It was a tough week for Liberty baseball in the non-conference, first losing at Virginia before dropping two of three at Samford. With the eight game road swing finished, the Flames are now 18-25 overall. Liberty returns home now to begin a five game homestand.

TUESDAY: #14 VIRGINIA 14, LIBERTY 4 (7 INNINGS)

Liberty fell to Virginia, 14-4, on Tuesday evening in Charlottesville, the game ending in seven innings due to run rule.

The Cavaliers, who entered the contest fifth in the nation in runs per game, took a commanding lead with four runs in the third and continued to widen their advantage from there. Four Cavaliers hit home runs in the contest. Virginia catcher Ethan Anderson was 3 for 3 with an RBI and three runs scored.

Liberty tied the contest briefly in the second on solo home runs by left fielder Brayden Horton and first baseman John Simmons. The Flames also pushed across two runs in the fourth.

Flames’ starting pitcher Josh Swink takes the loss. He gave up six runs on six hits over 2.1 innings while walking one batter.

FRIDAY: LIBERTY 10, SAMFORD 7 (10 INNINGS)

The Flames halted a five game losing skid to pickup a win in non-conference play Friday evening in Birmingham, Alabama.

Liberty took a 7-2 lead in the fifth inning, taking advantage of six walks to score six runs on one hit. Samford answered with five runs in the sixth to come back and tie the contest.

Flames’ relievers Ben Blair in the eighth and Cale Bolton in the ninth stranded Bulldog runners at third base with one out to send the game to extra innings where Liberty struck for three in the 10th. Back to back two out RBI singles by catcher Macaddin Dye and left fielder Brayden Horton gave the Flames the lead for good.

Dye had two hits and two RBI, while Horton had two hits and an RBI. Third baseman Cam Foster also had two hits for the Flames, including his seventh home run of the season. Second baseman Aidan Sweatt joined this group with two games himself in the game.

Blair and Bolton combined to pitch 4.1 scoreless innings out of the bullpen. Blair went 2.1 innings, striking out three and walking one. Bolton recorded the win. He gave up a hit, striking out two, and walking one.

SATURDAY: SAMFORD 10, LIBERTY 3

The Samford Bulldogs pulled away from the Flames during the middle innings on their way to a 10-3 victory Saturday evening. The Bulldogs, the first place team in the Southern Conference, evened the series at 1 with the win.

With the score tied at 1 after three innings, Samford struck for nine runs over the next four innings to build a commanding 10-2 lead, taking advantage of three errors. Five of the Bulldogs’ runs were scored on either an error or a wild pitch.

Liberty starter Nick Moran takes the loss. The left hander gave up four runs, three earned, on six hits over 4.1 innings.

Liberty shortstop Tanner Marsh drove in Liberty’s first two runs with an RBI single and an RBI double.

SUNDAY: SAMFORD 12, LIBERTY 1 (7 INNINGS)

Samford jumped into the lead in the first inning and never trailed after that on Sunday, picking up the win as well as the series win.

After the Flames took a 1-0 advantage in the top of the first, the Bulldogs countered in the bottom of the inning with two runs on a home run by second baseman John Anderson for a 2-1 edge. Samford then plated five runs in the second to take control of the non-conference contest.

Liberty starting pitcher Todd Hudson takes the loss. He gave up seven runs on five hits over the first two innings. He struck out one and walked one. Reliever Dylan Mathiesen pitched 2.1 innings of relief, striking out three and walking one.

Up Next: The long road trip comes to an end as the Flames return home beginning Wednesday with a game against Campbell with first pitch scheduled for 6 p.m. Liberty then welcomes FIU to Liberty Baseball Stadium for a three-game CUSA series beginning Friday at 6 p.m.

Current CUSA Standings

Louisiana Tech……11-4, 33-13
Western Kentucky…13-5, 31-14
Dallas Baptist……..10-5, 31-11
Liberty…………………9-6, 18-25
FIU………………………..10-8, 23-20
Sam Houston……….7-11, 24-20
NMSU…………………..7-11, 20-23
Middle Tenn………….5-13, 14-29
Jax State……………..3-12, 14-27