Liberty baseball opens season Friday at Florida

The Liberty baseball team opens its 2022 season on Friday in Gainesville, Florida against the Florida Gators. The three-game series Feb. 18-20 will open the season for both Liberty and Florida. The Gators are expected to be one of the top teams in the SEC and have been ranked as high as No. 6 in the country by Baseball America.

Florida finished the 2021 season with a 38-22 record after advancing to the NCAA Regionals where they lost their first two games to South Florida and South Alabama.

Liberty will be looking to duplicate its success from the past couple of seasons as expectations are as high as they’ve ever been for sixth year head coach Scott Jackson and his squad coming off last year’s success. The Flames finished the 2021 season at 41-16, including a dominant 24-2 record at home and 19-2 mark in the ASUN.

The 2021 campaign was one of the most successful in Liberty Baseball history, as the Flames made their second straight NCAA postseason appearance (2019, 2021). Led by ASUN Coach of the Year Scott Jackson, the Flames set the school record for best winning percentage (.719) in a season at the NCAA Division I level and secured an NCAA at-large bid for the second time in the program’s history. After its selection to the NCAA Knoxville, Tenn. Regional, Liberty posted two wins over ACC Champion Duke, before seeing their season end in the regional final against host and College World Series participant Tennessee.

Liberty, the preseason favorite to win the ASUN in 2022 according to the league’s coaches, will be led by several key pieces from last year’s squad, including ASUN Preseason Player of the Year Aaron Anderson, ASUN Preseason Pitcher of the Year Trey Gibson, and ASUN Preseason Defensive Player of the Year Jaylen Guy. Anderson and Gibson were joined by junior catcher Gray Betts and senior designated hitter Brady Gulakowski on the ASUN Preseason All-Conference team.

POSITION PLAYERS

Betts and Anderson bat at the top of the lineup for the Flames, and they are one of the best tandems in the country to lead off. Betts hit .327 with 24 RBI and 56 runs scored last season. The catcher led the ASUN with four triples and 36 walks, while finishing second in the conference in runs, hits (71), and doubles (17). He had at least one hit in 21 straight games and reached base safely in 45 consecutive games, the longest such streaks by any Liberty player last season. Playing in all 57 contests in 2021, he also had 20 games with two more hits.

Liberty outfielder Aaron Anderson has been named a Preseason All-American by Collegiate Baseball. In his first season at Liberty, he led the ASUN with a .375 batting average, 84 hits, and 127 total bases. He had 42 RBI and scored 43 runs in 2021. He also led the ASUN in doubles with 25, finishing the year fourth in the country in the category. He also had four home runs and posted a .460 on base percentage and a .567 slugging percentage.

Gulakowski was named to the 2021 ASUN All-Conference second team and the 2021 NCAA Knoxville, Tennessee Regional team as the designated hitter. In 48 games, he hit .284 with 39 RBI and 29 runs scored with 11 doubles and 10 home runs. He finished the year fourth in home runs and sixth with a .561 slugging percentage in the ASUN last season.

Guy, who is considered one of the top defensive outfielders in college baseball, had a team-high seven assists and made several highlight defensive plays last season. Three of those plays earned national attention by being part of ESPN SportsCenter Top 10 plays, including a sliding catch and throwing a runner out at home in a win over Lipscomb on April 1, and robbing a home run during Liberty’s win over Duke at the Knoxville Regional on June 6.

Senior first baseman Logan Mathieu is back after finishing the 2021 campaign 10th in program history with 26 career home runs. Making 54 starts at first base last year, he led the ASUN with 15 home runs and finished eight in the conference with 40 RBI. He hit .197 with 37 doubles and a .449 slugging percentage.

After Mathieu, the rest of the infield will be new starters for the Flames after Will Wagner, Cam Locklear, and Trey McDyre all moved on. To help fill these holes, Coach Jackson will be turning to a mix of newcomers, both transfers and freshmen.

Morehead State transfer Stephen Hill is expected to slide into McDyre’s vacated spot at third base. The redshirt-senior was a three-year starter at third base at Morehead State. He started all 45 games in 2021, hitting .294 with 16 doubles, 34 RBI, and 33 runs scored. In 2019, Hill batted .327.

At shortstop, the Flames will rely on St. John’s transfer Jake Lazzaro. A sophomore, Lazzaro spent two years at St. John’s where he played and started 33 games in 2021, finishing with a .222 batting average, a home run, 13 RBI, and 27 runs scored. In the shortened 2020 season, Lazzaro was named a Freshman All-American by the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.

Expected to begin the year at second base, freshman Cameron Foster is in his first season with the program. He was named to the 2021 and 2020 Perfect Game Preseason Southeast Region All-American teams out of Douglasville, Georgia and Westminster Schools.

In the outfield alongside Anderson and Guy, Liberty welcomes two transfers who are expected to receive playing time to begin the season. Derek Orndorff comes to Liberty from Seton Hill where he hit .353 with a team-leading 15 home runs, 43 RBI, and 53 runs scored in 43 games in 2021. He was part of a Seton Hill team which posted a 39-8 record and advanced to the 2021 NCAA Division II Championships.

