Liberty Tops Lipscomb 9-4

Behind a strong outing by starting pitcher Mikey Tepper, the Liberty Flames defeated the Lipscomb Bisons 9-4 to salvage the final game of their three-game ASUN series, Sunday at Ken Dugan Field.

Tepper allowed two runs on two hits over 6 2/3 innings in recording his first win in a Liberty uniform. The right-hander struck out a career-high 13 and walked three. From the fourth through two outs in the seventh, he retired 11 batters in a row.

Reliever Cole Garrett struck out both batters he faced with the tying runs on base in the eighth and pitched a scoreless ninth for his second save of the year.

Liberty third baseman Cam Foster had three hits, including his fifth home run of the season, and drove in three runs. Left fielder Kane Kepley also had three hits. He had an RBI and scored a run in the contest for the Flames.

Liberty first baseman Brayden Horton ripped a three-run home run in the ninth inning, his third of the season, in the victory.

Liberty moves to 4-5 in the ASUN and 12-15 overall. Lipscomb drops to 6-3 in conference and 11-16 overall.

Box Score Highlights

Records: Liberty (12-15, 4-5 ASUN); Lipscomb (11-16, 6-3)

Location: Nashville, Tenn. (Ken Dugan Field)

WP: Mikey Tepper (1-3) | LP: Noah Thompson (4-2) | SV: Cole Garrett (2)

Scoring Summary

1^st INNING – LIPSCOMB – Whillhoite doubles, Lundgrin scores, 1-0

2^nd INNING – LIBERTY – Foster homers, 1-1

3^rd INNING – LIBERTY – Foster singles, Betts scores, 2-1

4^th INNING – LIBERTY – Kepley singles, Keeter scores, 3-1

4^th INNING – LIPSCOMB – Berg flies out, Lundgrin scores, 3-2

7^th INNING – LIBERTY – Keeter grounds out, Guy scores, 4-2

8^th INNING – LIBERTY – Betts reaches on an error, Troyer scores, 5-2

8^th INNING – LIBERTY – Foster flies out, Horton scores, 6-2

8^th INNING – LIPSCOMB – Ketchup homers, Bouck scores, 6-4

9^th INNING – LIBERTY – Horton homers, Troyer and Kepley score, 9-3

Notable Numbers

- Liberty outhit Lipscomb, 12-4. The Bisons committed two errors, the only ones in the three-game series.

- Liberty left 13 men on base. Lipscomb left 10 men.

- Center fielder Jaylen Guy had two hits and scored a run for the Flames.

- No Lipscomb hitter had more than one hit in the game.

- Lipscomb starting pitcher Noah Thompson takes the loss. He gave up three runs on six hits over four innings. He struck out three and walked three.

- Bisons shortstop Caleb Ketchup hit a two-run home run, his seventh of the season in the contest.

Turning Point

With two runs already in on a two-run home run by Ketchup to cut the Liberty lead to 6-4, host Lipscomb put two men on with one out in the bottom of the eighth. Garrett entered the game and quickly ended any possible rally by striking out the next two batters.

In the top of the ninth, Kepley singled and right fielder Camden Troyer doubled with one out. Horton followed with a towering home run to right field to give the Flames a 9-4 advantage.

Beyond the Box Score

- Tepper set a season-high for strikeouts in a game with 13. The right-hander’s previous high was six against Bryant on March 5. The strikeout total is the most by a Liberty pitcher in a game this season.

- Tepper’s outing was also the longest by a Liberty starting pitcher this season. A starter had not worked more than six innings for LIberty in 2023.

- With three hits, Foster collects his first three-hit and his third multi-hit game of the season.

- Kepley posts a three-hit game for the first time in his collegiate career and picks up his second multi-hit game of the year.

- With two hits, Guy also recorded a multi-hit game. He records his eighth multi-hit game of the year.

- Catcher Three Hillier singled and walked three times in the contest to extend his reached base safely streak to a team-high 19 consecutive games.

- Troyer was on base three times in the game. He doubled and walked twice, scoring two runs. He has had at least one hit in each of the last 10 games, the longest hitting streak of any Liberty player this season.

Next Up

Liberty begins a four-game homestand on Tuesday. The Flames will host the No. 4 Virginia Cavaliers at Worthington Field at Liberty Baseball Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.

Featured in Main Photo: Mikey Tepper

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Team Stats

Cam Foster

Kane Kepley

Jaylen Guy

Camden Troyer