Liberty University
29-16, 12-4
Central Arkansas
32-8, 15-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Central Arkansas | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | X | 6 | 11 | 0 |
No. 24 UCA Pulls Away for 6-1 Win Over Liberty in Series Opener
4/22/2023 6:59:35 PM | Softball
No. 24 Central Arkansas used a four-run third inning to pull away for a 6-1, series-opening win over Liberty in game one of a doubleheader, Saturday, at Farris Field.
ASUN-leading UCA (32-8, 15-1 ASUN) extends its winning streak to 13 games. Liberty, who entered the day tied with Jacksonville for second in the ASUN, falls to 29-16, 12-4 in conference play.
Central Arkansas received its first-ever national ranking this week, ranking as highly as No. 24 in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 Coaches Poll and D1Softball.com Top 25.
Scoring Summary
UCA – 1st INNING – Brown doubles down right field line, Young scores, 1-0
Liberty – 3rd INNING – Hudson homers to left, 1-1
UCA – 3rd INNING – Brown singles to left, Young scores, 2-1
UCA – 3rd INNING – Willingham infield single, Bare and Michael advance, Brown scores, 3-1
UCA – 3rd INNING – Wildeman singles to short, Willingham and Bare advance, Michael scores, 4-1
UCA – 3rd INNING – Wildeman and Willingham advance, Bare scores on wild pitch, 5-1
UCA – 5th INNING – Brown walks, Griffin and Harris advance, Wildeman scores, 6-1
Notable Numbers
- The Bears held an 11-2 advantage in hits. The hosts left 12 runners on base compared to three stranded for Liberty. The Lady Flames issued a season-high seven walks.
- Jordan Johnson (16-3) allowed one run on two hits, hitting two of the first three batters in the game and striking out two total.
- Karlie Keeney (20-7) drew the loss, allowing five runs on 10 hits, walking three and fanning two in four innings. Paige Bachman pitched two relief innings, yielding one run in one hit, issuing four walks and fanning one.
- Mary Kate Brown went 2-for-2 with a double, two walks, three RBI and one run scored for UCA, while Morgan Nelson and Colleen Bare had two hits apiece. Madi Young batted 1-for-3 with a triple and one run scored.
- Caroline Hudson hit her ASUN-leading 12th homer of the season, giving her home runs in back-to-back games after homering off of Alabama’s Montana Fouts on Tuesday.
Turning Point
- With one out in a 1-1 game in the bottom of the third, Young tripled, sparking a rally that included five singles, as Central Arkansas pushed across four runs on six hits to take a 5-1 lead.
- Liberty was unable to mount any offense after Hudson’s third-inning solo shot, as Johnson retired 13 out of the last 14 batters she faced.
Beyond the Box Score
- This was the first-ever meeting between Liberty and Central Arkansas in softball.
- The Lady Flames are now 1-9 against Top 25 teams this season including 1-1 this week as Liberty knocked off No. 13 Alabama on Tuesday.
- With her home run, the ninth in her career off of a Top 25 team, Hudson is now tied with Alexia Taylor (2015-18) for ninth place in program history with 122 career RBI.
- Liberty is now 4-6 this season when its opponent scores in the first inning and 6-13 when its opponent scores first.
- Central Arkansas’ 12 runners left of base in today’s first game are the most runners stranded by a Liberty opponent this season.
- Today marked Liberty’s first ASUN road loss since April 28, 2019 at North Alabama, as the Lady Flames had won 27 straight ASUN regular-season away contests.
Feature in photo: Caroline Hudson
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: JOHNSON, Jor (16-3)
L: Keeney, Karlie (20-7)
Batting:
HR: Hudson, Caroline 1
RBI: Hudson, Caroline 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hudson, Caroline 1
HBP: Howard, Devyn 1 ; Roupe, Rachel 1
Batting:
2B: BROWN, Mary 1
3B: YOUNG, Madi 1
RBI: BROWN, Mary 3 ; WILLINGHAM 1 ; WILDEMAN, Je 1
Base Running:
RUNS: YOUNG, Madi 2 ; BROWN, Mary 1 ; MICHAEL, Eri 1 ; BARE, Collee 1 ; WILDEMAN, Je 1
