Liberty had an offensive onslaught Wednesday evening in Durham, North Carolina, defeating No. 17 Duke, 12-4. With the win, the Flames improve to 6-2 on the season.
After beginning the year 5-0 for the first time since 2012, Liberty dropped two straight over the weekend to Xavier, losing the weekend series with the losses on Saturday and Sunday. Under first year head coach Bradley LeCroy, Liberty halts that streak with Wednesday’s bounce-back win.
The Flames had 15 hits, 5 of those being home runs, as the team scored 12 runs to cruise to the midweek win over a ranked ACC foe for a second straight week to open the season. Liberty defeated No. 12 NC State, 9-8, last Tuesday in the team’s first midweek game of the year.
1B Jaxon Sorenson began the scoring with his solo home run in the top of the first. RF Camden Troyer led off the second with a homer of his own. In the third, LF Nick Barone blasted a three-run and 3B Landon Scilley added a solo shot to extend the lead to 6-1 as the Flames took control of the game early.
Liberty added two more in the 5th on a Tucker Moore single that scored Riley DeCandido and Troyer. The hot bats continued into the sixth where Barone hit his second homer of the day, this one a two-run shot, and then Scilley doubled to score Troyer to push the advantage to 11-1. The Flames concluded their scoring in the 8th inning when Troyer’s single brought in Marsh.
Barone finished the night 3 for 5 with his two homers, two runs, and 5 RBI. Troyer hit 5 for 5 with a double, home run, 3 runs, and 2 RBI. Scilley was 3 for 5 with two doubles, a homer, a run scored and 2 RBI. Sorenson was 3 for 5 with a home run, 3 runs scored and an RBI. All of that damage coming from the middle of the Flames’ lineup.
After dropping three straight, including both meetings last year, Liberty halts that skid and improves to 17-15 all-time against the Blue Devils.
Josh Swink got the start and picked up the win, pitching 3.1 innings while allowing two runs, one earned, on three hits, and striking out one. Cooper Harrington answered the relief call for Swink, allowing two runs on two hits over 3.2 innings. Joseph Webb closed the door on the Blue Devils, pitching two scoreless innings and just one hit.
Wednesday’s game at Duke was the first of a five-game road swing for the Flames. Liberty will play a three-game series at UNC Wilmington this weekend and a contest at Campbell next Tuesday.
