Liberty University
14-9, 1-0
Eastern Kentucky
15-9, 0-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 1 |
| Eastern Kentucky | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
Liberty Opens ASUN Play with 7-3 Win at EKU
3/15/2023 9:33:04 PM | Softball
Liberty opened ASUN play with a 7-3 win over Eastern Kentucky on Wednesday at Gertrude Hood Field.
The Lady Flames (14-9) extended their winning streak to 13 games, earning a victory in their conference opener for the seventh time in the last eight years. Eastern Kentucky falls to 15-9, seeing its winning streak snapped at three games.
Due to threatening weather in the forecast, this week’s ASUN-opening series was shifted from a Friday through Sunday set to now be played today and tomorrow. With the resulting conflicts, tomorrow’s originally-scheduled game at No. 14 Kentucky has been canceled.
Scoring Summary
Liberty – 4th INNING – Fortner triples to center, Wilson scores, 1-0
Liberty – 4th INNING – Woodard homers to left, Fortner scores, 3-0
Liberty – 6th INNING – Fortner homers to right, McManus scores, 5-0
Liberty – 6th INNING – Madrey homers to left, Woodard scores, 7-0
EKU – 6th INNING – Pertee singles through left side, Grantz advances, Barron scores, 7-1
EKU – 6th INNING – Davis reaches on fielder’s choice, Miller out at second, Pertee advances, Grantz scores, 7-2
EKU – 6th INNING – Nikola Schwarzingerova singles through left side, Davis advances, Pertee scores, 7-3
Notable Numbers- Liberty outhit Eastern Kentucky 10-4 for the game, while EKU committed two errors and the Lady Flames sustained one error. The guests left seven on base, while the Colonels stranded six.
- Karlie Keeney (9-5) allowed three unearned runs one four hits, walking four and tying her career high with eight strikeouts. She did not give up a hit until the fifth inning.
- Lauren Narvaez (8-5) yielded six runs on eight hits, walking three and fanning three in 5 1/3 innings pitched. Brooke Davis gave up one run on two hits, walking one in 1 2/3 innings.
- Liberty’s 6th through 9th batters hit a combined 7-for-11 with a triple, three homers, six runs and seven RBI. Megan Fortner went 2-for-2 with a triple, home run, three RBI and two runs scored, while Savannah Woodard batted 2-for-3 with a homer, two RBI and two runs scored. KK Madrey (1-for-2) hit her first career homer, driving in two and scoring once. Mary Claire Wilson went 2-for-4 with one run scored.
- Four different Colonels had one hit each.
Turning Point
- Liberty jumped ahead in the fourth inning, with Fortner hitting an RBI triple and Woodard driving her in with a two-run homer.
- Two-run blasts by Fortner and Madrey pushed Liberty’s lead to 7-0 in the sixth. The Colonels capitalized on a Liberty error, scoring three unearned runs in the bottom of the sixth, but got no closer.
Beyond the Box Score
- Liberty leads the all-time series against Eastern Kentucky, 9-1. This is the second year in a row in which Liberty’s ASUN opener resulted in a win at EKU, as the Lady Flames rallied from a 6-2 deficit to win 10-6 on March 19, 2022.
- The Lady Flames are now 11-0 in games played in Kentucky under current Head Coach Dot Richardson.
- Liberty has won 22 straight ASUN regular-season away games. Its last ASUN road loss was April 28, 2019 at North Alabama. Overall, Liberty is 37-1 in its last 38 ASUN regular-season contests overall.
- Keeney earned her 50th career victory today, becoming the fifth pitcher in program history with 50 wins.
- Keeney had not allowed a single run in 16 1/3 consecutive innings before giving up a run in the sixth inning tonight.
- Fortner hit her 19th career home run and first as a Lady Flame since transferring from Jacksonville State. All three of Liberty’s home run hitters from tonight (Fortner, Madrey, Woodard) are in their first year as Lady Flames.
- Liberty’s current 13-game winning streak is its longest since winning 14 in a row, March 19 through April 10, 2022.
Up Next
Liberty and Eastern Kentucky will play a doubleheader tomorrow at 3 p.m. to finish off this week’s ASUN-opening series.
Featured in photo: Megan Fortner
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Keeney, Karlie (9-5)
L: L. Narvaez (8-5)
Batting:
3B: Fortner, Megan 1
HR: Fortner, Megan 1 ; Woodard, Savannah 1 ; Madrey, KK 1
RBI: Fortner, Megan 3 ; Woodard, Savannah 2 ; Madrey, KK 2
Base Running:
RUNS: McManus, Brynn 1 ; Wilson, Mary Claire 1 ; Fortner, Megan 2 ; Woodard, Savannah 2 ; Madrey, KK 1
SB: Wilson, Mary Claire 1 ; Madrey, KK 1
Batting:
RBI: M. Pertee 1 ; L. Davis 1 ; Nikola S. 1
Base Running:
RUNS: V. Barron 1 ; R. Grantz 1 ; M. Pertee 1
