Liberty to Open 2024 Season by Hosting Quinnipiac
2/15/2024 3:29:00 PM | Baseball
Series Coverage
The Liberty Flames will open their 2024 campaign by hosting the Quinnipiac Bobcats for a three-game series at Worthington Field at Liberty Baseball Stadium. The series runs Friday-Sunday with the first pitch for Friday's season opener scheduled for 4 p.m.
Quick Hits
New Faces on the Mountain
Flames Picked 2nd for 1st Season in CUSA
- Quinnipiac at Liberty (Worthington Field at Liberty Baseball Stadium)
- First pitch: Friday at 4 p.m./Saturday at 2 p.m./Sunday at 1 p.m.
- TV:Â ESPN+
- Radio:Â LFSN Radio
The Liberty Flames will open their 2024 campaign by hosting the Quinnipiac Bobcats for a three-game series at Worthington Field at Liberty Baseball Stadium. The series runs Friday-Sunday with the first pitch for Friday's season opener scheduled for 4 p.m.
Quick Hits
- For only the 2nd time in the last 19 seasons, the Liberty Flames will open the 2024 season at home by hosting the Quinnipiac Bobcats for a three-game series at Worthington Field at Liberty Baseball Stadium, Feb. 16-18. Liberty and Quinnipiac have only met once ever on the diamond, meeting in 1978 in Lynchburg.
- After the last five years as a member of the ASUN Conference, Liberty moves to Conference USA in 2024. The Flames have been picked to finish second in the conference's preseason poll.
- The Flames are 28-21 in season openers since 1976 and 13-4 at home. Liberty is 9-2 in home openers at Worthington Field at Liberty Baseball Stadium.
- Head Coach Scott Jackson is in his eighth season at Liberty. Jackson has led the Flames to a 222-147 record and three NCAA Regional appearances, the most of any coach in program history.
- Liberty will open its season at home for the first time since 2018 and for the second time in the last 19 years on Friday. The Flames are 28-21 in season lid-lifters since 1976 (no records available for 1974 or 1975) and 13-4 at home.
- The 2024 season will be the 12th year at Worthington Field at Liberty Baseball Stadium for the Flames. Liberty is 9-2 in home openers at the stadium.
- Friday's game will be the second time in stadium history that Liberty has opened their season at home. The Flames began the 2018 season at Liberty Baseball Stadium defeating VCU 5-4 on Feb. 16.
- Head Coach Scott Jackson's team enters Friday's contest having won eight straight home openers. The Flames defeated Longwood 9-7 on March 1 to open the 2023 season.
- Liberty has won its home opener in each of Jackson's first seven seasons.
- Last season, the Flames opened their season away from Lynchburg, Va. for the 31st time in program history with a series against Southern Miss. Liberty is 12-14 in away contests and 3-2 in neutral site games in season openers.
New Faces on the Mountain
- Head Coach Scott Jackson added two new assistants to the Liberty coaching staff this season. Tyler Robinson joins the staff as the Flames' pitching coach, while former Liberty standout shortstop Matt Williams returns to the Mountain as an assistant coach.
- Robinson joins the Liberty baseball staff after nine seasons as a member of the Campbell coaching staff. The Durham, N.C., native started on the Camels' staff in 2014 and became the team's pitching coach in 2019. The Camels made four NCAA Regional appearances with Robinson as pitching coach and five during his time at Campbell. The Camels led the Big South Conference in ERA, strikeouts and opponent batting average in three of his four seasons as pitching coach and were in the top three in the conference every year of his tenure.
- Williams joins Jackson's staff after spending six years as an area scout for the Minnesota Twins, scouting a region that included the Carolinas, Virginia, Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi. The Franklin, Tenn., native was a standout for the Flames from 2009-11. Liberty's starting shortstop each of his three seasons as a Flame, Williams was named to the Big South All-Conference second team in 2010 and 2011. He also is among the Liberty's top 10 season leaders with 85 hits and 22 doubles in 2010. The infielder was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 15th round of the 2011 Major League Baseball Draft and played seven years in the minors with the Cardinals, Los Angeles Angels and Philadelphia Phillies organizations from 2011-2017.
Flames Picked 2nd for 1st Season in CUSA
- Liberty was selected to finish second in conference standings in its first season in the league by the head coaches in the 2024 CUSA Preseason Baseball Poll. Dallas Baptist was picked to finish first.
- Left-hander Garrett Horn, infielder Cam Foster and transfer infielder Aidan Sweatt were voted to the 2024 CUSA Preseason All-Conference team.
- The nine-team CUSA will play a 24-game regular season schedule with the top eight teams in the standings advancing to the CUSA Baseball Championship to be played May 22-26 at J.C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Stadium in Ruston, La. The tournament features a double-elimination bracket with the winner receiving the conference's automatic bid to an NCAA Regional.
Players Mentioned
Coach LeCroy Talks About The JSU Series
Monday, April 13
Ben Blair: By the Numbers
Wednesday, April 08
Coach LeCroy Recaps The FIU Series & Looks Ahead To NC State & WKU
Tuesday, March 31
Coach LeCroy Gives An Update On The Baseball Season
Monday, March 16