Baseball on 5 game win streak
The Flames are currently riding a 5 game win streak after they swept 2 games apiece against Central Connecticut State and Evansville last week as part of the Liberty Invitational. The Flames carried that momentum with them to Blacksburg where they steamrolled the Hokies, 22-7. Liberty’s 22 runs are the most the Flames have scored under Jim Toman and the most since the Flames set a school record for runs with 28 against Richmond in February 2007. The Flame Train hopes to keep their win streak alive in a 4 game home stand this weekend with Kent State.

Pro Day
Liberty’s football team will host its annual pro day on Wednesday, March 23rd. The event begins at 3pm allowing draft eligible players to showcase their talents for professional scouts. Tests will include vertical jump, standing long jump, bench press, 40-yard dash, short shuttle, three-cone drill and 60-yard shuttle. D.J. Abnar, Jonathan Burgess, John Lunsford, Jimmy O’Grady, Darrin Peterson, Chima Uzowihe, and Josh Woodrum are all expected to participate.

Basketball commits update

  • 2017 commit Elijah Cuffee has been named to the All-Kanawha Valley first team. He entered the state tournament averaging 20.5 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 4.8 assists. He’s also connected on 66 three pointers and is shooting 86% from the free throw line. Cuffee has helped lead Poca to 49 straight wins against in-state teams and a 41-0 record the last 3 seasons in Cardinal Conference games. They are the #1 seed in the state tournament and picked up a win Thursday night to advance to the semifinals.
  • Brock Gardner has been named the Arizona Preps player of the year. He averaged 23.6 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game while shooting 59% from the field and 40% from 3.
  • Brody Hicks has been named first-team all-state in Virginia for the 2nd year in a row.

Lady Flames fall in Big South Tournament, NIT
2-seed Liberty advanced to the Big South Championship game this past Sunday against 1-seed and tournament host UNC-Asheville following double-digit wins over Charleston Southern and Radford.  The Lady Flames and Bulldogs went to double overtime before Asheville prevailed, 64-62. Ashely Rininger’s 22 points and 8 rebounds were not enough. As a result of being the Big South team which finshed highest in the standings without reaching the NCAA Tournament, Carey Green’s squad got an automatic bid to the NIT. The Lady Flames squared off against Villanova on Thursday night. THe Wildcats prevailed, 67-51. Liberty finishes the season 20-13, the 9th consecutive 20-win season.

FlameFans thread of the week
This week’s FlameFans thread of the week is Board Upgrades. Be sure to check out the changes we’ve made to the message board!