of G7 vs. Loser of G8, 8:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 25
Game 11: No. 2 DBU vs Winner Game 9, 10 a.m.
Game 12: Winner Game 8 vs Winner Game 10, 1:30 p.m.
Game 13, Same Teams as Game 11, if necessary: 5 p.m.
Game 14, Same Teams as Game 12, if necessary: 8:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 26
Championship Final, 2 p.m.
