The Liberty baseball team opens the 2023 season on Friday in Hattiesburg, Mississippi against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles. The three-game series Feb. 17-19 will open the season for both Liberty and Southern Miss.
Liberty will be looking to duplicate its success from the past several seasons as expectations continue to be as high as they’ve ever been for seventh year head coach Scott Jackson and his squad. The Flames finished the 2021 season at 37-23 while advancing to a regional for a third straight season.
Once again the preseason favorite to win the ASUN according to the league’s coaches, Liberty will be led by several key pieces from last year’s squad, including ASUN Preseason Pitcher of the Year Garrett Horn, Gray Betts, Three Hillier, Cam Foster, and Jaylen Guy who returns from injury.
POSITION PLAYERS
Gray Betts is back to lead the Flames behind the plate as well as at the top of the lineup. He’s been the team’s leadoff hitter the past few seasons and is coming off a season where he started all 56 games he played in. Betts finished the year with a .296 batting average with 14 doubles, seven home runs and 35 RBI.
At first base, the Flames will need to find a replacement for Logan Mathieu who carved out a very nice career at Liberty. Coach Jackson will turn to Winthrop transfer Andrew Jenner at first base to begin the season. Jenner, who missed the 2022 season at Winthrop before transferring to Liberty, has a .310 career batting average from his time at Winthrop, having played in 60 games while making 57 starts. He had 11 doubles, one triple, and one home run in those 60 games to go along with 31 RBI and 24 walks.
“Jenner is like a left-handed shortstop,” Jackson said of the first baseman. “He’s not as big as Logan Mathieu, so he doesn’t quite have the reach and the length, but everything else is just as good if not a little bit better than Logan, just from the glove to the hand and having his footwork around the bag. We’re not going to miss a beat with him at first base.”
Nathan Keeter returns at second for the Flames for his second year in the program. He started 48 games for Liberty as a freshman with a .239 batting average with three doubles, two triples, two home runs. and 18 RBI.
After beginning the 2022 season as Liberty’s starting shortstop, Jake Lazzaro was moved out of the everyday lineup as he struggled to a .169 batting average while starting 21 games. He has come back rejuvenated and looking to lead the team at shortstop in 2023.
“I think for us the biggest piece on that infield is the maturity of Jake Lazzaro,” said Jackson. “What we’ve seen from the fall into the preseason and him to be able to slow down a little bit and just play this game at his own pace and just kind of take what the game gives him, that wasn’t int he cards for him last year. (I had a) tough conversation at the end of the year, really threw the ball in his court. ‘Coach, I’m committed to Liberty. I want to be here. I want to see this thing through. I’m going to come back here and prove you wrong.’ I like those players, especially when they are from Long Island.”
Cam Foster will begin the season at third base after being moved there from second midway through his first season at Liberty. As a freshman last year, Foster started 60 games and finished the season with a .265 batting average with 17 doubles and six home runs to go along with 40 RBI. He will have to adjust to opposing teams having a year full of tape to scout him. Foster has also worked diligently during the offseason to improve his defense from third.
Jaylen Guy missed all of 2022 due to injury, but he is back to 100% and manning centerfield for the Flames. When we last saw Guy, he was making frequent appearances on ESPN’s Sportscenter Top 10 lists with his defensive plays. He played in 56 games in 2021, starting 54, while leading the ASUN with 15 stolen bases. He hit .198 with 29 RBI and 34 runs scored.
Three Hillier’s original position is at catcher, but he proved himself too valuable for Coach Jackson to keep him out of the lineup. Hillier ended up starting 52 games last season, most of them in left field, a position he will once again manage to begin 2023. Hillier batted .309 last year with 14 doubles and seven home runs.
“Three is going to be in the lineup whether it’s at DH or left field, that will kind of depend on what we want to do,” Jackson said. “I’m not ever going to pinch hit for three Hillier, so you probably don’t want to DH that guy. He’s going to catch some for us, play left if we need to, DH him.”
