Liberty picked up a critical series win on the road at Eastern Kentucky as the Flames continue to fight to remain alive in contention to make the ASUN Tournament. With just one week remaining in the regular season, Liberty is currently 24-27 overall and 14-13 in the ASUN.

Friday: Eastern Kentucky 8, Liberty 7

First baseman Charles Ludwig hit three home runs on the evening, with his third coming in the 7th inning that pushed Eastern Kentucky past the Flames in the series opener. The Flames scored three runs in the third as they took a 6-1 lead only to see EKU tie the game after they scored four runs in the 5th inning.

The Flames went back in front in the top of the 7th inning as Todd Hudson hit a solo home run. Ludwig responded with his home run in the bottom of the 7th with a man on base for what proved to be the final score.

Saturday: Liberty 15, Eastern Kentucky 12

Saturday was Kane Kepley’s day. The Liberty outfielder hit for the cycle and also tied the program history with six hits. He got off to a strong start as he hit the first pitch of the game over the right field wall for the first home run of his collegiate career. Todd Hudson added three hits as the Flames had a season high with 19 hits on the day. The win ended EKU’s 8-game win streak.

Sunday: Liberty 6, Eastern Kentucky 1

Liberty got the series win on Sunday behind the arm of Mikey Tepper. The Flames’ starter pitched 6 innings and struck out 13 while only allowing one run on three hits. The Flames would not let that strong outing by the righty go to waste.

After EKU took the 1-0 lead in the first, Liberty responded with two runs in the 2nd to take the lead on a two-run triple by John Simmons. The score would remain the same until the 8th inning when Liberty tacked on three insurance runs. Cam Foster’s sacrifice fly would score one and he was followed by a two-run home run to right field by Three Hillier to extend the lead to 5-1. A Gray Betts would tack on another Liberty run in the 9th.

Up Next: The Flames will conclude the regular season this week with three games at home against Bellarmine. The Knights are currently 12-40 on the season and 7-20 in ASUN play. Liberty will be able to clinch a spot in the ASUN Tournament with a strong showing at home against Bellarmine. The three-game series is scheduled to begin Thursday night at 6 p.m. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Friday and 1 p.m. on Saturday to conclude the home schedule and regular season.

Current ASUN Standings

Lipscomb 20-7
FGCU 19-8
Stetson 18-9
Jacksonville State 18-9
Austin Peay 14-13
Eastern Kentucky 14-13
Jacksonville 14-13
Liberty 14-13
North Florida 13-14
Kennesaw State 12-15
Central Arkansas 12-15
Queens 8-19
Bellarmine 7-20
North Alabama 6-21

The top eight teams will advance to the ASUN Tournament. Liberty is currently in a four-way tie for 5th place. There are seven teams fighting for the final four spots in the championship and three of them will be eliminated following this week.

The team that finishes in first place at the end of the regular season will be the 1-seed in the ASUN Tournament while seeds 2-8 will be determined by RPI of the remaining teams that qualify for the tournament.