Liberty University
39-13
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North Florida
22-23
Liberty Advances to ASUN Championship with 5-2 Win over North Florida
5/28/2021 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Postgame Comments - Jaylen Guy
Postgame Comment - Cam Locklear
Top Plays
The No.1 North seed Liberty Flames defeated No. 2 South seed North Florida Ospreys 5-2 to advance to the ASUN Championship Game, Friday night at Harmon Stadium.
Liberty will face the Jacksonville Dolphins for the title, needing to win two games to claim its second ASUN Championship in as many seasons in the conference, tomorrow. Game time is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Liberty left-hander Mason Meyer, making his first start since March 27 at Bellarmine, allowed two runs on seven hits over 6 2/3 innings in the victory. He tied his career-high with nine strikeouts and did not walk a batter.
Flames center fielder Jaylen Guy led all hitters in the contest with three hits and two RBI.
Liberty moves to 39-13 on the season. North Florida is eliminated from the ASUN Championship and finishes the year with 22-23.
Box Score Highlights
Records: North Florida (22-23); Liberty (39-13)
Location: Jacksonville, Fla. (Harmon Stadium)
WP: Mason Meyer (4-1) | LP: Max McKinley (4-6) | SV: Mason Fluharty (1)
Scoring Summary
LIBERTY – 2nd INNING – Guy singles, Wilson and Locklear score, 2-0
UNF – 3rd INNING – Stafford homers, 2-1
LIBERTY – 4th INNING – Mathieu singles, Locklear scores, 3-1
LIBERTY – 5th INNING – Anderson doubles, Betts scores, 4-1
LIBERTY – 5th INNING – Locklear singles, Anderson scores, 5-1
UNF – 7th INNING – Sequera doubles, Presno scores, 5-2
Notable Numbers
- Liberty outhit UNF, 11-8. The Flames committed two errors, while the Ospreys made one.
- Liberty left 10 men on base. North Florida left nine.
- Flames shortstop Cam Locklear had two hits, an RBI and two runs scored in the contest.
- Liberty left fielder Aaron Anderson also had two hits. He had an RBI and scored a run.
- Reliever Mason Fluharty recorded his first save of the year. Fluharty pitched 21/3 innings of scoreless relief. He struck out two.
- Neither Meyer nor Fluharty walked a batter in the contest.
- North Florida's Max McKinley takes the loss. He gave up five runs on seven hits over the first four innings. He struck out six and walked two.
- Second baseman Isaiah Byars and third baseman Ricky Presno each had two hits apiece for the Ospreys.
Turning Point
In the top of the seventh, North Florida scored a run to cut Liberty's advantage to 5-2. The Ospreys moved runners to second and third with two outs for ASUN Conference Player of the Year Alex Kachler. The first baseman worked a 2-1 count against Meyer when the lights at Harmon Stadium and the surrounding area went out.
After a 25-minute delay, the Fluharty took over for Meyer and got Kachler to bounce back to him to retire the side and end the scoring threat.
Beyond the Box Score
- Liberty advances to a conference title game for the 10th time in program history and its second under head coach Scott Jackson.
- The Flames have played for the ASUN Championship in each of its first two seasons in the conference. Liberty won the title in its first season in the league in 2019.
- Liberty and North Florida met for the first time since May 24, 2019. The Flames defeated the Ospreys 3-2 in 12 innings in DeLand, Fla. on their way to the ASUN title.
- Meyer pitched a season-high 6 2/3 innings and tied his career-high with nine strikeouts in the contest. The left-hander struck out nine in an 8-3 win at UCF on March 5, earlier this season.
- Guy posts his first three-hit game of the year in the contest. The outfielder also has recorded back-to-back multi-hit games, as he had two hits in Liberty's win over Kennesaw State earlier in the day. Guy has seven multi-hit games on the year.
- Locklear also records back-to-back two-hit games. He had two hits in the Flames' over Kennesaw State, earlier in the day. The shortstop now has 14 multi-hit games on the season.
- With two hits, Anderson collects his team-leading 22nd multi-hit game of the year. He also doubled to up his ASUN-leading total to 21.
- Flames catcher Gray Betts singled and scored in the fifth inning. He has reached base safely in a team-leading 41 consecutive games.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Meyer, Mason (4-1)
L: McKINLEY, Max (4-6)
S: Fluharty, Mason (1)
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Batting:
2B: SEQUERA, Abraham 1
HR: STAFFORD, Caleb 1
RBI: SEQUERA, Abraham 1 ; STAFFORD, Caleb 1
Base Running:
RUNS: PRESNO, Ricky 1 ; STAFFORD, Caleb 1
CS: MARABELL, Blake 1
HBP: WESTBROOK, Cade 1 ; PRESNO, Ricky 1
Batting:
2B: Anderson, Aaron 1 ; Wagner, Will 1
RBI: Anderson, Aaron 1 ; Locklear, Cam 1 ; Mathieu, Logan 1 ; Guy, Jaylen 2
SH: Betts, Gray 1 ; Gulakowski, Brady 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Betts, Gray 1 ; Anderson, Aaron 1 ; Locklear, Cam 2 ; Wilson, Jake 1
SB: Wagner, Will 1 ; Wilson, Jake 1 ; Guy, Jaylen 1
HBP: McDyre, Trey 1 ; Locklear, Cam 1
