Liberty University
9-9
Radford
7-11
Lady Flames Top Highlanders 12-2 in 5 Innings
3/5/2023 8:56:20 PM | Softball
Liberty pulled away late for a 12-2, five-inning victory, capped by a walk-off homer by Caroline Hudson on Sunday at Kamphuis Field at Liberty Softball Stadium.
Coach Richardson Press Conference
The Lady Flames (9-9) went 4-0 at the Liberty Softball Invitational, extending their winning streak to eight games. Meanwhile, Radford (7-11) posted a 1-3 record this weekend. Liberty outscored opponents 40-8 this week in Lynchburg.
Scoring Summary
Liberty – 1st INNING – Hudson homers to right center, Howard scores, 2-0
Liberty – 2nd INNING – Hudson reached on an error, Howard advances, Craine scores, 3-0
Liberty – 2nd INNING – Roupe reaches on fielding error, Hudson and Howard score, 5-0
Radford – 3rd INNING – Shedrick singles to left, Thompson and Roberts advance, Smith scores, 5-1
Radford – 3rd INNING – McMillan reaches on fielder’s choice, Shedrick advances, Thompson out at third, Robert scores, 5-2
Liberty – 4th INNING – Howard singles, Madrey scores, 6-2
Liberty – 5th INNING – Craine doubles to left, Tuck and McManus score, 8-2
Liberty – 5th INNING – Howard and Madrey advance, Craine scores on passed ball, 9-2
Liberty – 5th INNING – Hudson homers, Howard and Madrey score, 12-2
Notable Numbers
- Liberty outhit Radford 7-6 for the game, while the Highlanders committed four errors. Both teams left four runners on base.
- Karlie Keeney (6-5) picked up her third win in a row, allowing two runs on six hits, walking one and striking out three.
- Chloe Greene (1-3) drew the loss, allowing nine runs (three earned) on six hits in 4 1/3 innings pitched before giving way to Natalie Jones, who gave up the walk-off homer.
- Caroline Hudson went 2-for-4 with two homers, three runs scored and five RBI. It was her second two-run homer game in a row, something no Lady Flame had done before today. Devyn Howard batted 2-for-4 with one RBI and three runs scored, while Rachel Craine (1-for-2) had a double, two RBI and two runs scored and KK Madrey stole three bases and scored twice.
- Radford’s Laura Thompson went 2-for-3, the lone Highlander to record multiple hits.
Turning Point
- Liberty jumped out early, scoring twice before recording an out as Howard led off with a single and Hudson followed with a two-run homer. After three unearned runs gave the Lady Flames a 5-0 lead, Radford pushed across two in the third.
- However, Liberty ended the game with a six-run fifth inning, with Hudson’s three-run blast providing the knockout punch.
Beyond the Box Score
- Radford leads the all-time series against Liberty is softball 48-39, while the Lady Flames have won each of the last eight meetings in a row.
- The Lady Flames are now 8-0 at home this season.
- Hudson is now tied with Kelby Allen (2012-15) for sixth in program history with 27 career homers.
- Hudson also became the 13th player in program history to reach to 100 career RBI mark, as she is currently 13th all-time at Liberty with 101 career runs batted in.
- Hudson came into today with two career two-homer games, and added two more to her ledger today.
- Today marked the third time in program history that a Lady Flame had back-to-back two-homer games. Kelly Strickland did it April 19, 2011 against Hampton and April 20, 2011 versus Norfolk State. Strickland had back-to-back two-homer contests against Coastal Carolina on May 1-2, 2009.
- KK Madrey is the first Lady Flame since Kara Canetto on March 23, 2019 against Lipscomb with three stolen bases.
- Liberty’s current eight-game winning streak is its longest since winning 14 in a row, March 19 through April 10, 2022.
Up Next
Liberty hosts Virginia on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Kamphuis Field at Liberty Softball Stadium.
Featured in photo: KK Madrey
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Keeney, Karlie (6-5)
L: GREENE, Chloe (1-3)
Batting:
RBI: SHEDRICK, Kari 1 ; MCMILLAN, Cori 1
Base Running:
RUNS: ROBERTS, Lexie 1 ; SMITH, Rachel 1
SB: MCMILLAN, Cori 2
Batting:
2B: Craine, Rachel 1
HR: Hudson, Caroline 2
RBI: Howard, Devyn 1 ; Hudson, Caroline 5 ; Craine, Rachel 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Howard, Devyn 3 ; Hudson, Caroline 3 ; McManus, Brynn 1 ; Tuck, Maddy 1 ; Craine, Rachel 2 ; Madrey, KK 2
SB: Madrey, KK 3
