Liberty University
5-6
Wright State
2-4
Liberty Tallies 10 Straight Runs in Home-Opening Win Over Wright State
2/21/2019 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Liberty shook off an early 2-0 deficit, scoring 10 unanswered runs to post a five-inning 10-2 win over Wright State in the Lady Flames' home opener, Thursday at the Liberty Softball Stadium.
The Lady Flames (5-6) have won their home opener each of the five years that Liberty Softball Stadium has been open, improving their all-time record in home openers to 24-10. Wright State falls to 2-4 on the season with the loss.
Scoring Summary
WRIGHT STATE – 1st INNING – Hutchinson doubles to left center, Nunez and Whitaker score, 2-0
LIBERTY – 1st INNING – Griffin singles to right, Canetto and Autumn Bishop score, 2-2
LIBERTY – 2nd INNING – Hoffman advances to third, McFarland scores on a wild pitch, 3-2
LIBERTY – 3rd INNING – McFarland doubles to right center, Erich and Griffin score, 5-2
LIBERTY – 4th INNING – Canetto singles to left center, advances to second, Amber Bishop advances to third, Autumn Bishop and Hoffman score, 7-2
LIBERTY – 4th INNING – Robertson doubles to left, Canetto and Amber Bishop score, 9-2
LIBERTY – 4th INNING – Erich stole second, Robertson scored on the throw, 10-2
Notable Numbers
- Liberty outhit Wright State, 10-5, on the afternoon, while posting its first run-rule victory of the season. The Lady Flames' last run-rule win came May 4, 2018, when they run-ruled Winthrop 9-0 in five innings.
- Chase Cassady (2-1) earned the win, allowing two runs on five hits and striking out a season-high-tying seven in four innings of work. Emily Kirby tossed a hitless fifth inning.
- Olivia Otani (0-2) drew the loss for Wright State, yielding five runs on seven hits in three innings pitched. Lexie Hilling and Makenna Durieux combined to give up the remaining five runs.
- Kaitlin McFarland, Kara Canetto and Denay Griffin all went 2-for-3 with two RBI, while McFarland doubled and tripled. Canetto and Autumn Bishop scored two runs each.
- Five Raiders had one hit each, while Brianna Hutchinson doubled with two RBI.
Turning Point
- Wright State scored twice in the top of the first, before Liberty tied it at 2-2 with a two-run single by Griffin in the bottom of the first.
- After Cassady pitched a 1-2-3 second, McFarland led off the bottom of the second with a triple. She later scored what proved to be the winning run on a wild pitch.
Beyond the Box Score
- Liberty tied the all-time series against Wright State in softball at 2-2 in the teams' first meeting since a 3-2 Wright State win, Feb. 22, 2004.
- This was the second straight game that Liberty won after its opponent scored first.
- Robertson's double moves her into sole possession of fifth place in program history with 42 career doubles.
- Robertson is now tied for seventh in program history with 113 career runs scored, tying Libi Cook (1996-99) and J'Nae Jefferson (2007-10).
- Amber Bishop moves into a tie for 14th in program history with 102 career runs scored, matching Dawn Jeffs (2006-07).
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Cassady, Chase (2-1)
L: Olivia Otani (0-2)
Batting:
2B: Meredith Keel 1 ; Brianna Hutchinson 1 ; Madison Hartman 1
RBI: Brianna Hutchinson 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Madison Whitaker 1 ; Madison Nunez 1
Batting:
2B: Robertson, Sarah 1 ; McFarland, Kaitlin 1
3B: McFarland, Kaitlin 1
RBI: Canetto, Kara 2 ; Griffin, Denay 2 ; Robertson, Sarah 2 ; McFarland, Kaitlin 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Bishop, Autumn 2 ; Bishop-Riley, Amber 1 ; Canetto, Kara 2 ; Griffin, Denay 1 ; Robertson, Sarah 1 ; Erich, Alexis 1 ; McFarland, Kaitlin 1 ; Hoffman, Taylor 1
SB: Robertson, Sarah 1 ; Erich, Alexis 1 ; Hoffman, Taylor 1
HBP: Erich, Alexis 1
