Lady Flames to Open Home Schedule with Liberty Softball Classic
3/8/2016 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Complete Game Notes
After going 5-3 during its trip to Louisiana, Liberty (8-11) opens its home schedule on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. against Norfolk State (2-4) to begin the 2016 Liberty Softball Classic. The Lady Flames will also take on La Salle (2-7), Rhode Island (5-7) and Sacred Heart (2-7) this weekend at Liberty Softball Stadium.
2016 Liberty Softball Classic
Liberty Softball Stadium
Thursday, March 10
Game 1: Liberty 9, Norfolk State 1 Box Score
Friday, March 11
Game 2: Rhode Island 3, Sacred Heart 0 Box Score
Game 3: Norfolk State 10, Rhode Island 2 Box Score
Game 4: La Salle 6, Norfolk State 2 Box Score
Game 5: Liberty 10, La Salle 2 Box Score
Game 6: Rhode Island 7, Liberty 3 Box Score
Saturday, March 12
Game 7: Norfolk State 7, Sacred Heart 6 Box Score
Game 8: La Salle 6, Rhode Island 4 Box Score
Game 9: Norfolk State 8, Rhode Island 0 Box Score
Game 10: Sacred Heart 3, Liberty 2 Box Score
Game 11: Liberty 9, La Salle 0 Box Score
Sunday, March 13
Game 12: Sacred Heart 3, La Salle 1
The Lady Flames won the first-ever game at the 1,000-seat Liberty Softball Stadium, 9-2, over Rider March 19, 2015. Liberty is 20-10 all-time in home openers, and 15-7 when opening the home schedule in its NCAA Division I era.
Lady Flames at a Glance
The Lady Flames have tossed three shutouts so far this season, including a five-inning no-hitter by Julia DiMartino against Stetson on Feb. 13. DiMartino leads the team with a 2.56 ERA, while Chandler Ball is 2-2 with a 3.69 ERA and Chase Cassady (4-5, 4.46 ERA) is the team leader with 45 strikeouts.
Jaclyn Amader bats .344 with a team-best seven doubles, while Rylee Reynolds hits .340 so far. 2015 Big South Freshman of the Year Alexia Taylor has hit .299, while Kassidy McCoy (.275) and Sarah Robertson (.259) are tied for the team lead with two homers each. Robertson paces the Lady Flames in both runs scored (15) and RBI (11).
How to Follow the Lady Flames
Fans can follow all of Liberty's games this week through live stats, live video and live audio. All five contests will air on WFFP, Big South Network and ESPN3, with Alan York calling play-by-play and former Liberty head softball coach Paul Wetmore providing analysis. Select games will also air on radio on 90.9 FM The Light, with Kevin Keys serving as play-by-play announcer and former Virginia Tech standout Jess Lloyd providing analysis.
Quick Hits
- Liberty starts an eight-game homestand, hosting the 2016 Liberty Softball Classic.
- Kassidy McCoy hit a game-tying, seventh-inning homer in eight-inning win over LA Tech.
- The Lady Flames have tossed three shutouts so far this season.
- Julia DiMartino's no-hitter against Stetson was Liberty's first since May 13, 2011.
- Liberty Softball Stadium was voted second-best softball stadium by FloSoftball.com
- The Lady Flames need four more wins for 750 in program history.
- Chandler Ball is ranked in the top 10 in program history in five career pitching categories.
- Nine Liberty freshmen have started at least one game this season.
- Tori Zavodny is ranked sixth in the nation with three triples.
- Liberty's current 12-member freshman class is the largest in program history.
Liberty vs. Norfolk State (Series: Liberty leads, 15-0)
Norfolk State (2-4) plays a doubleheader at Radford on Wednesday before playing Liberty on Thursday. 2014 All-MEAC second teamer Kayla McNair bats .389 to lead the Spartans, while Seana Moriarty hits .313. Megan Przelawski is 1-1 with a 2.88 ERA.
Liberty has won all 15 meetings with Norfolk State. Their last meeting came Feb. 15, 2014, a 5-1 Lady Flames victory in Wilmington, N.C., that was the first coaching win in the career of head coach Dot Richardson.
Liberty vs. La Salle (Series: Liberty leads, 1-0)
La Salle brings a 2-7 record to Lynchburg, with wins over Middle Tennessee and North Dakota. Christina Bascara (.304), a 2015 All-Atlantic 10 second team player, and Angelina Refice (.300) lead the team in hitting, while Mary Cate Scott is 2-1 with a 5.36 ERA.