Camden Troyer is a transfer from Clemson where he saw limited playing time as a freshman in 2022. He will play in the outfield this year. He’s impressed in the preseason with his bat and has earned himself an opportunity to help the Flames this spring.
Victor Castillo and Will Stewart are other names to watch that will factor in for Liberty in the outfield this season.
“I’ve got a lot to think through there,” Jackson said of his outfield. “There’s going to be some guys that are disappointed but there are also going to be some opportunities for guys off the bench that are valuable at bats for us.”
PITCHING
Liberty’s pitching staff is highlighted by preseason ASUN Pitcher of the Year Garrett Horn. He was named to two Freshman All-American teams and was selected to the ASUN All-Conference second team in his first season at Liberty in 2022. The left-hander posted a 6-1 record with a 1.93 ERA over 51.1 innings. In 13 appearances and seven starts, he struck out 80 and walked 24 while holding opponents to a .167 batting average.
The Kernersville, N.C., native finished the year ninth in the ASUN Conference in strikeouts and fifth in wins. Horn was named the ASUN Pitcher of the Week for April 18.
“I don’t think we’ve had a pitcher here as focused and as driven as Garrett Horn is,” said Jackson. “Nothing gets left out. He’s an easy player to coach. He’s fun to watch. He’s the guy that you want on Friday night because he earns you opportunities. He looks great. He’s been 92-94. I think the wind chill was in the 20s the other day, couldn’t feel his fingers, and there were still some 94s on the scoreboard, that’s good for the Flames.”
Nick Moran and Mikey Tepper should also factor into the weekend rotation. Moran was a freshman last season, making just six appearances with one start. He allowed nine runs in 13 innings pitched. Tepper is a transfer from Mississippi State where he had 17 appearances in 2022, making two starts. he finished the season with a 9.49 ERA and 1-2 record with one save in 24.2 innings of work while striking out 19.
“Nick Moran has really taken some steps forward for us,” Jackson said. “It’s three pitches. It’s a lot of strikes, he’s been up to 93. Mike Tepper is an elite arm talent for us. His stuff is ridiculously good.”
Others who could factor into the rotation as starters, whether during the weekend or during the midweek as the season progresses, include Garrett Gainey, Garrett Cooper, and Cole Hertzler.
As for the bullpen, Coach Jackson says the Flames will lean on some of the veteran arms he has there, at least to begin the season.
“Trey Carter’s gotta be in the mix for us,” Jackson said of his ‘pen. “David Erickson, Cole Garrett, some of those older players, Tyler Germanowski.”
SCHEDULE
Following their three-game opening series at Southern Miss this weekend, Liberty will remain on the road for four additional games beginning Feb. 22 at Duke and a three-game series at Winthrop beginning Feb. 24. The Flames’ home opener is March 1 against Longwood followed by a three-game homestand against Bryant March 3-5.
The Flames will open conference play March 17-19 at FGCU. Liberty’s ASUN home opener is March 24-26 against Austin Peay. The 2023 ASUN Baseball Championship will be played May 24-27 in DeLand, Florida on the campus of the Stetson Hatters.
PROJECTED WEEKEND ROTATION
Friday: LHP Garrett Horn
Saturday: LHP Nick Moran
Sunday: RHP Mikey Tepper
PROJECTED OPENING DAY STARTING LINEUP
C Gray Betts
1B Andrew Jenner
2B Nathan Keeter
SS Jake Lazzaro
3B Cam Foster
LF Three Hillier
CF Jaylen Guy
RF Camden Troyer
The designated hitter could vary from game to game with several guys having the potential to work their way into the lineup including Victor Castillo, Will Stewart, and John Simmons. Hillier could also slide to catcher or DH any given game to allow some lineup flexibility. The batting lineup is still a work in progress with Gray Betts being slotted in as the leadoff man for Liberty once again.
