Lady Flames Set to Host No. 12 Tennessee, Wednesday
4/26/2022 1:35:08 PM | Softball
Liberty (35-13, 18-0 ASUN) plays its final nonconference home game of the regular season, hosting No. 12 Tennessee (33-13, 11-6 SEC), Wednesday at 1 p.m. The Lady Flames are 21-1 in their last 22 games, while Tennessee is coming off of a three-game sweep of a home tournament.
Wednesday, April 27
Kamphuis Field at Liberty Softball Stadium
Lynchburg, Va.
Tennessee at Liberty – 1 p.m. Live Video (ESPN+) | Live Stats
Tennessee’s Ashley Rogers pitched a perfect game in an 8-0 win over ECU, last Saturday. The Lady Vols are currently third in SEC standings. Tennessee ranks 11th nationally in home runs per game (1.59) and 16th in runs per game (6.41). Three Lady Vols (Kiki Milloy - 13; Zaida Puni - 11; McKenna Gibson - 10) have hit double-digit homers this season. Liberty has the 23rd best ERA in the nation (2.18), and the Lady Flames’ 12 shutouts rank 20th nationally.
Emily Kirby was named ASUN Pitcher of the Week on Monday after a 2-0 week in which she held then No. 9 Duke, the nation’s second-highest scornig team, to one earned run in an 8-3 win. Kirby also tossed her fourth shutout of the season, Saturday versus Jacksonville.
Liberty earned its first-ever win over Tennessee in softball on May 22, 2021, eliminating the Lady Vols from the NCAA Knoxville Regional. Savannah Channell hit a go-ahead grand slam in the fourth inning off of Ashley Rogers and Megan Johnson earned a two-inning save in a 6-4 win. Tennessee had shut out Liberty 6-0 earlier last season, March 30, behind a two-hitter from Rogers.
Tennessee is the fifth nationally-ranked opponent to visit Liberty Softball Stadium this season. The Lady Flames are 2-8 overall in 2022 against Top 25 teams and 2-2 at home versus nationally-ranked opponents, beating No. 23 Notre Dame on March 5 and downing No. 9 Duke last Wednesday. Prior to this season, Liberty had hosted eight games in program history against Top 25 teams.
Liberty is 4-0 on its current five-game homestand, beginning with an 8-3 win over No. 9 Duke, last Wednesday. Emily Kirby held the Blue Devils to one earned run on four hits, striking out nine. The Lady Flames broke a 3-3 tie with a five-run sixth inning. Liberty swept Jacksonville over the weekend to remain perfect in ASUN play. Karlie Keeney (four-hit shutout), Kirby (two-hit shutout) and Megan Johnson (one-hitter) combined to allow just two runs all weekend. Liberty hit .403 against Jacksonville, getting homers from Kara Canetto, Caroline Hudson, Lou Allan and Denay Griffin.
Kirby (9-4, 2.01 ERA) leads the ASUN in strikeouts per seven innings (8.75) and is ranked 14th nationally in hits allowed per seven (3.94). She is 6-1 with a 1.06 ERA and three shutouts in April. Karlie Keeney (15-6, 2.26), a 2021 ASUN All-Conference second team pitcher, is tied for third in the ASUN in victories overall. Sophomore McKenzie Wagoner (6-3, 2.00) ranks fourth in the conference in ERA, while senior Megan Johnson (3-0, 3.00) tossed a one-hit gem on Senior Day, Sunday.
Devyn Howard leads Liberty with a .352 batting average, an ASUN-leading 31 walks, .453 on base percentage and an ASUN-best 47 runs. Howard is tied for second nationally with six sacrifice flies. ASUN Preseason Player of the Year Kara Canetto (.331) and Mary Claire Wilson (.345) both bat a league-leading .438 in ASUN play. 2021 Big Ten first-teamer Lou Allan (.327) has seven homers and 31 RBI, while Caroline Hudson (.298) ranks third in the ASUN in both homers (13) and RBI (42). Denay Griffin bats .274 and hit her fifth homer of 2022 on Senior Day. Rachel Roupe (28 RBI) has posted the most RBI by a Liberty true freshman since Amber Bishop had 66 in 2017.
