Saturday, April 17
Lynchburg, Va.
4:00 PM
Liberty University
24-10, 8-3
9
vs
6
VMI
29-7, 10-4
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VMI | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 11 | 4 |
| LIBERTY | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | X | 9 | 12 | 0 |
Flames Erase Deficit, Down No. 26 Keydets
4/17/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Trailing 6-2 in the sixth inning, the Liberty Flames plated seven runs and went on to defeat the No. 26 VMI Keydets, 9-6, Saturday afternoon in a Big South Conference contest at Worthington Stadium.
With the victory in the middle game of the three-game series, Liberty moves to 8-3 in the conference and 24-10 overall. VMI drops to 10-4 in the Big South and 29-7 overall. It was the second-straight day the Flames have erased a Keydet lead with a big inning. Last night, Liberty scored six runs in the seventh inning, wiping away a 6-3 lead on its way to a 12-9 win.
VMI scored four runs in the first inning to take an early lead. Three of the first five Keydet batters drew a base on balls to fill the bases with two outs. Designated hitter Justin Topping, the next batter, singled to right field, bringing home the first two runs of the contest. Center fielder Rob Dickinson and right fielder Jacob Morley followed with back-to-back RBI singles and the visitors had a 4-0 advantage.
The Keydets added two more runs to their lead in the second. With two outs and two men aboard, Topping lined a two-run double down the left field line to stretch the VMI edge to 6-0.
Liberty scored its first run of the contest in the fourth. Shortstop Matt Williams, who had opened the inning with a single, scored on a double play, making it, 6-1.
Flames catcher Nathan Thompson hit his fifth home run of the year, a blast over the right-center field wall in the fifth inning, to cut the VMI lead to 6-2.
In the sixth, Liberty sent 10 men to the plate in scoring seven runs on six hits and an error. Right fielder Michael Robertson reached on an error by third baseman Chase Worthington and first baseman Trey Wimmer singled to begin the uprising. After the first out of the inning moved both runners into scoring position, center fielder Curran Redal laced a one-out double inside the right field line into the corner, to cash in both runners and slice Liberty's deficit to 6-4.
Next batter, left fielder Doug Bream singled and third baseman Tyler Bream followed with a single to plate Redal. After Thompson was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Williams welcomed reliever Michael Devine into the game, by lining a two-run double into the right-field gap to give the Flames a 7-6 advantage. However, Liberty wasn't finished, as Robertson, hitting for the second time in the inning, singled to left field to chase home two more runs for a 9-6 lead, two batters later.
It was all the Liberty bullpen need. Tim Dudley and Josh Robertson combined to shut down the Keydets the rest of the way, sealing the victory.
Right-hander Dane Beakler evens his record at 2-2 on the year for the Flames. After being summoned from the bullpen in the first inning in relief of starter Keegan Linza, the senior pitched 5 1/3 innings, giving up two runs on five hits, striking out five batters and walking two. Dudley allowed three hits in a scoreless 2 2/3 innings, while Richardson faced one batter with two men on and retired the Keydet by strikeout to record his fifth save of the season.
Keydet reliever Chris Duty takes his first loss of the season to drop to 2-1 on the season. The second of four VMI pitchers in the contest, Duty allowed three runs on three hits in 1/3 of an inning.
Williams went 3-for-4, with two RBIs and two runs scored to lead Liberty in the contest. Doug Bream also had three hits for the Flames. Second baseman Cory Spangenberg had three hits for VMI, while Topping drove in four runs.
The two teams will meet in the final game of the series at Worthington Stadium, tomorrow afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
With the victory in the middle game of the three-game series, Liberty moves to 8-3 in the conference and 24-10 overall. VMI drops to 10-4 in the Big South and 29-7 overall. It was the second-straight day the Flames have erased a Keydet lead with a big inning. Last night, Liberty scored six runs in the seventh inning, wiping away a 6-3 lead on its way to a 12-9 win.
