Liberty University
5-9
Elon
5-10
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 3 |
| Liberty | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | X | 6 | 6 | 2 |
Liberty Holds On for 6-4 Win Over Elon
2/26/2023 10:22:32 PM | Softball
Coach Richardson Press Conference
Karlie Keeney and Rachel Roupe Press Conference
Liberty jumped out to an early 5-0 lead and held off a late Elon rally, downing the Phoenix 6-4 on Sunday at Kamphuis Field at Liberty Softball Stadium.
The Lady Flames (5-9) went a perfect 4-0 at this weekend’s Liberty Softball Classic, wrapping up with wins over Marshall (5-4 in eight innings) and Elon today. Elon now stands at 5-10 on the season after going 1-4 this weekend in Lynchburg.
Scoring Summary
Liberty – 1st INNING – Howard homers, 1-0
Liberty – 1st INNING – Hudson homers, 2-0
Liberty – 1st INNING – McManus sacrifice fly, Roupe scores, 3-0
Liberty – 2nd INNING – Hudson singles to right, Plummer scores, 4-0
Liberty – 2nd INNING – Craine singles, Roupe advances, Hudson scores, 5-0
Elon – 5th INNING – Grant doubles to left center, Menscer, Hartley and Hatzopoulos score, 5-3
Elon – 6th INNING – Menscer walks, Swar and Devesa advance, Seering scores, 5-4
Liberty – 6th INNING – Hudson reaches on error, Howard advances, scores on error, 6-4
Notable Numbers
- Elon outhit Liberty 7-6 for the game, with the Phoenix committing three errors compared to two for the Lady Flames. The guests left eight on base compared to six stranded for Liberty.
- Emily Estroff (1-1) earned her first win as a Lady Flame, allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits, walking two and fanning two in five innings. Paige Bachman struck out two and gave up one unearned run in relief before Karlie Keeney pitched 1 1/3 innings of one-hit softball fir the save.
- Meredith Wells (1-2) allowed six runs (three earned) on six hits, walking five.
- Caroline Hudson went 2-for-3 with a homer, two RBI and two runs scored for Liberty, while Devyn Howard batted 1-for-3 with a home run, one RBI and one run scored.
- Claudia Penny batted 2-for-4 for Elon, while Megan Grant went 1-for-3 with a double and three RBI.
Turning Point
- The Lady Flames scored early and often, thanks to back-to-back home runs to start the first and a Brynn McManus sacrifice fly. Liberty tacked on two runs in the second.
- Estroff ran into trouble in the fifth, as Grant narrowed the gap to 5-3 with a three-run double with two outs. Paige Bachman pitched in relief during the sixth, loading the bases with nobody out. Bachman fanned the next two batters before walking in a run. Keeney came on, getting the first batter she faced to ground out and end the threat.
Beyond the Box Score
- Liberty now leads Elon 13-6 all-time in softball.
- The Lady Flames are now 47-11 all-time in regular season home tournament games, including 31-10 at the Liberty Softball Classic.
- Roupe tied a program record, reaching base safely in 10 straight plate appearances dating to last night’s game against Princeton. She tied Devyn Howard (2022), Lou Allan (2022) and Madison Kotchey (2015-16).
- This was the first time since April 3, 2021 against Kennesaw State that the first two Liberty batters homered to start the game. Autumn Bishop led off with a homer, followed by Amber Bishop-Riley. That is the only other time in program history that Liberty homered in its first two at bats of a game.
- Howard is the first Lady Flame to lead off a game with a home run since Autumn Bishop, April 10, 2021 vs. North Alabama.
- Howard extended her hitting streak to a team-leading nine games.
- Keeney is now tied with Terra Lowe (2004-07) for sixth in program history with five career saves.
Up Next
The Lady Flames host the Liberty Softball Invitational, Friday through Sunday. Liberty will face UConn twice while taking on Iona and Radford once each.
Featured in photo at top: Rachel Craine and Emily Estroff
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Estroff, Emily (1-1)
L: Wells, Meredith (1-2)
S: Keeney, Karlie (1)
Batting:
2B: Grant, Megan 1 ; Hatzopoulos, Chloe 1
3B: Seering, Allee 1
RBI: Menscer, Drew 1 ; Grant, Megan 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Menscer, Drew 1 ; Seering, Allee 1 ; Hatzopoulos, Chloe 1 ; Hartley, Reagan 1
SB: Hartley, Reagan 1
Batting:
HR: Howard, Devyn 1 ; Hudson, Caroline 1
RBI: Howard, Devyn 1 ; Hudson, Caroline 2 ; Craine, Rachel 1 ; McManus, Brynn 1
SF: McManus, Brynn 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Howard, Devyn 2 ; Hudson, Caroline 2 ; Roupe, Rachel 1 ; Plummer, Janessa 1
SB: Plummer, Janessa 2
