It’s been a quiet week, but it should get heated up soon…
Baseball clinches regular season
Liberty baseball continues to have a record year. After their weekend sweep of Coastal, the Flames have clinched the Big South regular season championship. Liberty has won a staggering 20 consecutive conference games entering the Radford series. With 38 wins, the Flames have a legitimate shot to set the program record for most wins in a season. The current record is 43 set back in 2010.
Regional projections
Here’s an updated look at where Liberty is currently being projected in the NCAA Tournament:
- College Baseball Central: Liberty as a 2 seed in the Coral Gables Regional with #1 Miami, #3 Mississippi State, and #4 Florida Gulf Coast
- Perfect Game: Liberty as a 2 seed in the Charlottesville Regional with #1 Virginia, #3 Bryant, and #4 Delaware State
- Baseball America: Liberty “On the Bubble (IN)” as a regional host.
Aikens in NFL
As I’m sure you’re all aware of by now, Liberty cornerback Walt Aikens was selected in the 4th round of last weekend’s NFL Draft. Walt is the 7th Flame selected in the NFL draft in program history, and he joins former Flames Rashad Jennings (Giants), Mike Brown (Jaguars), and Chris Summers (Bills). With his patented #19 taken, Aikens will put on #35 for the Dolphins this season, so go ahead and order your jerseys! Also, be sure to check out Turner Gill’s interview with the Dolphins from earlier this week as he discussed Walt and his time at Liberty.
Others in NFL
Other Flames will also have their shot at the NFL with invitations to rookie mini-camps: Kevin Fogg (Redskins), Aldreakis Allen (Colts), Cory Freeman (Browns), and Francis Bah (Bears).
D. J. Abnar’s goals
Liberty running back D.J. Abnar, who now sits atop the running back depth chart, tweeted his lofty individual and team goals this week.
Individuals Goals to accomplish: 1500 yards, lead the conference in TD’s and yards, stay humble and keep God first!!
— Derrington (@DJ_LU_SUPER2) May 14, 2014
Team Goals: Undefeated season, lead the nation in scoring, top 5 in the nation in red zone, WIN , less turnovers than last year
— Derrington (@DJ_LU_SUPER2) May 14, 2014
Golf team in Oregon
Liberty’s men’s golf team, who won the Big South championship, is currently in Eugene, Oregon competing in the NCAA Tournament. The 6th seeded Flames began play on Thursday and, as of Friday morning, are in a tie for 8th place at +15. Liberty is currently 6 strokes behind 5th place Oregon. With a top 5 finish, the Flames will advance to the national championship May 23-28.
Softball stadium
Perhaps you’ve heard about the ongoing construction of the new softball stadium which is being built where the former Liberty baseball (Worthington) stadium was located. Well, the athletic department released the renderings of what the stadium will look like when it’s completed:
Big week for realignment
With the Sun Belt meetings scheduled for this coming week with an anticipated vote for possible new members on Tuesday, this is the week most of you have been waiting for! So, what do we know and how should we feel? Well, we’ll have more on that this weekend, but we should be confident yet hedge our expectations.
FlameFans thread of the week
A debate broke out this week on whether or not Liberty is moving away from its Christian foundation. You can chime in, or just read others’ thoughts, on the “At Evangelical Colleges, Leadership is Often the Family Business” thread.
