Liberty secured its third straight series win by defeating North Florida in two of three games this weekend at Liberty Baseball Stadium in Lynchburg, Virginia. The Flames are now 19-20 overall and 10-8 in the ASUN.
Friday: Liberty 12, North Florida 8
The usual reliable Garrett Horn did not have his typical outing on the mound for Liberty Friday night as the Ospreys took an early 7-0 lead. The lead would extend to 8-1 going into the 7th inning before the Flames mounted a huge comeback. Liberty scored four runs in the seventh to cut its deficit to 8-5 before scoring seven in the eighth to secure the victory.
It was a three-run home run from Jake Lazzaro that gave Liberty the lead in the eight. In that frame, the first seven Flames reached as Liberty sent 11 men to the plate. Lazzaro, the fourth batter of the inning, belted an 0-1 pitch with runners on second and third to put the Flames in front 9-8 with his third home run of the year.
Trailing by three, designated hitter Victor Castillo walked and Foster singled to open the home half of the eighth. Catcher Three Hillier followed by lining a double into the right field corner to score Castillo with the first run of the inning. The next batter, Lazzaro, who had already had two hits in the contest, looked at the first pitch before hammering a 0-1 pitch over the right field wall for a 9-8 lead.
Kepley and Horton continued the uprising with singles and Troyer was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Center fielder Jaylen Guy followed with a sacrifice fly RBI and second baseman Gray Betts produced a run-scoring double, upping Liberty’s lead to 11-8. Castillo, batting for the second time in the inning, capped the inning with a sacrifice fly for what proved to be the final score of 12-8.
David Erickson pitched four innings of scoreless relief, allowing Liberty to mount its comeback.
Saturday: North Florida 8, Liberty 3
Behind right-hander Dominick Madonna, the North Florida Ospreys downed the Liberty Flames 8-3. The Ospreys led from start to finish, scoring five runs in the first inning en route to evening the series at 1-1. Madonna went the distance, allowing three runs on four hits over nine innings. He struck out three and walked three.
Liberty loaded the bases with no one out in the seventh against Madonna. However, the right-hander avoided the big inning, limiting the Flames to one run.
Trailing 8-2, Liberty tried to rally in the bottom of the seventh inning. Second baseman Gray Betts walked, and catcher Three Hillier reached on a throwing error by Madonna. The next batter, designated hitter Victor Castillo, also walked to load the bases.
However, Madonna was able to prevent the Flames’ comeback. After the next Liberty hitter struck out for the first out of the frame, center fielder Jaylen Guy lined a fly ball to left field, scoring Betts to cut the Ospreys’ lead to what proved to be the final of 8-3. Left fielder Kane Kepley then flew out to end the Liberty threat.
Sunday: Liberty 9, North Florida 3
Liberty scored five runs in the first two innings to jump out to the early lead for the first time on the weekend. The lead would grow to 7-0 heading into the 5th inning. Starting pitcher Mikey Tepper allowed just one run on four hits in 4.1 innings while striking out six and walking three.
Cam Foster had two home runs on the afternoon, both solo shots, as he finished 3 for 4 with 2 RBI and 3 runs scored. Brayden Horton drove in three runs.
Up Next: The Flames will head to Charlottesville on Wednesday to take on Virginia with first pitch scheduled for 6 p.m. It will be a rematch from April 4’s matchup in Lynchburg where the Cavaliers defeated Liberty, 4-1. UVA, currently ranked No. 8 in the country, is 32-9 overall and 12-9 in the ACC. They are coming off a three-game sweep at Notre Dame. The Cavaliers are 23-2 at home.
Current ASUN Standings
Lipscomb 13-5
FGCU 13-5
Stetson 12-6
Austin Peay 12-6
Jacksonville State 11-7
Jacksonville 10-8
Liberty 10-8
Eastern Kentucky 9-9
North Florida 8-10
Kennesaw State 9-9
Central Arkansas 7-11
Bellarmine 6-12
North Alabama 3-15
Queens 3-15
The top eight teams will advance to the ASUN Tournament.
