Liberty University
38-18
Jacksonville State
31-21
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jacksonville State | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| Liberty | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | X | 4 | 5 | 0 |
No. 2 Seed Liberty Tops 3rd-Seeded Jacksonville State 4-2
5/11/2023 1:25:53 PM | Softball
No. 2 seed Liberty received homers from Sierra Kersten and KK Madrey and strong pitching from Karlie Keeney, opening up the 2023 ASUN Softball Championship with a 4-2 win over third-seeded Jacksonville State on Thursday at Patricia Wilson Field.
The Lady Flames (38-18) advance to the winner’s bracket final tomorrow at 12:30 p.m., where two-time defensing ASUN champion Liberty will face either No. 1 seed Central Arkansas or No. 5 seed North Alabama. JSU (31-21) falls into the losers’ bracket, where the Gamecocks will face No. 4 seed FGCU in an elimination game at 3 p.m. this afternoon.
Scoring Summary
Liberty – 2nd INNING – Kersten homers to left center, 1-0
JSU – 3rd INNING – Richardson singles o right, Jones advances, Wagnon and Perkins score, 2-1
Liberty – 4th INNING – Madrey homers to right, Woodard and Wilson score, 4-2
Turning Point
- JSU took a 2-1 lead on a two-out, bases-loaded, two-run single to right by Lindsey Richardson. She was nearly thrown out at first by right fielder, which would have ended the third inning with no runs scored, but she was deemed safe after video challenge.
- The Lady Flames took the lead for good on Madrey’s three-run blast in the fourth, as Keeney kept the Gamecocks off the board for the final 4 1/3 innings.
Notable Numbers- Liberty outhit JSU 5-3 for the game, with the Gamecocks committing the game’s lone error. The Lady Flames left six runners on base, while Jacksonville State stranded four.
- Karlie Keeney (25-9) earned her 25th win of the season, allowing two runs on three hits, walking two and striking out two.
- Kat Carter (6-7) drew the loss, yielding four runs on four hits, walking four and fanning one in 3 1/3 innings. Jaliyah Holmes yielded one hit in 2 2/3 innings of relief.
- Five different Lady Flames recorded hits, including a three-run home run by Madrey and solo blast from Kersten.
- Richardson went 1-for-3 with two RBI for JSU, while Abbi Perkins batted 1-for-3 with a double and one run scored.
Beyond the Box Score
- Liberty tied the all-time series with Jacksonville State, as these two teams last played on Feb. 27, 2016, a game that JSU won 5-0.
- Liberty is now 10-3 all-time in ASUN Softball Championship play, winning eight straight conference postseason games starting with the 2021 ASUN Softball Championship.
- 2023 ASUN All-Conference third team selection Megan Fortner went 1-for-3 against her former team, as Fortner played for Jacksonville State in 2021 and 2022.
- Liberty is 20-2 all-time in ASUN games (regular-season and ASUN Championship) played inside the state of Florida.
- Caroline Hudson extended her hitting streak to 16 games, the longest hitting streak by a Lady Flame since Autumn Bishop’s 20-game hitting streak in 2018. Rachel Roupe saw her hitting streak snapped at 10 games, a span which saw her bat .500 with 19 RBI.
- The Lady Flames have won their conference tournament opener in each of the last seven seasons, and eight out of nine under current Head Coach Dot Richardson.
- Keeney recorded her 25th win of the season. Entering today, only seven NCAA Division I pitchers had earned 25 pitching wins or more this season.
Featured in photo: KK Madrey
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Keeney, Karlie (25-9)
L: CARTER, K. (6-7)
Batting:
2B: PERKINS, A. 1
RBI: RICHARDSON,L 2
Base Running:
RUNS: PERKINS, A. 1 ; WAGNON, S. 1
HBP: WAGNON, S. 1
Batting:
HR: Kersten, Sierra 1 ; Madrey, KK 1
RBI: Kersten, Sierra 1 ; Madrey, KK 3
SH: Madrey, KK 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kersten, Sierra 1 ; Wilson, Mary Claire 1 ; Woodard, Savannah 1 ; Madrey, KK 1
