Liberty University
30-12
Virginia
14-26
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| Liberty | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | X | 3 | 7 | 3 |
Lady Flames Edge Virginia 3-2, Sweep Season Series
4/21/2021 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Top Plays
Coach Richardson Postgame
Devyn Howard Postgame
Karlie Keeney Postgame
Liberty earned its second win of the season over Virginia, edging the visiting Cavaliers 3-2 on Wednesday at Kamphuis Field at Liberty Softball Stadium.
Liberty (30-12) picked up its 30th win of the season, while Virginia falls to 14-26. Today's game was originally scheduled to be played on March 23 but was rescheduled due to schedule conflicts.
The Lady Flames won the previous meeting between these two teams by a 12-3 score, April 6 in Charlottesville, Va.
Liberty is on a nine-game winning streak, its longest of the season and longest since winning 11 in a row, Feb. 17 through March 8, 2019.
Scoring Summary
Virginia – 2nd INNING – Winscott walks, Friedman scores, 1-0
Liberty – 2nd INNING – Sweat doubles, Gibson score, 1-1
Liberty – 4th INNING – Howard triples, Sweat and Channell score, 3-1
Virginia – 7th INNING – Jennings grounds out, Gilbert scores, 3-2
Notable Numbers
- Liberty outhit Virginia 7-4, while the Lady Flames tied their season high with three errors. Virginia left eight runners on base, compared to six stranded for the hosts.
- Karlie Keeney (11-4) earned the win, allowing two runs on four hits, walking three and striking out two in six innings. Emily Kirby walked one and fanned one in a hitless inning of work to earn her second save.
- Mikayla Houge (4-8) yielded three runs on seven hits, walking two and striking out one in 4 2/3 innings pitched before Aly Rayle tossed 1 1/3 innings of hitless relief.
- Emily Sweat went 2-for-3 with a double, one RBI and one run scored, while Devyn Howard batted 1-for-3 with a triple and two runs scored. Blake Gibson (1-for-1, two walks) reached in all three plate appearances and scored one run.
Turning Point
- Virginia loaded the bases in the second inning, but only managed one run, as Keeney walked in one run before getting an inning-ending double play.
- With the game tied at 1-1 in the bottom of the fourth, Howard came through with a two-run triple to push Liberty ahead 3-1.
- Mikaila Fox drew a leadoff walk in the seventh and Bailey Winscott followed with a single. Kirby entered the circle in relief of Keeney. After a sacrifice bunt moved the runners ahead, Kirby walked Arizona Ritchie to load the bases. Virginia narrowed the gap to 3-2 on an RBI groundout, but Kirby fanned Kate Covington to seal the win.
Beyond the Box Score
- Liberty is now 8-4 in one-run games this season.
- Liberty has secured its 15th 30-win season in program history, winning 30 or more games in each of its last five complete seasons (2016-19, 21)
- The Lady Flames have outscored opponents 48-8 over their current nine-game winning streak.
- Liberty has swept the season series with Virginia for the fourth time in program history, also going 2-0 against the Cavaliers in 1982, 2017 and 2018.
- The Lady Flames are 4-1 against ACC opponents this season and 18-9 versus the ACC since the start of the 2017 season. Liberty is 8-1 in its last nine home games against ACC opponents.
- This was the first time since March 30 at Tennessee that Liberty's opponent scored first in a game. Liberty is 5-8 this season when its opponent scores first.
- Prior to Virginia's run in the second inning, Liberty had not allowed a single run since April 10 against North Alabama, a span of 40 2/3 innings. Keeney had not allowed a run in 14 1/3 innings.
- Kirby ran her personal shutout innings streak to 21 innings. Her consecutive scoreless innings streak is the longest since Julia DiMartino tossed 37 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings from Feb. 16 through March 9, 2019.
- Sweat has posted back-to-back multiple-hit games for the first time this season.
Up Next
Liberty will host Bellarmine in a three-game series on Saturday and Sunday at Liberty Softball Stadium. The Lady Flames swept the Knights on March 19-20 in Louisville, Ky.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Keeney, Karlie (11-4)
L: M. Houge (4-8)
S: Kirby, Emily (2)
Batting:
RBI: A. Jennings 1 ; B. Winscott 1
SH: K. Goldberg 1
Base Running:
RUNS: D. Friedman 1 ; T. Gilbert 1
SB: A. Jennings 1
HBP: M. Fox 1
Batting:
2B: Sweat, Emily 1
3B: Howard, Devyn 1
RBI: Sweat, Emily 1 ; Howard, Devyn 2
SH: Channell, Savannah 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Gibson, Blake 1 ; Channell, Savannah 1 ; Sweat, Emily 1
