This weekend, Liberty welcomes Jacksonville State to Liberty Baseball Stadium in Lynchburg, Virginia for a key three-game ASUN series. The first ever meeting between the two programs have first pitch scheduled for 6:00 p.m. Friday, 4:00 p.m. Saturday, and 1 p.m. Sunday.
The Flames are currently 20-24 on the season and 10-11 in conference play as we enter the stretch run of the regular season. Liberty is coming off a big win during the midweek on Wednesday, knocking off Old Dominion, 3-2, in dramatic fashion to end a four-game losing streak.
Gray Betts came up with the walk-off hit in the bottom of the ninth with two outs as his single scored Kane Kepley to give the Flames the victory. With the win, Liberty secured a season sweep against the Monarchs.
The Flames currently have an RPI of 66, the second best of all ASUN members just behind FGCU at No. 61. Liberty and the Eagles are the only 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. 1.
Liberty will be looking to win a fourth out of five ASUN series this weekend against the Gamecocks. Jacksonville State is currently 21-23 overall and 14-7 in the ASUN with an RPI of 168. They enter the weekend series in 4th place in the conference standings and just two games out of first place.
The Gamecocks will be looking to bounce back from a pair of midweek losses to Troy and Samford. Last weekend, they swept North Alabama.
The Flames are currently in a four-way tie for 7th place in the 14-member ASUN. Only the top 8 teams at the end of the regular season will advance to the ASUN Tournament. With just three conference series remaining, including this weekend’s games, Liberty must have a strong finish to its regular season to advance to the conference tournament.
