Liberty enters this series matchup coming off of a 2-1 series victory over Jacksonville and a loss Wednesday against Virginia Tech, a tight match that ended at 1-2. After winning the series opener against Jacksonville 7-5, the Flames dropped game 2, 3-11. The closed it out with a close 2-1 game to take the series.
FGCU comes into this series matchup in Lynchburg with a 30-18 record and 20-9 in home games. They won their last series against Kennesaw State, 2-1. The Eagles are currently third in the ASUN East Division standings with a 14-10 conference record and only 2 games behind the first place Flames. FGCU is looking to climb back to the top of the standings with this series against Liberty
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 .392 batting average while having the second most at bats on the team (189). He also has 8 home runs and 51 RBI’s. 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 (.378) and leads the team in doubles (19) and on base percentage (.519). Batting second in the lineup has been outfielder Ian Farrow, who is second on the team in home runs with 14. Coming in third we have junior first baseman Joe Kinker, who leads the team with 15 home runs this year but leads the team in strikeouts with 62. Batting 5th after Figueredo is freshman outfielder Povey Harrison, who has 13 home runs this year and has a batting average of .286. 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 but has not played in months due to injury. Sophomore Jason Woodward has been a player that has started a solid amount of games and leads the team in strikeouts with 68. Junior Darrien Smith and senior Joey Mugavero have appeared in the most games coming in for relief for the starters. Mugavero holds an ERA of 3.50 ERA while Smith has one at 4.21.
Last time these two squads faced off in April the Flames took care of business with a clean sweep at home. Lets hope that series will be indicative of this one also and Liberty can continue growing their lead in the ASUN East.
