Liberty University
24-14, 10-3
Longwood
16-20, 4-9
Cole's Strong Outing Keys Liberty's 7-4 Win at Longwood
4/17/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Pitcher Victor Cole gave Liberty another strong outing and catcher Becker Sankey hit a three-run home run, propelling the Flames to a 7-4 win over the Longwood Lancers, Friday night at Charles "Buddy" Bolding Stadium.
The reigning Big South Pitcher of the Week, Cole pitched into the eighth inning for the second straight start, winning his fourth straight outing to run his record to 5-1 on the season. The left-hander handcuffed Longwood, allowing two unearned runs on five hits over 7 1/3-plus innings. He struck out eight batters and walked two. Last Saturday, the junior pitched eight scoreless innings in a 7-0 victory over Campbell.
Sankey belted his Big South and team-leading 10th home run in the fourth. The three-run shot gave Cole a 4-0 advantage.
With the win in the opening game of the three-game Big South series, Liberty moves to 10-3 in conference play and 24-14 overall. The Flames have won nine of their last 10 Big South contests. Longwood falls to 4-9 in the Big South and 16-20 overall.
Liberty scored in the first inning without a benefit of a hit. Center fielder Ashton Perritt walked to lead off the game and stole second. A wild pitch by Lancers' starting pitcher Aaron Myers allowed Perritt to advance to third, while a wild pitch gave Liberty the 1-0 lead when he crossed the plate.
The Flames upped their advantage in the fourth. Shortstop Dalton Britt opened the top of the fourth with a single through the left side and advanced to second base when first baseman Alex Close was hit by a pitch. Sankey followed with a blast over the left field wall to extend Liberty's lead to 4-0.
In the bottom of the inning, Longwood got on the scoreboard. Right fielder Brandon Delk reached on a throwing error by Cole and came around to plate the first run of the frame on a single by shortstop Michael Osinski. Left fielder Sammy Miller then reached when Close dropped a throw from Cole on a bunt, advancing Osinksi to second. After both runners moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt by catcher Mac McCafferty, a sacrifice fly by second baseman C.J. Roth plated Osiniski, slicing the Liberty edge to 4-2.
The Lancers threatened in the seventh, but came away empty. Singles by Roth and third baseman Brandon Havell put runners on the corners with one out. However, Cole stranded the runners in place by striking out the next two Longwood batters to hold the Liberty two-run advantage at 4-2.
The Flames put the game out of reach with three runs in the eighth. Perritt drew a leadoff walk and moved to third on a hit-and-run single by Dalton Britt. Close followed with a RBI fielder's choice ground out for a 5-2 Liberty edge.
Later in the inning, back-to-back two-out walks to right fielder Will Shepherd and third baseman Sammy Taormina loaded the bases. Designated hitter Andrew Yacyk then plated two more runs with a single back through the middle of the infield for 7-2 lead.
In the ninth, Longwood used two run-scoring singles to close to within three runs and bring the tying run to the plate. However, Close came on to get the next batter to ground out to second base, sealing the Liberty victory and earning his fourth save of the year.
Meyers drops to 3-7 on the year. The right-hander gave up six runs on six hits over seven-plus innings. He struck out seven and walked four batters.
Liberty collected five hits. Yacyk and Britt had two hits each for the Flames. Longwood had eight hits.
Liberty and Longwood will meet again at Charles "Buddy" Bolding Stadium, tomorrow. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Cole, Victor (5-1)
L: MYERS, A. (3-7)
S: Close, Alex (4)
Batting:
HR: Sankey, Becker 1
RBI: Close, Alex 1 ; Sankey, Becker 3 ; Yacyk, Andrew 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Perritt, Ashton 2 ; Britt, Dalton 1 ; Close, Alex 2 ; Sankey, Becker 1 ; Shepherd, Will 1
SB: Perritt, Ashton 1 ; Shepherd, Will 1 ; Keranen, Clay 1
CS: Sankey, Becker 1
HBP: Close, Alex 1
Batting:
RBI: BASTAICH, C. 1 ; DELK, B. 1 ; OSINSKI, M. 1 ; ROTH, C.J. 1
SH: KONVICKA, C. 1 ; MILLER, S. 1 ; McCAFFERTY 1
SF: ROTH, C.J. 1
Base Running:
RUNS: HARVELL, B. 1 ; DELK, B. 1 ; OSINSKI, M. 1 ; NELSON, H. 1
