Liberty University
5-0
Detroit-Mercy
2-3
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 15 | 0 |
| Detroit Mercy | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 3 |
Liberty Uses Offensive Explosion to Defeat Detroit Mercy, 11-4
2/11/2018 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Liberty wrapped up an undefeated weekend with season highs in hits and runs scored in an 11-4 victory over Detroit Mercy, Sunday at the National Training Center.
This is the second year in a row that the Lady Flames have opened their season with a 5-0 record at the Dot Richardson Invitational. Dating back to the end of the 2017 season, Liberty is currently on a 10-game winning streak. Detroit Mercy falls to 2-3 on the year.
Liberty outhit the Titans, 15-10, while Detroit Mercy committed three errors. The Lady Flames scored in every inning after the first.
Chase Cassady (2-0) earned the win for Liberty with five innings of relief, allowing one run on four hits with five strikeouts and three walks. Starter Elizabeth Engler allowed two runs on four hits in 1 1/3 innings pitched, striking out two and walking one. Rylee Reynolds pitched the final 2/3 of an inning, giving up one run on two hits and allowing two walks.
Detroit Mercy's Regan Glenn (0-1) drew the loss, yielding three runs on five hits, walking one and striking out one in 2 2/3 innings of work. Lindsay Brandon and Liz Murphy both pitched in relief.
Autumn Bishop went 3-for-5 with a triple, two RBI and two runs scored for Liberty. Amber Bishop batted 2-for-5 with a double and two RBI, while Kaitlin McFarland hit 2-for-2 with a double and two runs scored. Sarah Robertson went 2-for-3 with a double, two stolen bases and one RBI.
Skylar Fairchild went 3-for-4 for the Titans, while Courtney Gilbert batted 2-for-3.
The Titans struck first, as Jordan Manno hit a leadoff single and came around to score on a passed ball. With one out, Courtney Gilbert singled and Savvy Ferstle walked. A fielder's choice put runners on the corners. Liberty snuffed out Detroit Mercy's double steal play, as Amber Bishop threw out a runner at the plate for the third out.
Liberty battled back into a tie in the top of the second. McFarland drew a one-out walk. With two outs, Robertson lifted an RBI double to right, tying the game at 1-1.
Alyssa Lang led off the bottom of the second with a single. After Fairchild's one-out single, Cassady entered the circle in relief of Engler. She issued a walk before striking out Manno. A walk then pushed across a run, and Cassady fanned Gilbert to get out of the inning.
The Lady Flames quickly responded in the third inning. Three straight singles by Jasmeen Click, Autumn Bishop and Tori Zavodny produced the game-tying run. Amber Bishop reached on a fielder's choice and got to second on an error, with Autumn Bishop scoring on the play for a 3-2 lead. With two on and two out, Brandon entered the game to get the final out.
Liberty added to its lead with a two-run fourth. Sarah Robertson was hit by a pitch and stole second. A bunt single by Amader put runners on the corners. Robertson scored on a double steal play for a 4-2 advantage. Autumn Bishop plated Amader with an RBI single, boosting the lead to 5-2.
Cassady worked around two Titans hits in the bottom of the fourth. With two outs and runners on second and third, Sydney Pollock grounded to third to end the attempted rally.
McFarland lined a triple to right with one out in the fifth frame. Madison Via then hit a sacrifice fly, making it 6-2.
The Lady Flames added two more runs in the sixth. Taylor Hoffman led off with a single to left. After two outs, Amber Bishop hit an RBI double. Alexia Taylor singled, and Brandon walked the next two batters, pushing the score to 8-2.
Murphy came on in relief of Brandon to start the seventh inning. Hoffman singled and ended up scoring on a triple by Autumn Bishop. Zavodny then lifted a fly ball to center which the center fielder dropped, allowing Autumn Bishop to score. Amber Bishop then hit an RBI single up the middle, giving Liberty a nine-run cushion.
After Gilbert hit a one-out single in the bottom of the seventh, Reynolds came on in relief of Cassady. She issued a pair of walks, pushing one run across. Maddy Scarsella hit an RBI single, narrowing the gap to 11-4. Reynolds then induced a game-ending 6-4-3 double play.
The Lady Flames return home for the Liberty Softball Challenge, held Friday and Saturday at Liberty Softball Stadium. Liberty begins play at 3 p.m. on Friday against Delaware State.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Cassady, Chase (2-0)
L: Regan Glenn (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Bishop-Riley, Amber 1 ; Robertson, Sarah 1
3B: Bishop, Autumn 1 ; McFarland, Kaitlin 1
RBI: Bishop, Autumn 2 ; Zavodny, Tori 2 ; Bishop-Riley, Amber 2 ; Via, Madison 2 ; Robertson, Sarah 1
SH: Zavodny, Tori 1
SF: Zavodny, Tori 1 ; Via, Madison 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Bishop, Autumn 2 ; Zavodny, Tori 1 ; Bishop-Riley, Amber 1 ; McFarland, Kaitlin 2 ; Robertson, Sarah 1 ; Amader, Jaclyn 1 ; Click, Jasmeen 1 ; Hoffman, Taylor 2
SB: Zavodny, Tori 1 ; Robertson, Sarah 2 ; Amader, Jaclyn 1 ; Hoffman, Taylor 1
HBP: Robertson, Sarah 1
Batting:
RBI: Sydney Pollock 1 ; Alyssa Lang 1 ; Maddy Scarsella 1
SH: Jordan Manno 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jordan Manno 1 ; Courtney Gilbert 1 ; Savvy Ferstle 1 ; Alyssa Lang 1
CS: Courtney Gilbert 1
