Liberty University
17-7
Kansas City
11-4
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kansas City | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 1 |
| Liberty | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 2 |
Gibson's Walk-Off Homer Sends Liberty to Dramatic 5-4 Win Over Kansas City
3/13/2021 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Liberty trailed Kansas City 4-3 entering the bottom of the seventh, before Blake Gibson's one-out, two-run homer gave the Lady Flames a 5-4 walk-off win over the Roos, Saturday at the ASA Hall of Fame Stadium.
Liberty (17-7) is now 1-2 at this weekend's Oklahoma Hall of Fame Classic heading into tomorrow's doubleheader against No. 1 Oklahoma. Kansas City (11-4) went 1-2 this weekend, defeating Houston and falling to Oklahoma.
Scoring Summary
Kansas City – 1st INNING – Lombardini doubles, Karnatz scores, 1-0
Liberty – 1st INNING – Bishop-Riley singles, Bishop scores, 1-1
Liberty – 2nd INNING – Bishop flies out to right, sacrifice fly, Wilson scores, 2-1
Kansas City – 3rd INNING – Lombardini doubles, Hilbrenner and Karnatz score, 3-2
Liberty – 6th INNING – Channell reaches on fielder's choice, Sweat scores, 3-3
Kansas City – 7th INNING – Lombardini walks, Klover scores, 4-3
Liberty – 7th INNING – Gibson homers, Hodum scores, 5-4
Notable Numbers
- Both teams recorded eight hits, while Liberty committed two errors and Kansas City committed one error. The Roos stranded eight runners, while the Lady Flames left seven on base.
- Liberty reliever Naomi Jones (3-0) earned the win, allowing one run on three hits, walking one and striking out one in four innings. Starter McKenzie Wagoner allowed two earned runs on five hits, walking two in 2 1/3 innings pitched. Megan Johnson pitched 2/3 of a hitless inning.
- Mia Hoveland fell to 5-4 with the loss, yielding five runs on eight hits, walking two and striking out five in 6 1/3 innings.
- Amber Bishop-Riley went 2-for-4 with one RBI, while Gibson batted 1-for-4 with a homer, two RBI and one run scored. Kara Canetto, Emily Sweat and Autumn Bishop all doubled for the Lady Flames.
- The Roos' 2-3-4 hitters (Kloe Hilbrenner, Alexis D'Ambrosio, Lia Lombardini) had two hits each, with Lombardini hitting two doubles and driving in four runs.
Turning Point
- Liberty trailed 3-2 entering the bottom of the sixth. Sweat hit a leadoff double and went to second on a groundout. Channell's squeeze bunt pushed Sweat across with the tying run, but Hoveland got the next two outs.
- The Roos responded in the top of the seventh, loading the bases with one out. Jones then walked Lombardini, making it 4-3 Kansas City. Megan Johnson then entered in relief, getting the next two batters to pop out.
- Bishop-Riley led off the seventh with a single to left. Canetto then flied out, but Gibson ended the game with her third homer of the season.
Beyond the Box Score
- Today was the first meeting between Liberty and Kansas City in softball.
- This was Liberty's fourth walk-off win of the season, its most since posting four walk-off wins in 2013.
- Gibson's walk-off homer was the 13th walk-off home run in Liberty's NCAA Division I history and first since Bishop-Riley's walk-off solo shot vs. No. 6 Michigan on Feb. 23, 2020.
- Liberty is now 4-6 in games this season when its opponent scores first, and 3-3 when giving up at least one run in the first inning.
- The Lady Flames are now 6-1 in one-run games this season.
- This was Liberty's first-ever game at the Hall of Fame Stadium, home of the Women's College World Series.
- Canetto extended her hitting streak to 15 games with her fifth-inning double. Her hitting streak is the longest by a Liberty player since teammate Autumn Bishop's 20-game hitting streak during the 2018 season.
- Bishop is Liberty's career leader and is second in the NCAA among active players with 61 career doubles. Today's double marked the 15th time in her career she has led off a game with a double. She also extended her program-record sacrifice fly total to 14 for her career.
- Wagoner earned the start in her home state, as the freshman from Newcastle, Okla., was the 2020 Oklahoma Gatorade Player of the Year. Johnson, a Vinita, Okla., native, also got to pitch in her home state.
Up Next
The Lady Flames play a doubleheader against No. 1 Oklahoma, tomorrow at 1 p.m. Eastern time at Hall of Fame Stadium to close out the Oklahoma Hall of Fame Classic.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Jones, Naomi (3-0)
L: Hoveland, M (5-4)
Batting:
2B: Lombardini,L 2 ; Fenoglio, D 1
RBI: Lombardini,L 4
Base Running:
RUNS: Karnatz, K 2 ; Hilbrenner,K 1 ; Klover, M 1
SB: Hilbrenner,K 1
Batting:
2B: Bishop, Autumn 1 ; Canetto, Kara 1 ; Sweat, Emily 1
HR: Gibson, Blake 1
RBI: Bishop, Autumn 1 ; Bishop-Riley, Amber 1 ; Gibson, Blake 2 ; Channell, Savannah 1
SF: Bishop, Autumn 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Bishop, Autumn 1 ; Hodum, Megan 1 ; Gibson, Blake 1 ; Sweat, Emily 1 ; Wilson, Mary Claire 1
HBP: Channell, Savannah 1
