Lady Flames Travel to Jacksonville to Take On North Florida
4/12/2019 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Complete Game Notes
Conference-leading Liberty (27-15, 9-3) heads to Jacksonville, Fla., this weekend to take on North Florida (22-14, 4-5) in a three-game series, Saturday and Sunday at UNF Softball Complex.
Liberty at North Florida
UNF Softball Complex
Jacksonville, Fla.
Game 1 - April 13, 2019 - 1 p.m. - Live Stats | Live Video (YouTube)
Game 2 - April 13, 2019 - 3 p.m. - Live Stats | Live Video (YouTube)
Game 3 - April 14, 2019 - 1 p.m. - Live Stats | Live Video (YouTube)
This weekend's series will feature three out of the four ASUN players who appeared on Softball America's list of the top 100 NCAA Division I softball players. Autumn (80th) and Amber (84th) Bishop are the top two rated players in the ASUN and North Florida's Navia Penrod was listed 96th.
Liberty has won its last six ASUN games in a row, sweeping FGCU in Fort Myers, Fla., March 30-31 before posting a 3-0 sweep of Stetson at home last weekend. Last Saturday, Kayla Harris hit two homers and Amber Bishop launched a walk-off two-run blast in a 5-3 series-opening win over Stetson. The Lady Flames then outscored the Hatters 13-1 in games two and three combined.
The Lady Flames suffered a 3-2 loss at ACC opponent North Carolina on Wednesday, falling to 2-8 in one-run games this season. However, Liberty is 7-1 in games decided by exactly two runs.
In conference play, Liberty bats .304 as a team, scoring five runs per game. The Lady Flames have posted a 1.29 ERA in ASUN games.
Liberty junior infielder Amber Bishop was named ASUN Softball Player of the Week after batting .500 with three doubles, three homers, six RBI and five runs scored last week. Bishop batted .455 with 11 RBI and nine runs scored during her nine-game hitting streak which ended on Wednesday.
Liberty (1.62 ERA) is currently ranked ninth in the nation in team ERA, and the Lady Flames have tossed 13 shutouts. Liberty has thrown two no-hitters, including a perfect game from Julia DiMartino versus Princeton and a four-pitcher no-hitter versus Quinnipiac.
Liberty returns eight all-conference players from last year's team, led by two-time Big South Pitcher of the Year Julia DiMartino, 2019 ASUN Preseason Player of the Year Autumn Bishop and Amber Bishop. All three were named to the NFCA All-Region team each of the last two years. Autumn Bishop was named to the 2019 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Top 50 Watch List.
DiMartino, a two-time NFCA All-Region pitcher, is 13-7 with a 1.16 ERA, .182 opponents batting average, three shutouts and four saves. Chase Cassady is 8-2 with a 1.52 ERA and a .207 opponents batting average. DiMartino (13th nationally) and Cassady (36th) are ranked second and third in the ASUN in ERA.
Amber Bishop bats .383 and leads the ASUN in hits (54) and home runs (9), also leading the team in runs (30), doubles (11) and RBI (27). Her twin sister, Autumn Bishop, hits .359 and leads the ASUN with a .480 on base percentage. Sarah Robertson (.339) is second on the team with a .449 on base percentage, while Madison Via (.339) has scored 28 runs and stolen a team-best 14 bases. Jaclyn Amader (.327) is second on the team with 23 RBI.
Quick Hits
- Julia DiMartino has appeared in more games (162) than any active NCAA Division I pitcher.
- The Lady Flames received one vote in this week's USA Today/NFCA Top 25 Coaches Poll.
- Liberty is 13-0 this season when scoring at least once in the first inning.
- The Lady Flames are 20-1 when scoring four or more runs, and 1-8 when allowing four or more.
- Liberty has hit six HR in six games this month after hitting a combined 14 in February and March.
- In six games this month, Liberty is batting .305, while the pitching staff is 4-2 with a 0.52 ERA.
