Flames Slug Way to Game One Win

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Temple	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	0	9	13	3
LIBERTY	0	0	3	1	9	2	1	2	X	18	14	2

Temple

LIBERTY

The Liberty Flames hit four home runs, including a pinch hit grand slam by Doug Bream, to defeat the Temple Owls, 18-9, in the first game of a doubleheader, Saturday afternoon at Worthington Stadium.

With the victory, the Flames run their record to 5-3 on the year, while the Owls fall to 2-4 on the season. Liberty's four home runs were the most by the Flames in a contest since Feb. 18, 2007, when Liberty hit four home runs in a 28-7 victory over Richmond at Riley Park in Charleston, S.C., in the Crab House Shootout.

Visiting Temple took advantage of two Flame errors in the first inning to take an early lead. Leadoff hitter Bryon McKoy struck out to open the game, but reached when Liberty catcher Errol Hollinger (Sr., Upland, Calif.) was crossed up on the pitch and dropped the third strike. Second baseman Carmen Del Mastro followed with a single. After the next Owl batter struck out, the two base runners were successful on a double steal. McKoy then scored the game's first run on a ground out by third baseman Tony Jusino. The next batter, left fielder Jamie Abercombie, put Temple runners at the corners, when he was hit by a pitch. A liner off the bat of shortstop Mark Ortega was dropped by Liberty third baseman Tyler Bream (Fr., Zelienople, Pa.), allowing Del Mastro to plate the opening frame's second run, giving the Owls a 2-0 advantage.

With one swing of the bat in the third inning, the Flames took the lead for good in the game. First baseman Trey Wimmer (Fr., Greenwood, S.C.) singled to right field to begin the inning. Two batters later, with Wimmer on second base, shortstop Matt Williams (Fr., Franklin, Tenn.) drew a walk from Temple starter Dan Moller. After a fly out, left fielder Jeff Jefferson (So., Danville, Va.) ripped his second home run of the season into Liberty's new bullpen behind the left field wall for a 3-2 home team edge.

In the fourth inning, the Flames extended their lead to 4-2. With the bases loaded and one out, second baseman P.J. Jimenez (Jr., Yucaipa, Calif.) was hit by a pitch, forcing in a run.

Liberty broke the game open in the fifth frame, scoring nine runs on five hits, while benefiting from three Owl errors. Center fielder Curran Redal (Jr., Moses Lake, Wash.) led off the Flames' fifth with a single and moved to third on a throwing error on a pickoff attempt by Moller. Jefferson then reached on an error by Jusino on a grounder to third base. Designated hitter Cody Brown (Sr., Cumming, Ga.) followed with a single through the right side, plating Redal with Liberty's first run of the inning. Tyler Bream then walked, chasing Moller.

Pinch hitter Doug Bream (So., Elizabethtown, Pa.) greeted Temple relief pitcher, Zach Pettis, by blasting his first offering over the right field fence for a grand slam, his second home run of the year, giving Liberty a 9-2 lead. The slam was the first by a Liberty player since May 7, 2008, when then-Flames shortstop Aaron Phillips homered with the bases full in the second inning of a 7-6, Liberty victory at Virginia Tech.

The Flames went on to score four more runs in the inning, building a 13-2 margin. After Doug Bream's slam, Liberty plated runs on a bases-loaded walk to Redal, a fielder's choice RBI by Jefferson, a run-scoring single by Brown and a RBI sacrifice fly by Tyler Bream.

Liberty added two home runs in the sixth frame, as Justin Richardson (Fr., Lehigh Acres, Fla.) and Kizuku Scott (Fr., Hampton, Va.) each hit their first collegiate home run, both solo, pinch-hit round trippers.

The Flames collected a single run in the seventh, on a sacrifice fly by Nathan Thompson (Jr., Stoneville, Va.), who took over the Liberty catching duties after pinch hitting in the sixth.

Temple cut into the Flames' advantage in the top of the eighth, with seven runs on nine hits. In the bottom of the inning, Liberty scored the final two runs of the slugfest on a RBI sacrifice fly by Casey Brown (Jr., Bakersfield, Calif.) and a wild pitch for the final score of 18-9.

Liberty starter Mark Swanson (Jr., Buford, Ga.) runs his mark to 2-0. The right-hander gave up two unearned runs on four hits over six innings, striking out eight batters and walking one.

Temple's Moller picks up his first loss of the year, dropping to 0-1. The right-hander allowed eight runs, seven earned, on six hits during four innings of work. He walked two and struck out one.

Cody Brown paced the 14-hit Liberty attack with three hits. Wimmer had two hits, before leaving for a pinch hitter in the fifth. The Owls' Del Mastro led all hitters in the game with four of Temple's eight hits in the contest.

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Team Stats

Brown Cody

Wimmer Trey

Scott Kizuku

Redal Curran