Liberty University
35-11, 0
Kennesaw State
26-19, 0
Liberty Holds Off Kennesaw State for 8th Straight Win
5/15/2021 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Liberty designated hitter Brady Gulakowski and left fielder Aaron Anderson each had three hits and a home run, before the Flames withstood a rally by host Kennesaw State in a wild ninth inning for an 12-11 victory, Saturday afternoon at Stillwell Baseball Stadium.
Gulakowski went 3-for-4 in the contest with his ninth home run of the season and four RBI in the contest. He also scored twice for the Flames.
Anderson also went 3-for-4 in the contest. He belted his four home run, drove in two runs and scored three times.
After scoring three runs in the top of the ninth inning to stretch its lead to 12-6, Liberty saw Kennesaw State rally in the bottom of the ninth, scoring five runs on two home runs with two out, before recording the final out for the victory.
Liberty runs its winning streak to eight straight games. The Flames move to 35-11 overall and 19-1 in ASUN action. Kennesaw State drops to 26-19 overall and 12-8 in the ASUN.
Box Score Highlights
Records: Liberty (35-11; 19-1 ASUN); Kennesaw State (26-19; 12-8 ASUN
Location: Kennesaw, Ga. (Stillwell Baseball Stadium)
WP: Dylan Cumming (3-1) | LP: Luke Torbert (5-5) | SV: Fraser Ellard (6)
Scoring Summary
LIBERTY – 1st INNING – Gulakowski homers, Wagner and Anderson score, 3-0
KSU – 4th INNING – Eidson sacrifice bunt, Norman scores, 3-1
LIBERTY – 5th INNING – Wagner triples, Anderson and Betts score, 5-1
LIBERTY – 5th INNING – Gulakowski flies out, Wagner scores, 6-1
LIBERTY – 6th INNING – Guy steals third, scores on throwing error, 7-1
KSU – 6th INNING – Spratling homers, Hodges scores, 7-3
LIBERTY – 7th INNING – Wilson singles, Gulakowski scores, 8-3
LIBERTY – 8th INNING McDyre flies out, Wagner scores, 9-3
KSU – 8th INNING – Spratling homers, Hodges and Tolve scores, 9-6
LIBERTY – 9th INNING – Betts singles, Guy scores, 10-6
LIBERTY – 9th INNING – Anderson homers, Betts scores, 12-6
KSU – 9th INNING – Hodges homers, Carballo, Tolve and Sherrill score, 12-10
KSU – 9th INNING – Spratling homers, 12-11
Notable Numbers
- Liberty outhit Kennesaw State, 13-11, in the contest. Kennesaw State committed the game's only two errors.
- The Flames left 10 men on base. The Owls left five men on base.
- The two teams combined to hit six home runs in the game.
- Owls pitchers combined to walk 10 in the contest.
- Liberty catcher Gray Betts, right fielder Jake Wilson and second baseman Will Wagner had two hits apiece for the Flames. Wagner scored three times in the contest and Betts and Wilson each scored twice.
- Flames starter Dylan Cumming allowed three runs on five hits over a season-high seven innings. He struck out five and walked three in picking up the win.
- Fraser Ellard retired the only batter he faced in the bottom of the ninth to record his team-leading sixth save of the year.
- Kennesaw State's Luke Torbert took the loss. The right-hander was roughed up for six runs on nine hits over 4 2/3 innings. He struck out four and walked two.
- Owls designated hitter Malik Spratling hit three home runs and drove in six runs.
- Kennesaw State left fielder Garrett Hodges had three hits, including a grand slam. He scored three times.
Beyond the Box Score
- Liberty wins its 15th consecutive ASUN conference game of the year and takes the three-game series with wins in the first two games.
- The Flames are 25-1 when outhitting their opponent and 22-3 when not committing an error in a contest.
- With three hits, Gulakowski, the reigning ASUN Player of Week, records his third three-hit game and his 11th multi-hit contest of the season. The designated has hit a home run in six of his last nine starts and has had at least one hit in each of his last seven games.
- Anderson posted his seventh game with three more hits and collects his team-leading 19th multi-hit game of the season. Anderson extended his hitting streak to a personal season high of 11 games. The outfielder has reached base safely in 22 straight contests.
- With two hits each, Wagner posts his 16th multi-hit game of the season and Wilson posts his 11th multi-hit game.
- Betts collected his 18th multi-hit game of the year. The catcher has now reached base safely in a team-leading 35 consecutive games.
- Shortstop Cam Locklear ties Trey Wimmer (2009-13) for second on the program's career games played list with 235 career games.
- With his team-leading sixth save of the season, Ellard moves into a tied for second place in the ASUN Conference in saves.
Next Up
The Flames and Owls will meet in the final game of the three-game ASUN series at Stillwell Baseball Stadium, tomorrow. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Cumming, Dylan (3-1)
L: TORBERT, Luke (5-5)
S: Ellard, Fraser (6)
Batting:
2B: Locklear, Cam 1
3B: Wagner, Will 1
HR: Anderson, Aaron 1 ; Gulakowski, Brady 1
RBI: Betts, Gray 1 ; Anderson, Aaron 2 ; Wagner, Will 2 ; McDyre, Trey 1 ; Gulakowski, Brady 4 ; Wilson, Jake 1
SH: Mathieu, Logan 1
SF: McDyre, Trey 1 ; Gulakowski, Brady 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Betts, Gray 2 ; Anderson, Aaron 3 ; Wagner, Will 3 ; Gulakowski, Brady 2 ; Guy, Jaylen 2
SB: Betts, Gray 1 ; Wagner, Will 1 ; Guy, Jaylen 2
Batting:
2B: NORMAN, Terence 2
HR: HODGES, Garrett 1 ; SPRATLING, Malik 3
RBI: HODGES, Garrett 4 ; SPRATLING, Malik 6 ; EIDSON, Brayden 1
SH: EIDSON, Brayden 1
Base Running:
RUNS: SHERRILL, Jesse 1 ; TOLVE, Tyler 2 ; CARBALLO, Alex 1 ; NORMAN, Terence 1 ; HODGES, Garrett 3 ; SPRATLING, Malik 3
HBP: TOLVE, Tyler 1
