Liberty University
10-9
Virginia
17-5
Liberty Defeats Virginia 6-2 for 9th Straight Win
3/7/2023 9:35:31 PM | Softball
Liberty ran its winning streak to nine games, earning a 6-2 victory over the visiting Virginia Cavaliers, Tuesday at Kamphuis Field at Liberty Softball Stadium.
The Lady Flames (10-9) improved to 9-0 on their current homestand, which concludes with four games this weekend at the Flames Classic. Virginia (17-5) saw its 11-game winning streak come to a close, sustaining its first loss since Feb. 19 against Minnesota.
Scoring Summary
Liberty – 1st INNING – Howard homers to right center, 1-0
Liberty – 1st INNING – Soto grounds out to third, Roupe scores, 2-0
Virginia – 2nd INNING – Jones homers to right, Baylog scores, 2-2
Liberty – 3rd INNING – Hudson doubles to right center, Madrey scores, 3-2
Liberty – 4th INNING – Madrey singles to left, Woodard advances, Fortner scores, 4-2
Liberty – 5th INNING – Fortner doubles to right, Roupe scores, 5-2
Liberty – 5th INNING – Wilson doubles to right, out at third, Fortner scores, 6-2
Notable Numbers
- Liberty outhit Virginia 9-5 for the game, with the guests leaving six runners on base compared to just three stranded for the Lady Flames.
- Karlie Keeney (7-5) earned a win for the fourth game in a row, allowing two runs on five hits, walking two and striking out three.
- Molly Grube (7-3) drew the loss, yielding three runs on four hits, striking out three in three innings. Jenny Bressler gave up three runs and struck out four in two innings of relief before Savanah Henley tossed a 1-2-3 sixth innings with three strikeouts.
- Reigning ASUN Player of the Week and Extra Inning Softball National Player of the Week Caroline Huson went 2-for-3 with two doubles and one RBI. Megan Fortner had her first multiple-hit game as a Lady Flames, going 2-for-3 with a double, one RBI and two runs scored. KK Madrey went 2-for-3 with one RBI and one run scored, while Rachel Roupe (1-for-2) tripled and scored twice and Devyn Howard (1-for-3) led off the game with a homer for Liberty.
- Virginia’s Kailyn Jones went 1-for-2 with her first career homer, two RBI and one run scored. Leah Boggs’ double was the only other extra-base hit for the visitors.
Turning Point
- Virginia tied the game at 2-2 on Jones’ two-run homer in the second. However, Liberty went ahead on an RBI double by Hudson in the third and tacked on one run in the fourth and two in the fifth while Keeney and the Liberty defense hung zeros on the scoreboard.
Beyond the Box Score
- Virginia leads the all-time series against Liberty in softball 47-26, while the Lady Flames have won the last five meetings. Liberty has scored exactly six runs in each of the last three meetings against UVA.
- The Lady Flames are now 9-0 at home this season.
- Liberty is 14-3 at home against ACC opponents since the start of the 2018 season, including 6-0 versus Virginia during that span.
- Fortner, the ASUN leader with 17 doubles last year while playing for Jacksonville State, had her first double as a Lady Flame tonight and the 34th of her collegiate career.
- Hudson extended her hitting streak to six games, with five out of those six contests being two-hit games. Tonight was her third straight game with two extra-base hits, a streak which started with back-to-back two-homer games on Sunday against Radford.
- Keeney is now tied with Sarah Swor (2004-07) for fifth all-time in program history with 48 career victories, including a 27-3 mark all-time at Liberty Softball Stadium.
- Liberty’s current nine-game winning streak is its longest since winning 14 in a row, March 19 through April 10, 2022.
- Howard led off the game with a homer for the second time this season, also doing so against Elon on Feb. 26.
Up Next
Liberty hosts the Flames Classic, Thursday through Sunday. The tournament will open with two games on Thursday, as the Lady Flames take on Sacred Heart at 3 p.m. before a 5 p.m. game against Ball State.
Featured in photo: Caroline Hudson and Rachel Roupe
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Keeney, Karlie (7-5)
L: Molly Grube (7-3)
Batting:
2B: Leah Boggs 1
HR: Kailyn Jones 1
RBI: Kailyn Jones 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Gabby Baylog 1 ; Kailyn Jones 1
SB: Jade Hylton 1 ; Gabby Baylog 1
HBP: Sarah Coon 1
Batting:
2B: Hudson, Caroline 2 ; Fortner, Megan 1 ; Wilson, Mary Claire 1
3B: Roupe, Rachel 1
HR: Howard, Devyn 1
RBI: Howard, Devyn 1 ; Hudson, Caroline 1 ; Soto, Alexis 1 ; Fortner, Megan 1 ; Wilson, Mary Claire 1 ; Madrey, KK 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Howard, Devyn 1 ; Roupe, Rachel 2 ; Fortner, Megan 2 ; Madrey, KK 1
HBP: Roupe, Rachel 1
