Liberty University
18-19, 9-7
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North Florida
21-17, 7-9
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Florida | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 9 | 1 |
| LIBERTY | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 7 | X | 12 | 15 | 2 |
Liberty Rallies with 7-Run Eighth to Shock North Florida 12-8
4/21/2023 11:34:00 PM | Baseball
A three-run home run from shortstop Jake Lazzaro to give Liberty the lead highlighted a seven-run eighth inning as the Flames struck back for a 12-8 win over the North Florida Ospreys, Friday evening at Worthington Field at Liberty Baseball Stadium.
Trailing 8-1 after six innings, Liberty plated four runs in the seventh to cut its deficit to 8-5 before scoring seven in the eighth for the come-from-behind win in the opener of the ASUN Conference series.
In the eighth inning, the first seven Flames reached, as Liberty sent 11 men to the plate. Lazzaro, the fourth batter of the inning, belted an 0-1 pitch with runners on second and third to put Liberty in front 9-8 with his third home run of the year. The shortstop led all hitters in the game with three hits. He also scored two runs for the Flames.
Reliever David Erickson pitched four innings of scoreless relief, allowing Liberty to mount its comeback.
Liberty moves to 9-7 in ASUN Conference play and 18-19 overall. North Florida falls to 7-9 in conference play and 21-17 overall. The loss snaps the Ospreys' four-game winning streak.
Box Score Highlights
Records: North Florida (21-17, 7-9 ASUN): Liberty (18-19, 9-7 ASUN)
Location: Lynchburg, Va. (Worthington Field at Liberty Baseball Stadium)
WP: David Erickson (2-1) | LP: Lance Bolton (3-1)
Scoring Summary
1st INNING – UNF - Reich doubles, Brinling scores (unearned), 1-0
4th INNING – UNF - Esquivel homers, 2-0
4th INNING – UNF – Sweatt flies out, Nichols scores, 3-0
4th INNING – UNF – Lodise homers, Runnels, Clements and Leach score, 7-0
5th INNING – LIBERTY – Foster doubles, Castillo scores, 7-1
6th INNING – UNF – Runnels doubles, Sweatt scores (unearned), 8-1
7th INNING – LIBERTY – Troyer doubles, Kepley, Lazzaro and Hiller score, 8-4
7th INNING – LIBERTY – Guy singles, Troyer scores on a throwing error (unearned), 8-5
8th INNING – LIBERTY – Hillier doubles, Castillo score, 8-6
8th INNING – LIBERTY – Lazzaro homered, Hillier and Foster score, 9-8
8th INNING – LIBERTY – Guy flies out, Kepley scores, 10-8
8th INNING – LIBERTY – Betts doubles, Horton scores,11-8
8th INNING – LIBERTY – Castillo flies out, Troyer scores, 12-8
 Notable Numbers
- Liberty outhit North Florida, 15-9, in the contest. The Flames committed two errors. The Ospreys one.
- Liberty left seven men on base. North Florida left five.
- Every batter in the Liberty lineup had at least one hit in the game.
- Four Flames had two hits in the contest. Left fielder Kane Kepley, first baseman Brayden Horton, right fielder Camden Troyer and third basement Cam Forster each had two hits.
- Troyer had three RBI and scored two runs in the contest.
- Erickson records the victory in relief of Flames starter Garrett Horn. Erickson gave up an unearned run on two hits over four innings. He struck out one.
- Lance Bolton, the third North Florida pitcher in the game, takes the loss. He was roughed up for five runs on five hits over 2/3 innings.
- Shortstop Alex Louise hit a grand slam, his 11th home run of the season, and first baseman Gabriel Esquivel hit his eighth home run of the year.
Turning Point
Trailing by three, designated hitter Victor Castillo walked and Foster singled to open the home half of the eighth. Catcher Three Hillier followed by lining a double into the right field corner to score Castillo with the first run of the inning. The next batter, Lazzaro, who had already had two hits in the contest, looked at the first pitch before hammering a 0-1 pitch over the right field wall for a 9-8 lead.
Kepley and Horton continued the uprising with singles and Troyer was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Center fielder Jaylen Guy followed with a sacrifice fly RBI and second baseman Gray Betts produced a run-scoring double, upping Liberty's lead to 11-8. Castillo, batting for the second time in the inning, capped the inning with a sacrifice fly for what proved to be the final score of 12-8.                 Â
Beyond the Box Score
- Liberty is 7-0 against North Florida at Worthington Field at Liberty Baseball Stadium and moves to 9-6 at home this season.
- Lazzaro collects his second three-hit game and ties for the team lead in multi-hit games with 12.
- Foster records back-to-back multi-hit games. The Flames third baseman had two hits, including a home run at Wake Forest on Wednesday. He has seven multi-hit games in 2023.
- Troyer posts his 11th multi-hit game of the season, while Horton Kepley each records his seventh multi-hit game of the year.
- Hillier was hit by a pitch in the seventh and doubled in the eighth to extend his reached base safely streak to a team-high 29 consecutive games.|
- Liberty reliever Trey Carter retired the side in order in the ninth inning. The right-hander has not allowed a run over his last 17 2/3 innings during his last eight appearances.
Next Up
Liberty and North Florida will meet again tomorrow in the middle game of their three-game series at Worthington Field at Liberty Baseball Stadium. Game time is scheduled for 4 p.m.
Featured in Main Photo: Jake Lazzaro
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Erickson, David (2-1)
L: BOLTON, Lance (3-1)
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Batting:
2B: RUNNELS, Jakob 1 ; REICH, Cade 1
HR: LODISE, Alex 1 ; ESQUIVEL, Gabriel 1
RBI: SWEATT, Aidan 1 ; RUNNELS, Jakob 1 ; LODISE, Alex 4 ; REICH, Cade 1 ; ESQUIVEL, Gabriel 1
SF: SWEATT, Aidan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: SWEATT, Aidan 1 ; BRINLING, Austin 1 ; RUNNELS, Jakob 1 ; LODISE, Alex 1 ; ESQUIVEL, Gabriel 1 ; NICHOLS, Cherokee 1 ; LEACH, Dallen 1 ; CLEMENTS, Matthew 1
Batting:
2B: Troyer, Camden 2 ; Betts, Gray 1 ; Foster, Cam 1 ; Hillier, Three 1
HR: Lazzaro, Jake 1
RBI: Troyer, Camden 3 ; Guy, Jaylen 1 ; Betts, Gray 1 ; Castillo, Victor 1 ; Foster, Cam 1 ; Hillier, Three 1 ; Lazzaro, Jake 3
SF: Guy, Jaylen 1 ; Castillo, Victor 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kepley, Kane 2 ; Horton, Brayden 1 ; Troyer, Camden 2 ; Castillo, Victor 2 ; Foster, Cam 1 ; Hillier, Three 2 ; Lazzaro, Jake 2
SB: Guy, Jaylen 1
CS: Horton, Brayden 1 ; Guy, Jaylen 1
HBP: Troyer, Camden 2 ; Castillo, Victor 1 ; Hillier, Three 1
PO: Horton, Brayden 1