Bo Majkowski comes to Liberty after spending four seasons at Clemson. He saw action in each of those four years with the Tigers, posting a .352 on base percentage in 72 career games.

PITCHING

Where Liberty could develop into a national contender this season, is on the mound. The Flames, who had a decent amount of pitching depth last year, is expected to have even more depth on the bump in 2022.

It all begins with the weekend starters and ASUN Preseason Pitcher of the Year Trey Gibson. The 2021 ASUN Freshman of the Year, Freshman All-American second team all-ASUN, Gibson posted a 7-4 record with a 3.32 ERA over 65 innings during his first year in the program last year. He struck out 70 and walked 21. Gibson pitched five or more innings in eight of 13 starts. The right-hander pitched his first career complete game in a 4-1 victory over Kennesaw State on May 9.

Expected to join Gibson in the weekend rotation is lefty Joe Adametz. Returning from Tommy John surgery, Adametz missed the 2021 season. In his true freshman campaign in 2019, he made 16 appearances with 15 starts, and posted a 7-2 record with a 4.04 ERA over 78 innings. He struck out 56 batters and walked 27 as he was named to the ASUN All-Freshman team after tying for third in the conference in wins. In the shortened 2020 campaign, Adametz posted a 1-1 mark with a 1.59 ERA over 22 2/3 innings in four starts. He struck out 21 and walked four.

Others that will compete for that third weekend starting spot and the mid-week starter include Max Alba, Dylan Cumming, Garrett Horn, and Tim Miller. Alba is a North Carolina transfer who is in his first season at Liberty after spending three years with the Tar Heels. He appeared in 17 games with 11 starts, posting a 3-4 record over 42 2/3 innings during his time in Chapel Hill.

Cumming joined the Flames for the 2021 season after transferring from Chicago State. He made 12 appearances with eight starts, finishing the year with a 4-3 record and 6.14 ERA over 58 2/3 innings. He struck out and walked 19.

Horn is a true freshman lefty from Kernersville, North Carolina where he posted a 1.25 ERA as a senior. Miller is a sixth-year senior who comes to Liberty after spending the past five seasons at Richmond. He was a three-time opening day starter for the Spiders, and made 34 starts in 35 career appearances. Miller posted a 13-6 record with a 3.81 ERA over 179.2 innings during his time at Richmond.

David Erickson is one of the top returning men out of the bullpen. The junior right-hander made 25 relief apperances last season, finishing with an 8-1 record and a 2.08 ERA in 47.2 innings. He struck out 52 batters, walked 31, and held opposing hitters to a .156 batting average.

Landon Riley made 19 relief appearances for the Flames last season, posting a 2-0 record with five saves and a 4.00 ERA in 18 innings. Mason Fluharty is a left-handed arm out of the bullpen who made 19 appearances in 2021. He finished the year with a 0-1 record, one save, and a 4.37 ERA over 22.2 innings.

Righty Nick Willard made 10 appearances last year as a freshman. He had a 2-1 record with a 2.66 ERA over 20.1 innings and was named to the ASUN All-Freshman team. Cade Hungate appeared in nine games for Liberty in 2021, marking an 0-1 record with a 4.32 ERA in 8.1 innings. Other guys who could work into the mix out of the bullpen include sophomores Trey Carter and Emmanuel Johnson.

SCHEDULE

Following their three-game opening series at Florida this weekend, Liberty will return home for four-games. The Flames’ home opener is on Wednesday, Feb. 23 against North Carolina A&T, with a three-game series against Winthrop Feb. 25-27. Other early notable games include March 8 in Lynchburg against North Carolina and a three-game home series against Campbell March 11-13.

This season, the 12-team ASUN will feature divisional play during the regular season. Liberty, FGCU, Jacksonville, Kennesaw State, North Florida, and Stetson comprise the East Division. The West Division consists of Bellarmine, Central Arkansas, Eastern Kentucky, Jacksonville State, Lipscomb, and North Alabama. Each team will play 30 conference games, playing two three-game series against each team in their division. There will be no inter-divisional play during the regular season.

The Flames will open conference play March 18-20 with a three-game series at North Florida. Liberty’s ASUN home opener is March 25-27 against Stetson. The 2022 ASUN Baseball Championship will be played May 25=28 at Swanson Stadium in Fort Myers, Florida on the campus of Florida Gulf Coast.

PROJECTED WEEKEND ROTATION

Friday: RHP Trey Gibson
Saturday: LHP Joe Adametz
Sunday: RHP Dylan Cumming

PROJECTED OPENING DAY STARTING LINEUP

C Gray Betts
1B Logan Mathieu
2B Cameron Foster
SS Jake Lazzaro
3B Stephen Hill
LF Aaron Anderson
CF Jaylen Guy
RF Derek Orndorff
DH Brady Gulakowski