Liberty University
17-12, 3-0
Eastern Kentucky
4-22, 0-3
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 10 | 0 |
| Eastern Kentucky | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
Kirby Strikes Out 13, Liberty Sweeps Series with 8-1 Win at EKU
3/20/2022 2:55:35 PM | Softball
Liberty senior Emily Kirby struck out a season-high 13 batters and the Lady Flames earned a three-game sweep at Eastern Kentucky, winning game three 8-1 on Sunday at Gertrude Hood Field.
Defending conference champion Liberty (17-12, 3-0 ASUN) opens AUSN play with a three-game sweep for the second year in a row. Meanwhile, 2021 OVC champion EKU (4-22) remains in search of its first ASUN win at 0-3.
Scoring Summary
EKU – 1st INNING – Sammi Miller homers to right, 1-0
Liberty – 2nd INNING – Roupe flies out the left center, sacrifice fly, Canetto scores, 1-1
Liberty – 4th INNING – Wilson homers to left center, Wilson and Griffin score, 3-1
Liberty – 5th INNING – Hudson ground out, Howard scores, 4-1
Liberty – 6th INNING – Roupe reaches on throwing error, Heidorn scores, 5-1
Liberty – 6th INNING – Howard singles to left, Roupe scores, 6-1
Liberty – 6th INNING – Hudson homers to left, Hudson and Howard score, 8-1
Notable Numbers
- Liberty outhit EKU 10-1, the Lady Flames third straight 10-hit game. The Colonels committed three errors and left seven on base, while Liberty stranded four.
- Kirby (2-3) pitched a gem, allowing just one hit while striking out a season-high 13, walking six and hitting a batter. She did not allow a single hit after Sammi Miller’s leadoff homer in the first.
- Samantha Reynoso (2-10) drew the loss, allowing three runs on five hits, walking two and striking out one in four innings before giving way to relief pitchers Kaitlyn Young and Lauren Narvaez.
- Devyn Howard batted 2-for-3 with one RBI and two runs scored, while Kara Canetto went 2-for-4. Caroline Hudson drove in three runs and homered, while Mary Claire Wilson hit her first career over-the-fence home run, plating two.
- Sammi Miller had EKU’s only hit, a solo homer to lead off the bottom of the first.
Turning Point
- Miller gave EKU a 1-0 lead with her first-inning homer, and the Lady Flames tied it on a sacrifice fly by Rachel Roupe in the second.
- Wilson gave Liberty the lead for good with a two-run home run in the top of the fourth, and the Lady Flames tacked on one in the fifth and four in the sixth for the 8-1 margin.
Beyond the Box Score
- Liberty is now 9-1 all-time against EKU in softball.
- The Lady Flames hold a 35-7 overall record in ASUN regular-season games since joining the conference in 2019. Liberty has posted 10 three-game ASUN series sweeps during that span. The Lady Flames have won each of their last 16 ASUN regular-season contests.
- The last time Liberty held an opponent to one run after giving up a leadoff homer to start the game was March 21, 2015 against Quinnipiac. Kenzie Friesen allowed a solo homer to the first batter, Nikki Barba, before shutting out the Bobcats the rest of the way in a 4-1 win.
- Kirby tossed her second career one-hitter, as she allowed one hit to Bellarmine on March 20, 2021, a game in which she also struck out 15. Kirby’s 13 strikeouts are the second most in a single game in her career and her fourth career double-digit strikeout game.
- Liberty outscored EKU 29-11 on the series. The Lady Flames’ 29 runs are tied for the second most in any three-game conference series in program history and most since scoring 29 runs in a three-game sweep at Charleston Southern, March 17-18, 2017.
- Rachel Roupe recorded nine RBI this weekend, the most RBI by a Lady Flame in any conference three-game series since Keely McMillon drove in 10 runs at Gardner-Webb, April 15-16, 2011.
- Wilson’s homer was her first over-the-fence home run and second homer of her career. She hit an inside-the-park home run against ECU, March 5, 2021.
Up Next
Liberty steps outside of conference play for a game at Virginia, Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Palmer Park. Tuesday’s game will air nationally on ACC Network.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Kirby, Emily (2-3)
L: Reynoso, S. (2-10)
Batting:
HR: Hudson, Caroline 1 ; Wilson, Mary Claire 1
RBI: Howard, Devyn 1 ; Hudson, Caroline 3 ; Wilson, Mary Claire 2 ; Roupe, Rachel 1
SH: Wilson, Mary Claire 1
SF: Roupe, Rachel 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Howard, Devyn 2 ; Hudson, Caroline 1 ; Griffin, Denay 1 ; Canetto, Kara 1 ; Heidorn, Lilly 1 ; Wilson, Mary Claire 1 ; Roupe, Rachel 1
SB: Roupe, Rachel 1
CS: Hudson, Caroline 1 ; Plummer, Janessa 1
Batting:
HR: Miller, S. 1
RBI: Miller, S. 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Miller, S. 1
HBP: Miller, S. 1
