Liberty to Compete in Prestigious Oklahoma Hall of Fame Classic, This Weekend
3/11/2021 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Game Notes
Coach Richardson Update
Amber Bishop-Riley Update
2021 Oklahoma Hall of Fame Classic
Friday, March 12
Cowgirl Stadium
Stillwater, Okla.
Liberty at No. 5 Oklahoma State - Noon ET – Live Stats
Liberty at No. 5 Oklahoma State - 2:30 p.m. ET - Live Stats
Saturday, March 13
Hall of Fame Stadium
Oklahoma City, Okla.
Liberty vs. Kansas City - 11 a.m. - Live Stats
Sunday, March 14
Hall of Fame Stadium
Oklahoma City, Okla.
Liberty vs. No. 1 Oklahoma - 1 p.m. ET - Live Stats
Liberty vs. No. 1 Oklahoma - 3:30 p.m. ET - Live Stats
Schedule is subject to change. Check back to LibertyFlames.com for further schedule changes.
The Liberty softball team (16-5), receiving eight votes in this week's USA Softball/NFCA Top 25 Poll, will face No. 1 Oklahoma (18-0) and No. 5 Oklahoma State (18-1) twice each at this week's Oklahoma Hall of Fame Classic. The Lady Flames will play a doubleheader at Oklahoma State on Friday, before taking on Kansas City (10-2) and Oklahoma at the Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City on Saturday. Liberty will play at Oklahoma on Sunday.
The Lady Flames went 10-1 on their 11-game homestand which wrapped up with a doubleheader sweep of Longwood on Tuesday. Liberty is currently riding a season-best seven-game winning streak, outscoring opponents 62-14 and outhitting opponents .390-206 during that span.
Liberty has gone 0-4 against ranked opponents this season, falling twice to LSU and Alabama at the Bama Bash, Feb. 19-21. The Lady Flames have posted 11 wins over Top 25 opponents all-time, including wins over then No. 21 Ole Miss and then No. 6 Michigan in 2020.
For the third year in a row, Liberty was voted the favorite in the ASUN Preseason Coaches' Poll. Senior Amber Bishop-Riley was voted the ASUN Preseason Player of the Year and was joined on the ASUN Preseason All-Conference Team by sophomore Kara Canetto.
Three-time NFCA All-Region player Amber Bishop-Riley bats .444 with an ASUN-leading eight home runs and 21 RBI. She needs two more homers to become Liberty's all-time career leader, and also to become the first NCAA Division I softball player with five 10-homer seasons.
Kara Canetto (.410) is batting .513 (17-for-32) with one homer, nine RBI and 13 runs scored during her current 12-game hitting streak. It is the longest hitting streak by a Lady Flame since Autumn Bishop's 13-game hitting streak from April 2-20, 2019.
Two-time NFCA All-Region player Autumn Bishop (.324) leads the ASUN with seven doubles, while Savannah Channell bats .309. Devyn Howard, the 2020 NJCAA national leader in RBI, bats .318 with seven RBI in 10 games played. Emily Sweat (.270) is tied for the ASUN lead with 21 RBI, including a Liberty Softball Stadium-record six against Villanova. Mary Claire Wilson (.317) has stolen nine bases. Madison Via (.260) hit her first homer of the season, a grand slam, to end an 8-0 win over Longwood on Tuesday.
The Liberty pitching staff has fashioned a 3.04 ERA. Karlie Keeney (7-2, 2.46) is the ASUN leader in wins and has batted .385 with a homer and four RBI in four starts as a batter. She tossed her first career shutout, a one-hitter, against Longwood on Tuedsay. Emily Kirby (4-1, 3.08) tossed a three-hit shutout on Sunday against Longwood, with her 11 strikeouts being the most by a Liberty pitcher since Julia DiMartino's 12 K's against Tennessee in 2019. McKenzie Wagoner (2-1, 2.88) has a team-best .222 opponents' batting average. Naomi Jones (2-0, 3.75) struck out a career-high six batters against Longwood on Tuesday, earning the win in relief.
