For a second straight midweek contest, Liberty jumped out to a lead over a nationally ranked ACC opponent, only to see that lead lost in the late innings. on Tuesday evening, the Flames played No. 13 Virginia in Charlottesville. Liberty pushed its lead to 4-0 in the 6th after scoring three runs in that inning. The lead was built behind a strong start by Trey Cooper and two perfect innings of relief by Ryan Butler.
The Cavaliers, who improved to 33-9 overall and 21-0 in non-conference games with the win, scored seven unanswered runs, including five in the 7th, for the comeback victory, 7-4. The Flames are currently 19-21 on the season and 10-8 in the ASUN.
The Flames currently have an RPI of 64, the highest of all ASUN members. FGCU, at No. 70, is the only other ASUN member currently ranked in the top 100 of the RPI. Despite the losing overall record, it is Liberty’s tough schedule that has kept the RPI pretty high. The team’s current strength of schedule is ranked No. 28 while the non-conference strength of schedule is No. 2.
Liberty will be looking to win a four straight ASUN series this weekend when the Flames play at Stetson in DeLand, Florida, the site of this year’s ASUN Baseball Tournament. The Hatters are currently 24-17 overall and 12-6 in the ASUN with an RPI of 182. They are coming off a sweep at Central Arkansas as their game against Florida State scheduled for earlier this week was canceled.
The Flames are currently in a tie for 6th place in the 14-member ASUN, two games behind Stetson who is currently tied for 3rd. The top 8 teams at the end of the regular season will advance to the ASUN Tournament.
Landon Moran leads Stetson with a .320 batting average to go along with his 7 doubles, 3 home runs, 25 RBIs, and team-best 34 runs scored. David Bermudez is batting .305 on the season and leads the Hatters with 11 doubles. Christian Pregent leads the team with 9 home runs as he is batting .292.
North Florida has a team ERA of 5.64. Austin Amaral leads the team with a 3.42 ERA so far this season. In his 10 appearances, all starts, he has pitched 52.2 innings and has one complete game shutout. He has struck out 62 batters and walked 25.
Liberty is 7-6 all-time against the Hatters. The three games from Melching Field at Conrad Park in DeLand, Florida this weekend have first pitch scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Friday, 6:30 p.m. Saturday, and 1 p.m. Sunday.
