In a year where the Flames have been characterized by their timely hitting, their at bats were everything but timely in the first round game of the NCAA Tournament. Arkansas went with Chris Oliver instead of their ace Trey Killian, and it almost came back to bite them, but the Flames were unable to take advantage.
In the second inning Oliver loaded up the bases with no outs, and was struggling to hit the strike zone. With a 3-1 count, Oliver hit the outside corner on what Nick Lacik thought was ball four. The call could’ve gone either way, but was a bit outside, and ended up being a turning point in the inning when Lacik struck out. After Ashton Perritt was hit in the hand the first time, Liberty was still in prime position with Shephard then Seiz due up with just a single out, but a couple of strikeouts later the Flames were back in the field, having just scored one run.
Brian Anderson had an impressive 2 RBI game. Anderson recorded the game’s only home run on a solo shot in the second. nwaonline.com
By the end of the third inning Liberty had already left seven runners on base, not punishing Oliver for his mistakes on the mound.
Meanwhile, Trey Lambert had a pretty good game, going 6 1/3 and allowing three runs. The senior pitcher was in command for much of his time, but didn’t come out completely unscathed from a fourth inning jam that scored two for the Razorbacks. Lambert picked up the loss in what is likely his last game unless the Flames win the regional. Matt Marsh finished up the game without allowing a run
Notes
- Coach Toman elected to play Jake Kimble, who’s bat has been invisible all season. The move didn’t pay off. Kimble was 0 for 2 at the plate, both in two outs and runners in scoring position. It will be interesting to see if Toman goes back to Dylan Allen tonight.
- Ryan Seiz went 0 for 4 and had a number of chances to break the game open in key situations.
- Yacyk had an up and down night at DH. He grounded into a double play in the third that probably cost Liberty a run or two in retrospect, but also had a huge double that resulted in a run in the fifth.
- Perritt was hit twice in the left hand by pitches. Both in what looked like very painful shots up against hit bat. He was somehow able to shake the second one off to be the baserunner, and give the Flames a chance in the ninth. A very gritty performance from the junior.
- All the runs were scored by the fifth inning after a Britt sac fly scored Close to make the score 3-2. The bullpen pitchers excelled for both teams in shutting things down from the sixth on.
Liberty will resume action today at 2 o’clock in an elimination game against Bucknell.
