Liberty University
6-3
Bryant
0-6
Josh Close Belts Grand Slam as Liberty Downs Bryant, 11-4
3/1/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Left fielder Josh Close hit a grand slam and three Liberty pitchers held visiting Bryant to one hit, as the Flames downed the Bulldogs, 11-4, Sunday afternoon at Liberty Baseball Stadium. With the win, Liberty completes a sweep of the three-game series.
With one out and the bases loaded in the second, Close belted a grand slam, his first collegiate home run, to give the Flames a 5-1 lead.
Brother Alex Close added two hits, scored two runs and drove in two runs, while catcher Becker Sankey also collected two hits and had two RBI in the contest for host Liberty.
Pitchers Parker Bean, Matt Pennington and Zach Clinton combined to allow just one hit. The trio joined to strike out 11 Bulldogs on a cool and rainy afternoon. It was the second straight day that Liberty pitching held Bryant to just one hit. On Saturday, left-hander Victor Cole limited the Bulldogs to one hit, carrying a no-hitter into the ninth inning in a complete game, 6-1 Liberty victory.
Bean evens his record at 1-1 on the year. The right-hander gave up four runs on one hit during the first five innings. He struck out five and walked seven batters.
Pennington followed with three scoreless innings and Clinton retired the side in order in the ninth.
Liberty sweeps its first three-game series of 2015, improving to 6-3. The Flames have won four straight contests. Bryant drops to 0-6.
The Bulldogs staked themselves to a 1-0 advantage in their opening at bat. With one out, right fielder Jordan Mountford tripled to the base of the right-center field wall and scored on a sacrifice fly by center fielder Matt Albanese for the game's first run.
The Flames sent all nine batters to the plate, striking for five runs in the second. The first four batters of the inning walked to plate Liberty's first run. Center fielder Aaron Stroomsa, shortstop Dalton Britt and second baseman Clay Keranen all drew bases on balls to fill the bases. Third baseman Josh Barrick followed with the fourth walk of the frame to force in a run and tie the game at 1-1.
After a pitching change by Bryant, Josh Close worked the count to 3-1, before lining a home run over the left field wall for a 5-1 advantage.
Liberty extended its lead with three runs in the fourth. Barrick opened the inning with a liner into the left field corner for a double. After a sacrifice bunt by Josh Close moved Barrick to third, right fielder Will Shepherd was hit by a pitch and stole second. Alex Close followed with a two-run single back through the middle for a 7-1 lead. Two batters later, Sankey dropped an RBI single into left field for an 8-1 advantage.
Just as Liberty had done in the second, Bryant benefited from several walks to cut the Flames' lead in half in the fifth. The first four batters walked to bring in the first run of the inning. Two batters later, a wild pitch allowed the second Bulldog run to score. Albanese followed with a RBI ground out to second base to make it, 8-4, Flames.
Liberty tacked on additional runs in the sixth and seventh innings. A RBI double by Sankey provided a run in the sixth. In the seventh, the Flames plated runs on a throwing error and a RBI double by designated hitter Andrew Yacyk.
Bryant starter Jack Patterson falls to 0-2. The first of seven Bulldogs to pitch in the contest, he gave up four runs without yielding a hit. He struck out two and walked five Flames.
Liberty collected 11 hits. In addition to Close and Sankey, Barrick had two hits and scored three times in the contest. Yacyk also recorded two hits.
Liberty's 11 runs were the most by the Flames this season. Liberty scored 10 runs in a 10-7, 11-inning win in the first game of a doubleheader at Georgia State on Feb. 14.
Liberty will host the No. 11 North Carolina Tar Heels, tomorrow at the Liberty Baseball Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Bean, Parker (1-1)
L: PATTERSON, Jack (0-2)
Batting:
3B: MOUNTFORD, Jordan 1
RBI: FABIO, Cole 1 ; ALBANESE, Matt 2
SF: ALBANESE, Matt 1
Base Running:
RUNS: MOUNTFORD, Jordan 1 ; SMITH, Zane 1 ; BINGEL, Brandon 1 ; GASPER, Mickey 1
Batting:
2B: Yacyk, Andrew 1 ; Sankey, Becker 1 ; Barrick, Josh 2
HR: Close, Josh 1
RBI: Close, Josh 4 ; Close, Alex 2 ; Yacyk, Andrew 1 ; Sankey, Becker 2 ; Barrick, Josh 1
SH: Close, Josh 2 ; Stroosma, Aaron 1 ; Britt, Dalton 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Close, Josh 1 ; Shepherd, Will 1 ; Close, Alex 2 ; Yacyk, Andrew 1 ; Stroosma, Aaron 1 ; Britt, Dalton 1 ; Keranen, Clay 1 ; Barrick, Josh 3
SB: Shepherd, Will 1 ; Stroosma, Aaron 1
CS: Sankey, Becker 1 ; Barrick, Josh 1
HBP: Shepherd, Will 1 ; Sankey, Becker 1
