Liberty dropped it’s second straight ASUN series as they went 1-2 against Jacksonville this past weekend. The Flames are 6-9 since their March 8 win against North Carolina and have performed at a level well below the standard set earlier in the season. Liberty also dropped a midweek game to the Virginia Cavaliers 7-2, only getting 5 hits as they went down in Charlottesville. UVA is a highly ranked team so the loss is not as gut wrenching as others had this season.
The Flames are set to host FGCU for a three-game series this weekend. FGCU comes into this series matchup in Lynchburg with a 20-9 record and 6-2 in away games, with one of the losses coming against a ranked Florida State team. They won their last 3 ASUN series matchups, going 2-1 against Jacksonville and sweeping Stetson in their 3 games played. The Eagles are currently tied for first atop the ASUN East Division standings with a 7-2 mark in the ASUN following their 2-1 series victory over previously unbeaten in ASUN play Kennesaw State. FGCU is looking to be the toughest division rival for the Flames so far as they have been so dominant in conference games.
The FGCU Eagles have some potent offensive players that Liberty will have to be wary of as they square off. Junior third basemen/DH Alejandro Figueredo has been very consistent in the batters box this season. He leads the team with a .410 batting average while having the second most at bats on the team (117). He also has 5 home runs and 32 RBI’s, both numbers being 4th most on his team. He has batted 4th in the lineup in recent games.
Junior outfielder Brian Ellis has been the leadoff hitter for the Eagles, second on the team in batting average (.376) and leads the team in doubles (13) and on base percentage (.547). Batting second in the lineup has been outfielder Ian Farrow, who leads the team in home runs with 10. Coming in third we have junior first baseman Joe Kinker, who has hit 8 home runs this year but leads the team in strikeouts with 40, 8 more than the next highest teammate. Batting 5th after Figueredo is freshman outfielder Povey Harrison, who also has 8 home runs this year and is 3rd on the team with a .360 batting average. This team is loaded with talented hitters, especially 1-5 in the order. The Flames’ pitching staff will have no shortage of challenge as they engage them.
Sophomore pitcher Najer Victor has been the most successful starter for the Eagles this season with a 4-0 record in 7 starts. He has the lowest ERA among starters with 2.78 and is second on the team in strikeouts with 39. Hitters have an average of .180 when going against him, the lowest on the team. He also has the lowest WHIP on the team with 1.02. Sophomore Jason Woodward has been a player that has started a solid amount of games and leads the team in strikeouts with 42. Junior Darrien Smith and senior Joey Mugavero have appeared in the most games coming in for relief for the starters. Mugavero holds an impressive 0.96 ERA, though he has only pitched in 18.2 innings.
In Liberty’s lone win against Jacksonville last weekend, outfielder Aaron Anderson went 3 for 5 at the plate, knocking in a run and crossing the plate himself. Three Hillier did the same, getting himself on base with two hits and a walk. While Dylan Cumming was credited with the win, it was Mason Fluharty who was putting on a show when he came in to pitch for 3 innings. He faced 10 batters and struck out 8 of them while allowing 1 hit and zero runs.
Liberty is 17-10 now after a rough March stretch as they go into their fourth ASUN series. The Flames should be desperate to really put their all into these games and beat the current first place team in their conference. Nothing would turn this fall around like putting giving a beatdown to a strong FGCU team that has impressed this season.