The Lady Flames downed La Salle, 10-1 in five innings, Feb. 25, 2012 in Spartanburg, S.C., as Alyssa DiMartino allowed just two hits for the Lady Flames.
Liberty vs. Rhode Island (Series: Liberty leads, 3-1)
Rhode Island (5-7) has hit 10 home runs, and has already passed its win total from last year's 3-41 team. Kylie Shivery (.378) leads the team with four homers and 18 RBI, while Paige Julich bats .364 and Danielle Gariglio hits .320. Ali Summers, a 2015 All-Atlantic 10 second team catcher, bats .278.
Liberty leads the all-time series, 3-1. The Lady Flames have won two meetings in a row, the last an 8-0 victory on March 6, 2010 in Woodstock, Ga. The Rams' lone win over Liberty came March 17, 2000, an 8-5 URI victory in Orlando, Fla.
Liberty vs. Sacred Heart (Series: First meeting)
Sacred Heart (2-7) plays four games in Florida between Tuesday and Wednesday before heading to Lynchburg. Heading into the week, Lauren Delgadillo hits .292, while Kristen McCann bats .286. Emily Orosco is 0-1 with a 1.14 ERA.
Liberty is meeting Sacred Heart for the first time. This is the second year that an NEC team has appeared in the Liberty Softball Classic. Saint Francis (Pa.) went 4-1 at the event last year, including a 5-4 win over Liberty, March 20.
Opening Remarks
Liberty is 20-10 all-time in home openers, and 15-7 when opening the home schedule during the NCAA Division I era (since 1994).
Last year, the Lady Flames opened the Liberty Softball Stadium with a 9-2 win over Rider, March 19. It was Liberty's first home-opening victory since March 23, 2010, a 9-1 win over Radford.
LSU Invitational Recap
Liberty went 2-2 at the LSU Invitational. The Lady Flames started by downing Louisiana Tech, 11-6, in eight innings. Kassidy McCoy went a career-best 4-for-4 with one homer and three runs scored. McCoy is the first Lady Flame with a four-hit game since Hanna Nichols on Feb. 15, 2014 against UMBC.
The Lady Flames pulled away for a 9-2 win over Memphis on Saturday, led by a 3-for-4 performance by Jaclyn Amader.
Liberty's 8-0 setback to No. 5/6 LSU on Saturday was the team's fourth game against a nationally-ranked opponent this season.
Big Comebacks
Liberty trailed Lamar, 4-1, with one out in the bottom of the seventh, before rallying to tie the game, 4-4. The Lady Flames then won the game, 6-5, in the 10th inning with a walk-off squeeze bunt, as Kassidy McCoy drove in Sarah Robertson from third.
Then, facing a 6-4 deficit to Louisiana Tech with two outs in the seventh on March 4, McCoy hit a game-tying home run. Then, Robertson's two-run blast in the eighth sparked Liberty's five-run spurt to an 11-6 win.
Three's a Crowd
Liberty totaled a season-high 16 hits against Louisiana Tech last Friday, the team's most hits since a 16-hit game in a 10-3 win over Winthrop, April 18, 2014. Also, Kassidy McCoy (4-for-4), Mickey Loveridge (3-for-4) and Alexia Taylor (3-for-6) had three or more hits each against Louisiana Tech. Liberty's previously mentioned win over Winthrop was also the last time three Lady Flames had three hits in the same game, as Megan Robinson, Katie Zavodny and current Lady Flame Katie Han had three hits apiece.
So far this season, Liberty has gotten three-hit games from seven different players, in Taylor (2), McCoy, Jaclyn Amader, Han, Mickey Loveridge, Rylee Reynolds and Tori Zavodny.
Lucky Number 11
Julia DiMartino tossed a career-high 11 strikeouts in an 11-0 shutout win over Grambling Feb. 26, as the Lady Flames tied a season high with 11 runs scored.
DiMartino's 11 strikeouts were the most by a Lady Flame in a single game since Katrina Johnson struck out 11 batters against Presbyterian, April 30, 2011. Her 11 strikeouts were the most by a Liberty freshman pitcher since Ali Thompson's 12-K game against Hampton, March 31, 2001.
Fire Away
Liberty averages 5.77 strikeouts per seven innings. Julia DiMartino averages a team-best 6.49 strikeouts per game, followed by Chase Cassady (6.47) and Chandler Ball (4.61).
Ball picked up her 40th career victory, Feb. 27 against Lamar. She is ranked seventh in program history in both career victories (41) and career strikeouts (365).
