Liberty Upsets No. 2 Winthrop, 5-1

Thanks to a four-run third frame by the Liberty offense, the No. 3 seed Lady Flames upset No. 2 seed Winthrop, 5-1, Friday morning to remain undefeated in the 2009 Big South Championship presented by Texas Roadhouse.

The win marks Liberty's first victory over Winthrop in the teams' last eight meetings, and sets up a 4 p.m. matchup between the Lady Flames and No. 1 seed Radford.

The game, which was suspended due to rain and lightning at 7:45 p.m. Thursday night, resumed in the bottom of the second inning with Winthrop batting with Ashley Revell on second base and nobody out. Veronica Berrie stepped up to the plate and ripped a line drive single that barely got past the glove of Liberty second baseman Cassie Hendrix, and Revell moved to third. Berrie then stole second, and Lenny Stoddart walked to load the bases for the Eagles with no outs.

But Liberty starting pitcher Tiffani Smith came up with three big strikeouts, getting the Lady Flames out of the jam and keeping the game scoreless after two complete innings.

Danielle Howard led off Liberty's next at-bat with a single up the middle for Liberty's first hit of the game, and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by designated player Jenny Law. After Jenna Eatmon struck out swinging, Hendrix and J'nae Jefferson drew back-to-back walks, loading the bases with two outs.

Then, Kelly Strickland stepped up and drilled her eighth double of the year, over the glove of center fielder Tessa Thomas, bringing in three runs for the Lady Flames. Beth Bennett followed up with a single to center, putting runners on the corners and bringing up Keely McMillon.

McMillon tapped a single to right field that barely dropped in fair territory, scoring Strickland and moving Bennett to second base. However, the Eagles ended the Liberty rally on the next play, as Amber DePasquale grounded out to shortstop. The Lady Flames took a 4-0 lead into the bottom of the third inning.

Despite putting a runner in scoring position in the bottom of the third, the Eagles could not manage to score, thanks to a diving catch by J'nae Jefferson and another strikeout by Smith.

Smith continued to keep the Winthrop hitters off-balance, retiring 12 straight batters, spanning the third, fourth, fifth and sixth frames.

Jenna Eatmon padded the Liberty lead in the top of the seventh inning, busting her first home run of the year. The right fielder's long ball hit the scoreboard in left center field, and the Lady Flames took a 5-0 advantage.

Berrie tried to spark a comeback for the Eagles in the bottom of the seventh, leading off with a home run over the center field fence, giving Winthrop its first run of the game. Stoddart was up next, and grounded out to second base, followed by a similar out by pinch hitter Kelly Blea. Then, on a fly ball by Megan Champan, Eatmon made a diving catch in foul territory to seal Liberty's fifth consecutive victory, 5-1.

The Lady Flames were led by Strickland, who was 2-for-4 with three RBIs and a run scored. The all-conference shortstop has totaled 13 RBIs in her last five games, all Liberty victories. McMillon was 2-for-3 with an RBI and Eatmon was 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored.

Berrie paced the Eagles, batting 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored.

Smith (11-12) picked up the win in the circle, giving up five hits and striking out seven batters in the complete-game victory.

Cari Wooldridge (9-10) took the loss, scattering seven hits and striking out seven Liberty batters in seven innings pitched.

The Lady Flames (24-33) will face the tournament's host team, No. 1 seed Radford, at 4 p.m. today, with a spot in the championship game at stake. The Lady Flames are 0-3 against the Highlanders this season, and 2-5 all-time in Big South Championship play.

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Liberty Upsets No. 2 Winthrop, 5-1

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Team Stats

Kelly Strickland

Keely McMillon

Beth Bennett

Danielle Howard