Liberty Softball to Open 2020 Season at NFCA Leadoff Classic
2/5/2020 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Tournament Central
Complete Game Notes
Liberty begins a challenging 2020 schedule by competing in the prestigious NFCA Leadoff Classic, held at Eddie C. Moore Complex in Clearwater, Fla., Friday through Sunday. Liberty will take on Kentucky, Illinois, Auburn, Mississippi State and Ole Miss this weekend.
Liberty went 40-22 last year, finishing second in the ASUN with a 16-5 record in its first season in the conference. The Lady Flames competed in the NISC for the second time in the last three seasons, shutting out all three opponents to win the NISC Lynchburg Regional.
For the second year in a row, Liberty was predicted to win the ASUN in the preseason coaches poll. Additionally, Amber Bishop, Autumn Bishop and Madison Via were all named to the ASUN Preseason Softball All-Conference team.
Pitching continued to dominate for the Lady Flames in 2019. They finished fifth in the nation with a 1.60 ERA, largely on the shoulders of a pair of seniors, three-time All-Region choice Julia DiMartino (19-11, 1.20 ERA) and 2019 All-Region selection Chase Cassady (15-4, 1.50). Liberty was one of three teams in NCAA Division I with two pitchers in the top 25 in the nation in ERA, with the other two being national finalists UCLA and Oklahoma.
Not to be outdone, the Liberty offense produced five .300 hitters. Amber Bishop, a three-time NFCA All-Region selection, led Liberty with a .355 average while pacing the ASUN in homers (13), hits (72) and slugging percentage (.395). Autumn Bishop batted .352, finishing with 35 runs scored and a league-leading four sacrifice flies. Madison Via returns after hitting .323 last year, tying for the team lead with 42 runs scored and leading with 19 stolen bases.
The Lady Flames graduated four players (pitchers Julia DiMartino and Chase Cassady and infielders Sarah Robertson and Jaclyn Amader) who earned inclusion on the 2019 NFCA All-Mid-Atlantic Region Softball Team.
Liberty will look to highly-touted freshman pitcher Karlie Keeney (Providence, Ky.) and junior college transfer pitcher Megan Johnson (Butler Community College) to fill in for the departed DiMartino (holder of nine program career records and eight program single-season records) and Cassady.
The Lady Flames return Amber and Autumn Bishop, along with two-time all-conference performer Madison Via and 2019 ASUN All-Freshman Team member Kara Canetto. Liberty will look to talented a mixture of freshmen and returnees to fill in for the departed seniors on offense.
Team Notes
- Liberty outscored its opponents by an exact 2-to-1 ratio last year, scoring 260 runs and allowing just 130 in 62 games played.
- Liberty is 15-18-1 all-time in season openers and 13-12-1 in its NCAA Division I era. The Lady Flames have won their season opener each of the last three years, including a 13-3 win over BYU Feb. 8, 2019 to begin the Puerto Vallarta Collegiate Challenge in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
- The Lady Flames have gone 23-4 in their last 27 games in the state of Florida, and have won their last 13 regular-season games in the Sunshine State since a 2-1, 10-inning setback to No. 3 Florida on Feb. 25, 2017.
- Liberty posted its third straight 40-win season and fifth in program history last year. The Lady Flames went 46-24 during their NISC title season in 2017 and a program-record 49-14 in 2018. Liberty is one of 13 NCAA Division I softball teams to win 40+ games in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
- The Lady Flames are tied with Michigan for the 12th most wins among all NCAA Division I softball teams over the last two seasons combined (89), and Liberty is 13th overall with 135 wins over the last three years.
- Liberty opens the 2020 season with its first 13 games against Power 5 opponents, and has as many games against Power 5 teams (21) as it does ASUN Conference games (21) this year.