VMI scored four runs in the first inning to take an early lead. Three of the first five Keydet batters drew a base on balls to fill the bases with two outs. Designated hitter Justin Topping, the next batter, singled to right field, bringing home the first two runs of the contest. Center fielder Rob Dickinson and right fielder Jacob Morley followed with back-to-back RBI singles and the visitors had a 4-0 advantage.
The Keydets added two more runs to their lead in the second. With two outs and two men aboard, Topping lined a two-run double down the left field line to stretch the VMI edge to 6-0.
Liberty scored its first run of the contest in the fourth. Shortstop Matt Williams, who had opened the inning with a single, scored on a double play, making it, 6-1.
Flames catcher Nathan Thompson hit his fifth home run of the year, a blast over the right-center field wall in the fifth inning, to cut the VMI lead to 6-2.
In the sixth, Liberty sent 10 men to the plate in scoring seven runs on six hits and an error. Right fielder Michael Robertson reached on an error by third baseman Chase Worthington and first baseman Trey Wimmer singled to begin the uprising. After the first out of the inning moved both runners into scoring position, center fielder Curran Redal laced a one-out double inside the right field line into the corner, to cash in both runners and slice Liberty's deficit to 6-4.
Next batter, left fielder Doug Bream singled and third baseman Tyler Bream followed with a single to plate Redal. After Thompson was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Williams welcomed reliever Michael Devine into the game, by lining a two-run double into the right-field gap to give the Flames a 7-6 advantage. However, Liberty wasn't finished, as Robertson, hitting for the second time in the inning, singled to left field to chase home two more runs for a 9-6 lead, two batters later.
It was all the Liberty bullpen need. Tim Dudley and Josh Robertson combined to shut down the Keydets the rest of the way, sealing the victory.
Right-hander Dane Beakler evens his record at 2-2 on the year for the Flames. After being summoned from the bullpen in the first inning in relief of starter Keegan Linza, the senior pitched 5 1/3 innings, giving up two runs on five hits, striking out five batters and walking two. Dudley allowed three hits in a scoreless 2 2/3 innings, while Richardson faced one batter with two men on and retired the Keydet by strikeout to record his fifth save of the season.
Keydet reliever Chris Duty takes his first loss of the season to drop to 2-1 on the season. The second of four VMI pitchers in the contest, Duty allowed three runs on three hits in 1/3 of an inning.
Williams went 3-for-4, with two RBIs and two runs scored to lead Liberty in the contest. Doug Bream also had three hits for the Flames. Second baseman Cory Spangenberg had three hits for VMI, while Topping drove in four runs.
The two teams will meet in the final game of the series at Worthington Stadium, tomorrow afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Beakler, Dane (2-2)
L: DUTY, Chris (2-1)
S: Richardson, Josh (5)
Batting:
2B: SPANGENBERG, Cory 1 ; TOPPING, Justin 1
RBI: TOPPING, Justin 4 ; DICKINSON, Rob 1 ; MORLEY, Jacob 1
Base Running:
RUNS: ROBERTS, Sam 1 ; SPANGENBERG, Cory 2 ; HAITSUKA, Alex 2 ; TOPPING, Justin 1
SB: SPANGENBERG, Cory 1
HBP: HAITSUKA, Alex 2 ; TOPPING, Justin 1 ; WORTHINGTON, Chase 1
Batting:
2B: Redal, Curran 1 ; Williams, Matt 1
HR: Thompson, Nathan 1
RBI: Redal, Curran 2 ; Bream, Tyler 1 ; Thompson, Nathan 1 ; Williams, Matt 2 ; Robertson, Michael 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Redal, Curran 1 ; Bream, Doug 1 ; Bream, Tyler 1 ; Thompson, Nathan 2 ; Williams, Matt 2 ; Robertson, Michael 1 ; Wimmer, Trey 1
HBP: Thompson, Nathan 1 ; Jimenez, P.J. 1 ; Robertson, Michael 1
Game Leaders
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AB
5
R
1
H
3
RBI
0
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AB
4
R
2
H
3
RBI
2
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
.jpg&width=100&height=100&type=webp)
AB
5
R
1
H
1
RBI
2
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