Liberty, KSU Battle for ASUN North Top Seed, This Weekend in Georgia
4/30/2021 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Liberty (34-12, 13-2 ASUN North), coming off of a dramatic, 5-3 nine-inning walk-off win over Virginia Tech, heads to Kennesaw State (22-20, 10-2) for the final ASUN series of the season. KSU won two out of three meetings with the Lady Flames in Lynchburg, April 2-3. All three games were decided by one run each. In that three-game series, both teams batted .293 (24-for-82), while the Owls outscored the Lady Flames 10-9 total.
Liberty at Kennesaw State
Bailey Park
Kennesaw, Ga.
Saturday, May 1 (Game 1) - 1 p.m.
Live Video | Live Stats
Saturday, May 1 (Game 2) - 3 p.m.
Live Video | Live Stats
Sunday, May 2 - 2 p.m.
Live Video | Live Stats
The winner of this weekend's series will wrap up the No. 1 seed in the ASUN North Division, with the losing team earning the second North Division seed. Both teams will host ASUN Quarterfinal series next weekend against either third-seeded North Alabama or fourth-seeded Lipscomb.
KSU's Bailey Park will serve as the site for the ASUN Softball Championship semifinals and finals, May 14-16.
The Lady Flames have outscored opponents 73-12 during their current 13-game winning streak, hitting .329 while holding opponents to just a .169 batting average. The streak started with a 3-2 walk-off win over Kennesaw State on April 3. Emily Kirby (4-0, 1.22) and Karlie Keeney (5-0, 0.72) have both tossed two shutouts during the winning streak.
On Wednesday against No. 18 Virginia Tech, Caroline Hudson hit a game-tying three-run homer in the seventh and then launched a two-run walk-off homer in the ninth, giving Liberty its second win over a Top 25 team this season. Karlie Keeney tossed 6 2/3 innings of scoreless relief for the win. Liberty also has a win over No. 13 Arkansas on March 16, a win that included a 10th-inning two-run homer by Denay Griffin and a complete-game shutout by Emily Kirby.
Liberty Head Coach Dot Richardson earned her 250th career win on Wednesday. Both her 200th (April 23, 2019 vs. Radford) and 250th wins (vs. Virginia Tech) featured walk-off homers.
Three-time NFCA All-Region player Amber Bishop-Riley bats .367 with an ASUN-leading 14 home runs, 35 runs scored and 38 RBI. Kara Canetto (.414) leads the ASUN in batting average. She posted a 15-game hitting streak earlier this season, and is currently riding a 12-game hitting streak during which she is batting .526 (20-for-38).
Two-time NFCA All-Region player Autumn Bishop (.345) is tied for second nationally with 16 doubles, while Savannah Channell bats .284. Madison Via (.270) has batted .353 in ASUN play. Emily Sweat (.265) is ranked second in the ASUN in both doubles (13) and RBI (31). Devyn Howard (.315) has hit eight doubles and one triple in just 54 at bats this season. Caroline Hudson knocked in her first two homers of 2021 and a career-high five RBI in Wednesday's win over Virginia Tech.
Liberty has posted 14 shutouts this season, including 10 in ASUN play. Karlie Keeney (13-4, 2.39, four shutouts) is tied for second in the ASUN in wins. Emily Kirby (10-4, 2.09) has tossed six shutouts, the most shutouts by a Liberty left-hander since 1999 (Leslie Inge - 8). Kirby is second in the ASUN in strikeouts per seven innings (8.12). Megan Johnson (3-2, 3.15) has posted a 0.81 ERA in conference play this year. McKenzie Wagoner (4-2, 2.77) picked up her first career save on Monday, while Naomi Jones (4-0) one-hit Bellarmine on Sunday.
