Liberty University
38-20
Central Arkansas
42-10
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 1 |
| Central Arkansas | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 0 |
No. 1 Seed UCA Advances to ASUN Final with 11-Inning 2-1 Win Over 2nd-Seeded Liberty
5/12/2023 11:53:26 PM | Softball
No. 1 seed Central Arkansas defeated two-time defending ASUN champion, second-seeded Liberty, 2-1 in 11 innings, Friday at Patricia Wilson Field.
With the win, UCA (42-10) advances to tomorrow’s final round of the 2023 ASUN Softball Championship. The Bears will have to defeat North Alabama twice tomorrow to earn the ASUN’s automatic berth to the 2023 NCAA Division I Softball Championship.
The Lady Flames (38-20) await their postseason fate. Coming into today with an RPI of 28 and a strength of schedule of 5, Liberty will have to watch Sunday’s selection show at 7 p.m. to see if the team will receive an at-large berth.
Scoring Summary
Liberty – 8th INNING – Hudson homers to center, 1-0
UCA – 8th INNING – Brown singles up the middle, Young advances, Harris scores, 1-1
UCA – 11th INNING – Nelson singles down the left field line, Bare scores, 2-1
Turning Point
- Liberty took a 1-0 lead with an eighth-inning home run by Caroline Hudson. The Bears tied it in the home half on a two-out RBI single by Mary Kate Brown.
- Central Arkansas took advantage of its scoring opportunity in the bottom of the 11th. Brown hit a leadoff double. Morgan Nelson hit an RBI single that just stayed fair and sent home pinch runner Colleen Bare with the winning run.
Notable Numbers
- UCA outhit the Lady Flames 8-7 for the game, with Liberty committing one error and turning one double play. Both teams left nine runners stranded. The Lady Flames twice had runners on the corners and one out, in the third and fifth innings, with the Bears holding Liberty off the scoreboard both times.
- In a classic pitchers’ duel that also featured several top-notch defensive plays, Kayla Beaver (23-6) earned the win. Beaver allowed one run on seven hits, walking two and fanning seven in 11 innings.
- Karlie Keeney (25-11) drew the tough-luck loss, yielding two runs on eight hits, walking three and striking out three in 10 innings pitched.
- Brown went 2-for-3 with a double, two walks and one RBI. Morgan Nelson batted 2-for-5 with one RBI, while Kyle Griffin went 2-for-4.
- KK Madrey batted 2-for-4 and recorded her 25th stolen base of the year. Caroline Hudson (1-for-4) hit her ASUN-leading 15th homer of the season.
Beyond the Box Score
- Central Arkansas is 3-1 all-time against Liberty in softball, with all four meetings coming this season.
- Liberty is now 10-5 all-time in ASUN Softball Championship play. This is the first time since 2019 that the Lady Flames have not qualified for the conference final.
- Liberty is 20-4 all-time in ASUN games (regular-season and ASUN Championship) played inside the state of Florida.
- Hudson is the second player in program history to record back-to-back 50-RBI seasons and the third Liberty player with back-to-back 15-home seasons.
- All six of Liberty’s runs scored in the 2023 ASUN Softball Championship came via the home run ball.
- This was the first time in program history that Liberty played back-to-back games of 10 innings or more.
- Liberty turned its program-record 27th double play of the season tonight.
- The Lady Flames are 4-5 in extra-inning games this season.
Featured in photo: Caroline Hudson
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: BEAVER, Kayl (23-6)
L: Keeney, Karlie (25-11)
Batting:
HR: Hudson, Caroline 1
RBI: Hudson, Caroline 1
SH: Woodard, Savannah 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hudson, Caroline 1
SB: Madrey, KK 1
Batting:
2B: BROWN, Mary 1
RBI: BROWN, Mary 1 ; NELSON, Morg 1
Base Running:
RUNS: HARRIS, Trem 1 ; BARE, Collee 1
SB: YOUNG, Madi 1
